Freshman Get No Love ...

Welcome back after a one day hiatus. I apologize for not writing yesterday but we had to get up very early and I was just too tired. To be short about the Colby game, we lost in a slugfest 14-10. Offensively, we were running on all cylinders with first years Shane Hisner and Ben Master having two and three hits respectively. In addition, Jeremy Simon continued to swing a hot bat as he had a few extra base hits of his own.

Before I begin today’s section, I’d like to single-out first-year second baseman Ryan Mouch (pictured). I checked my facebook about two minutes ago and there was a message from Ryan Mouch which read “what the heck bud??? no love for me in the blog???” I had to stop for a minute because I thought it was pretty funny. I’m sorry Ryan but I had to include this in the blog, but hey, here’s your shout out (you know I love you bud). On a more serious note though, Mouch has done a stellar job down here this week, stepping in as a freshman and taking over the second base job. He has played very solid defense and has been swinging a very hot bat as of late, so congratulations Ryan.

Yesterday we were set to face off against Middlebury and Elmhurst in two single nine inning games. Game one began on a bit of a sour note and I must admit was not one of our best showings of the year. We dropped the game to Middlebury 17-5 and looked like we were dragging a bit. Ultimately, we were demonized by poor defensive play and dug ourselves a deep hole that we just never managed to get out of.

Game two was a whole different story as we showed what kind of toughness we had and came out firing. Move over Brian Sipe and the 1980 Kardiac Kids because I’m ready to anoint us the Kardiac Kids of college baseball. I would love to make it to my 21st birthday but at this rate who knows what will happen if we keep playing nail biters like today’s game. Early in the game we jumped out to a 4-1 lead with RBI singles by myself and Phil Brua, also now known as the candy man. Phil loves candy! In addition, Ben Puterbaugh, Jeremy Simon, and P.J Carter anchored the middle of the order to help us build a commanding 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. First year Ben Kauder looked very poised on the hill as he went seven strong innings exiting with the lead. Kauder was aided by strong defense, namely three double plays that were turned beautifully by Pat Bourke at second base. Bourke, a first year, making his debut in the starting lineup played a great second base and also added his first college base hit with a single up to centerfield. Moving on, the game looked all but over, but I guess we just wanted to play more baseball. Before we knew it, the ball game was tied 8-8 with the bases loaded and two outs. If not for a great running catch with two outs by Zach Berman we would have lost in the 9th.

Normally I would never talk about myself, but I guess the 10th inning warrants giving myself a little credit. The story behind the 10th inning actually has a little humor as well. We ended up loading the bases with two outs to bring me to the plate with a tie ball game. However, I must be the most complacent person ever because I actually thought we were winning by one (I guess I‘m an idiot). I didn’t even feel any pressure; it’s probably a good thing. I feel behind quickly 0-2, and the guys in the dugout were thinking, “oh god, not another MIT” (that’s a reference to last year when I struck out looking with the bases loaded against MIT, thanks guys!). I ended up slapping an 0-2 curveball into leftfield to put us ahead 10-8 and we held on to win 10-9 in dramatic fashion. I think it was my first game winning hit in years so it felt pretty good.

Another important note is that today’s victory was Coach Lahetta’s 100th career victory. The victory puts us at 4-7 overall and 4-3 in Phoenix, but most importantly gives us some momentum going into the last two ball games of the road trip.

Tune back in tomorrow to hear about the University of Chicago game and maybe some stories about fantasy baseball, bagels, or fruit loops. Enjoy!