Off to a Hot Start ...

Welcome back for day two of the blog. I’ll preface everything by saying that unfortunately you all will not have to read about bagels and Ben Master brushing his teeth, although I found that quite funny to write about.

Anyways, today we woke up at about 9:00 and went downstairs for the Continental breakfast. The Holiday Inn Express has a pretty solid breakfast. I treated myself to a bowl of fruit loops, a cinnamon bun, and a glass of orange juice. The fruit loops were definitely the highlight of the meal; I don’t think I’ve had them for a few years. Again fantasy baseball reappeared when one of my best friends from home called me frantically asking who he should take with the number two overall pick in his draft. Com’n people, you’ve got to know that fantasy baseball is a big deal. Boys will be boys. He ended up picking Hanley Ramirez, a very quality selection. I’ll take this time to say hi David, and wish you the best of luck with your fantasy baseball season.

After breakfast, I came back up to the room and decided to take a shower. I always have to shower before games although that probably makes no sense to everyone. This is probably another one of my worthless rants, but the bathroom set-up is not very aesthetically pleasing. The toilet is definitely too close to the shower so it makes it very hard to get in and out. Those stupid architects and designers! However, I will give the Holiday Inn credit by saying that their shower head is nice.

At about 10:15 we headed out towards the fields. I was in Coach Lahetta’s van jamming out to my pre-game mix on my I-pod. Today’s tunes included the Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, and a mixture of hip-hop (Nappy Roots being the group that really did it for me). It was a nice and warm morning, definitely a huge plus as we just left the arctic tundra of Cleveland, Ohio.

The team went through the basic pre-game rituals (I.e took batting practice, ran, stretched, threw) and we were ready to play ball by 1:00. Today’s opponent was Lawrence University from Wisconsin. At this point in my playing career, I feel like an old decrepit man so I consumed my share of ibuprofen before the first pitch. For game number one, we had our ace Jack Dunn (pictured right) on the hill. This was a big statement game for both the team and Jack. Needless to say, Jack came out firing, striking out 13 guys I believe, before leaving after six strong innings, only surrendering one run. We won the game 9-2 and the team was in high spirits. We got great all around performances from everyone. Personally, I felt like I had a pretty good game going 2-for-3 with a triple so it was nice to get off to a hot start here in Phoenix. I also managed to break a metal bat in half which was a first for me. I guess I’ll have to lay off the weights. Freshman sensation Shane Hisner had a strong Oberlin College debut, going 2-4. I’ll tell you, the man can hit; I don’t know what’s in the water in Indiana but I think we could all use some (Shane’s from Indiana in case that wasn’t clear).

After a short break, game two was under way. I sat out this game so I fully devoted myself to my dugout chatter. I’ll make an important side note now, and elect myself chief dugout cheerleader. Our dugout is always upbeat with guys screaming various phrases and noises that I guess we just made up. I’ll give my buddy Ben Foster a cameo appearance in today‘s blog and say that Ben and I compliment each other very well when it comes to dugout chatter to say the very least. The quote of the day had to be “get those worms some helmets” which we scream every time the opposing pitcher throws a ball in the dirt. I get a kick out of all our nonsense in the dugout. It keeps the games fun and makes me laugh. I had as much fun today as I’ve had in a while.

Moving on, in game two your Yeomen jumped out to a early 5-0 lead in inning one only to be relinquished shortly thereafter when opponent Lawrence rallied for six runs of their own in the first two innings. After a few scoreless innings, we managed to knot it up at six and then took the lead for good in the following inning. Freshman Ben Kauder got the nod on the hill for us to begin the game. He was chased from the game in the second inning, giving way to another freshman Grady Campion. I’d like to point out that we had as many as seven freshmen in the game today which is a testament to the quality youth of this ball club. Campion held Lawrence He has really impressed me early in the season as he takes the ball with no fear and always goes right after the opponent. Anyways, we prevailed 16-7 in game number two with Campion recording his first career collegiate victory (congratulations Grady). Other top performers were once again Shane Hisner, with help from fellow first years Brandon Cantrill and Ben Puterbaugh. My roommate and good friend Jeremy Simon also added a few clutch hits, and some surprising speed on the base paths. I’d like to anoint Jeremy with the nickname “Pre” for the rest of the season in reference to onetime great Steve Prefontaine. In case you didn’t know, Jeremy is not very fast but somehow leads the team in stolen bases. I think he actually might think he’s pretty fast now, but we all got a kick out of watching him wheel around the bases this afternoon. at bay for the remainder of the ball game, using an array of fastballs, curveballs, and changeups to keep them off balance.

Another important moment today was an at-bat by Zach Berman in game number two. Berman crushed a ball to deep right that hit off the very top of the fence. The joke around the team was that Coach Lahetta would quit the day Berman hit a homerun, so I guess he was inches away (Sorry Coach, but Berman almost did it). That would have been quite a story right?

On Thursday night I guaranteed a friend that we would win both games so I hope she gets a chance to read today’s blog. I decided to go public with the results of the bet, which are clearly in my favor. Hey, if Rasheed Wallace can make guarantees I figured I could too. The day was a huge success as we took both ball games in a fairly easy fashion. It was definitely a huge confidence booster for many individuals, and more importantly, the team itself.

Tomorrow we look to continue our winning ways as we face off with Knox College in a doubleheader beginning at noon. Again it’s getting pretty late, so I’m afraid it’s time for me to sign off but I’ll be back writing tomorrow. Until then, enjoy March Madness and wish us luck.