Hello College Baseball Fans,
As the snow continued to fall and the temperatures remained below freezing in the Northeast, many programs were forced to surrender to mother nature and cancel last weekend’s games. Throughout the course of a season, you have to be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice when threatened by rain, snow, or a number of other circumstances.
This past weekend wasn’t the typical three-day, three-game series that we are used to because we played a doubleheader Friday and finished off the series Saturday night – rather, early Sunday morning – under the lights. Eager to get our season rolling and due to weather conditions, we moved the series a few hours south of Chapel Hill, to Florence South Carolina, where we took on the #11 Tar Heels at Sparrow Stadium, home of the Francis Marion Patriots.
Each of the three games was a battle, with the victor edging out the opponent by a matter of a few runs. When playing polished competitors like North Carolina, attention to detail is what wins or loses a game. Doing the little things right, whether it be situationally hitting, running the bases correctly, or properly executing defensive strategies, is what will ultimately produce success.
During the post game speech after Friday’s games, we talked about the importance of focus from the first pitch until the last out. We emphasized the value that each individual brings to the team and concluded that no one person is more valuable than the next. On a championship team, you need the type of atmosphere where you can rely on the guy next to you to get the job done.
Throughout the weekend, the whole team really stepped up and each guy, whether he was in the starting line-up or coming off the bench, played key roles. One notable performance was by junior right hander Lou Distasio, who went 6 strong innings Saturday night, allowing only four hits and striking out nine. This undoubtedly helped set the tone for our 6-3 victory.
It is a very exciting thing to see the pieces of a team start to come together and work as one.
Did I mention how much fun it is to win?
The exciting victory marked the first Rhody win against an opponent ranked 11th or better since 2009. Even though this was only our first win, I believe this past weekend proved to be a great starting point for an excellent season.
Until Next Time,
Tim Caputo
