Sports
New fields open for practice
By Will Kaback ’20
October 6, 2016
Tags sports
Aside from the upcoming MLB playoffs, the last thing on most people’s minds these days is baseball or softball. With autumn getting underway, and the promise of a long, cold winter ahead, it’s understandable that thoughts of warm spring days teeming with renewed life and the sound of bat on ball have been relegated to the shadowy realms of the brain. However, for the baseball and softball teams, preparation has already begun for such a time. Thanks to the addition of brand new facilities—including two fields—both teams are taking advantage of the fall season to prepare themselves to take advantage of their state-of-the-art resources.
The Athletics Department says the facilities “feature a turf field, fenced-in concrete dugouts, elevated bleachers and a press box behind home plate, bullpens and batting cages for both the home and visiting teams, filming towers and new scoreboards.” The renovations couldn’t have come at a better time. Besides bonus features like a “comfort station” with restrooms and water fountains, the new fields will allow for more consistent and productive play. Softball captain Daphne Assimakopoulos ’17 says that “the old field was rife with issues.” Its location at the bottom of a hill made it especially susceptible to rain and snow. Assimakopoulos says that in such conditions, the infield became “muddy and unplayable,” while the outfield (where she played) was “a swamp.”
Assimakopoulos believes the new field will benefit the softball team in a number of ways. Most notably, they will be able to get on the field earlier and have valuable practices. Whereas the old field could not be used during snowfall, the new field is turf, meaning it can be plowed and cleared for play even if it is snowing. Assimakopoulos says this will allow the team “to get out of the field house and on a real field much earlier in our preseason.” The versatility of the turf field when it comes to snow is especially important. Even though softball and baseball are spring sports, the long winter season in Central New York means that snow can linger well into the beginning of the season. In past years, it even forced the teams to move to different locations, like Utica College, to host games, a situation which Assimakopoulos says has resulted in her playing only “six or seven games on a home field” in her three years on the team. That trend is sure to reverse itself this season, regardless of the weather. years, it even forced the teams to move to different locations, like Utica College, to host games, a situation which Assimakopoulos says has resulted in her playing only “six or seven games on a home field” in her three years on the team. That trend is sure to reverse itself this season, regardless of the weather.
Excitement about the new fields has certainly motivated members of the softball team to begin preparing for the season. Captain Liz Brautigam ’19 says that the team has “been working in the weight room individually to get stronger for the season.” Although NESCAC rules limit the team’s ability to conduct full practices, Brautigam says the team has been doing “bonding activities” to build chemistry off the field.
Coming off of a 12-24 season, the softball team has many reasons to expect improvement this year, even without a new field. Assimakopoulos believes the sophomore class will form a strong core and “continue to have a huge impact on our team.” Specifically, she points to Brautigam, a catcher, someone who “had a tremendous rookie season” and will “only improve on that this year.” Brautigam turned a team-high 120 at-bats into a stellar slash line of .308/ .331/ .358 last season, making her a player to watch as she embarks on her sophomore campaign.
The baseball team has been putting in a tremendous amount of work of their own, and have already begun to take advantage of their new field. Last week, the team officially made the transition to their new field. In previous weeks, they had been holding optional captain’s practices on their old field (Royce), which Robert Morris ’17 believes illustrated why the new facility was necessary. Morris says that while the team “will miss Royce,” they are excited to have “a beautiful new space to play.”
Royce’s left field had been shortened due to construction, which made aspects of the captain’s practices difficult, but the new field was not only perfectly proportioned but also fit for play in all types of weather. Morris describes the disappointment felt by the team in previous years after playing two weeks of outdoor baseball in Florida, only to return to campus and be relegated to the indoor field house due to poor conditions. With the new astroturf, the grounds crew will be able to clear the field for the beginning of the season to ensure that the team can play outdoors right away. While the team prefers the “natural” feel of playing on natural grass, Morris says they believe the benefits of the turf outweigh any nostalgic sentiments.
Morris says that the team’s practices have been rigorous but constructive. For a season that is over five months away, the preliminary work is certainly impressive. Morris says the captain’s practices are “drill based where fielders get fielding repetitions at their positions, [then] hitters take batting practice, and pitchers throw bullpens with an occasional live pitching session where our pitchers throw in a game like scenario to our batters.” Individual team members are also taking part in a lifting program around three times a week.
The team’s motivations for such rigorous practices are clear. After a strong 16-14 season last year, they have a great opportunity to build upon their already solid base and achieve further success. Morris says the team’s goal is “to make the NESCAC playoffs,” an objective they “have never felt closer to accomplishing in my four years [on the team.]”
Leading the way will be Ryan Wolfsburg ’17, the team’s all-star outfielder who dominated virtually every offensive statistical category last season. Besides an eye-popping .418/ .500/ .645 slash line in a team-high 110 at-bats, he led the team in runs, hits and doubles, en route to being named to the NESCAC All-Conference team, second-team DIII New England All-Stars, and the third-team All-Region squad. His offensive firepower will be supplemented on defense by pitcher Spencer Vogelbach ’18, who Morris says “is projected to be our ace this year.”
Due to NESCAC rules, baseball head coach Timothy Byrnes and softball head coach Patricia Cipicchio have only been involved with their respective teams in a limited capacity, but both express excitement for the coming season and the new fields. Cipicchio says she is “looking forward to the balance among the class years this season will bring,” while also recognizing the importance of the team’s “trio of seniors,” Assimakopoulos, Hannah Staab ’17 and Becca Butler ’17.
Byrnes says that while his experience with the team has been limited to overseeing the first few practices on the new field to ensure it was being used properly, he has an idea of what he “hope[s] to expect from our returners [and] what to expect from those athletes that we recruited.” Until he can begin working with the team in February, he says he “won’t truly have a grasp on who is going to have an impact on our 2017 season.” However, he points to Kenny Collins ’17, Brett Mele ’17 and Danny DePaoli ’18 as team leaders he trusts to guide the team through fall practices.
Thanks to the excitement of a new field and an upcoming season full of promise, the baseball and softball teams have hit the ground running in their preparations for spring. The new facility’s increased accessibility and versatility in unpredictable weather is sure to boost performance and allow both teams to get the most out of their season. We’re many months away from the first pitch, but they already can’t wait.