April 10, 2014
The Continental baseball team has met great success thus far this season, with an impressive record of 7-4. However the squad is not settling, and the players are looking to become even more consistent and successful in their upcoming games in the NESCAC conference.
Based on the program’s history, the team performed above expectations while in Florida, but the teammates believe they could have done better.
Pitcher Tommy Moriarty ’14 commented, “I think our consistency thus far has been less than stellar. We’re capable of excellence, but the disparity between the Continental team that shows up on our good days and the Continental team that shows up on our bad days has been significant. I think if we can learn to bring it every day, we’ll be a tough team to play.”
Many of players are proud with their accomplishments but know that the team can improve and has the potential to be a big threat in the NESCAC this season.
Pitcher and captain JJay Lane ’15 especially feels this is true. He commented, “This year we brought back most of our team and added important pieces in the freshman class. We expect to compete for the NESCAC playoffs and got off to a good start going 7-4 in Florida including a 2-1 win vs. Bowdoin.” The team had a successful season last year, and this year, with a young team, they are hoping to improve on their success.
The Continentals have six starting first-years and two starting sophomores, but rather than their youth deterring them, they feel like it will enable them to grow to new heights and to perform as a team that truly has the desire and the ability to have a superb season.
Lane said, “The most important thing we can do moving forward is to not let our youth be an excuse for immaturity and play like a composed unit. In order to find success we need to put nine players onto the field who are all devoted to the same goal and that is putting the team in a position to make the NESCAC playoffs.”
Coach Byrnes continued, “With such a young group, we are looking at this year as a year for them to gain valuable playing experience as well as a tremendous learning experience. We are very hopeful that this group will eventually be a playoff team and all of the playing experience they gain is invaluable…We really want the underclassmen to understand and embrace how to play with the ‘freedom to fail’ and not the fear of failure.”
In addition to the strong set of underclassmen, some vets have stood out in Florida. Outfielder Joe Jensen ’15 has been the offensive leader thus far. Jensen is the leadoff hitter and has a batting average of .465, with 11 runs, 8 stolen bases and a .547 on base percentage.
Additionally, infielder Ron Wolfsberg ’17 bats cleanup and has accrued a batting average of .324 to go along with a team-high nine RBIs. Lane is the ace pitcher with an ERA of 2.25 over 16 innings.
This past week the team was unable to take the field, so Coach Byrnes is hesitant to predict how this weekend’s games against Middlebury will go; nevertheless, he is confident in his team’s abilities and is happy with how the season is progressing thus far.
The Continentals will play seven of their next games at Royce Field, in what will be a crucial homestand, with a three-game series against Middlebury from April 11-12 and another series vs.
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