Baseball Both Hot and Cold in Florida

Author: Neil Onsdorf

Florida — the land of white shoes and early bird specials. Yet, while in the Sunshine State over Spring Break, the members of the Middlebury College baseball team had their first chance of outdoor competitive action so far this season. Returning north with a three win and six loss record could seem disastrous for a team looking to have a breakout year. Yet, records can be deceiving, as testament to last year's team that succeeded in Florida and finished the season much like the last scene in a teenage horror movie — disastrously.

This year's squad "Played really well when they were on," says Coach Bob Smith, "but in contrast, played really poorly when they were off." Fortunately, after the team adjusted to playing outdoors for the first time all season and was able to get valuable on-field experience, some of the potential could be seen. After regrouping from the shelling received at the hands of some teams that had the advantage of already playing ten games, Middlebury was able to get a solid win over New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foe Colby 9-5.

Middlebury carried the sweet taste of its first win into a tough three game stretch over perennial powerhouse Williams College. Looking dominant behind the leadership and clutch hitting of a much improved, angry and sun burnt Denver Smith '03, who collected 17 runs batted in (RBI) during the week, the Panthers were able to mount a 9-1 lead. Unfortunately, Middlebury may have gotten a little too excited at the prospect of beating Williams for the first time in at least four years and let the Ephs climb back to win the game 12-11. "It was a growing experience for our team early in the season," said co-captain Jon Downs '02. "Don't get me wrong I would have loved us to win the game, but for our team to be successful, we cannot blow big leads, and we need to win the close games."

It did not take long for the Panthers to get the Williams monkey off their back. The following day team ace Tyler Conrad '02 was able to pitch a two-hit gem as Middlebury went on to crush Williams 9-0. Co-captain Brian Hamm '02 said, "Everything clicked that day. We were able to feed off the pitching early and the hitting throughout the game by the likes of Craig Hanson '03 and Dan Colonno '02. It was great to see what this team can do when the potential of its talent is reached."

As the weekend came to a close, the team ran out of gas and so did its chances of taking two out of three games from Williams — a platoon of Middlebury pitchers yielded 21 runs. Overall, Coach Smith was pleased with the play of his team in Florida. "Our hitting was solid the majority of the time, and if we can get our young pitchers to mature quickly during the week and keep our veterans playing well during the weekend games, it looks as if we are going to have a great season."

Although Middlebury only took one from the Ephs, it was a huge win for the Panthers who are going to live and die by their games against Williams and other in-conference games this year. Coveted playoff spots only go to the top two teams in NESCAC.

Middlebury, with some big game experience, and its arms hopefully reaching "Midd-Season" form, should be able to play well in the up coming weeks. Look for young and upcoming stars, such as Gil Kim '05 and Russell Budnick '05 to continue to shine for Middlebury at home on Wednesday as the team takes on in-state rival Saint Michaels. With one of the league's most talented offensive first baseman, John Prescott '03, (who set the single season hit record last year) slowly hitting his stride, look for a Panther explosion this weekend at home when the team takes the field against the Lord Jeffs of Amherst.