Shameless Propaganda
A relaxing week off, but what to write about? So much went on. Brian Dennehey's portrayal of the General perhaps? No, he did capture Bobby Knight's fiery temper and excessive profanity (kudos to ESPN for dropping the F-bomb) but he failed to equal Knights charisma and genius. How about the NCAA tournament? Lots of upsets, and yes, I did pick Creighton, but I am taking it in the teeth in my pool and don't have the heart to write about it. So why not take the time to use my soapbox to plug the one thing I saw first hand over spring break... the WC baseball team.
The week could be summed up in two words: "best ever." After a tough loss to a large and suspiciously older Bridgewater State team, who I think are the posterboys for steroid use, the Shoremen pulled it back together to win five of their next six games, with a tie to Virginia-Wise. Now a tie in baseball, I mean come on, are you serious? What is this the NHL? It may be like kissing your sister, but it means that the WC ballers are on a six game undefeated streak. Coach Al "Streel-dog" Streelman said it best, "5-1-1, that is the best Florida trip I have ever seen." A great spring trip, what is the cause? What makes the 2002 Shoremen Baseball team tick? Well let's see.
Factor A: The Defense. Last season the Shoremen led all of Division III in fielding percentage. The WC fielding was a little shaky before the trip to Cocoa, but as the week went on it just got stronger. The Shoremen "D" is lead by Scott "Scooter" Gartlan at shortstop, Matt "Kevin stole my column" Wolfe as the 2-bagger and Mike "My spikes give me 2 inches" Scozzafava. These veterans are mainstays in the field and will only raise the level of play around them.
Factor B: The Offense. Like in past years, this year the offense was slightly lacking in the earlier games. However, the Shoremen found some hot bats in the hot weather of Florida. Led by the free-swinging catcher Dan "I hit walk off homers like it is my job" Evans, Sean "Tell me what that smells like" Foley, and new comer Adam "Socrates" Golding, the Shoremen unleashed on their competitors. With the timely hitting by Eddie "Is that a spider... Ahhhh" Mangold and heads up base running by Jim "Bizarro" Barossi, WC outscored others, 43-27, in Cocoa. If this type of run support keeps up and I might get a chance to play!
Factor C: The Pitching. This is the key for the success of the club. Last year the staff was shorthanded with only four full time pitchers and the relief work done by position players. This year, the program sees 12 new arms hurling away, seven of which are first year players. The Shoremen pitchers fought back after some tough early losses and brought their A-game to the Cocoa Expo. Strong performances from Fred "Tore up from the Floor Up" Chalmers, Tom "The Iron Sheik" Palazzo, Dave "Peaches 'n' Cream" Davis, and the ever dominant John "The Judge" Marshall propelled the team to victory in Florida. The way things are shaping up, this team has a realistic shot of going a long way this year and a definite shot in the future.
X- Factor: This is hard to pinpoint. Is it the warmth of Florida? Is it the wonderful food from Chef Matt? Is it Coach Sandebeck's severe case of dunlap disease? Is it the girls from Lido's? Hardly. Factor X is the bench. And it is not just having good players off the bench like Marco "Mach II" Muscella or Jim "Kamikaze" McEvoy. The bench has to be into the game. They have to keep the rest of the team up if there is a rough inning. I can say without a doubt that the Shoremen bench is the strongest in the Centennial Conference and maybe in all of Division III.
Combine all four factors and WC baseball will be around for quite a long time this year, which has us begging the question, "Who the heck is Edwards anyway?!"
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