Back to Reality

After losing the third and final game of the series on Sunday, bringing us to a 1-2 record on the weekend, it was time to board the bus for a thirteen hour ride back to Poughkeepsie.  Before we actually started the long journey home, we made a brief stop at the Johnson City Wal-Mart to stock up on food and drinks.  This Wal-Mart stop has become a customary practice for the Marist ball squad.  Leaving the nice weather of the south is hard enough and to make matters worse, we found out that school was getting hit with a snow storm.  After traveling through the night, we arrived back on campus just after 6:30 a.m., just in time for 8:00 a.m. classes.  I can tell you from experience there is nothing quite like riding a bus for 13 hours only to attend four classes.  Balancing school and baseball during the season is always tough.  When we’re on the road we have to keep in constant contact with professors to find out what is happening in the classroom.  We do receive class excuse forms for the days we are traveling; however, we do not get excuse forms for assignments, so staying on top of things is crucial.

Being a pitcher is a very unique position; when you’re out on the mound everything is on you.  The other eight guys on the field count on you to get the other guys out as quick as possible.  As starting pitchers, we get one game every week to go out there and give our guys the best chance to win.  There is no better feeling than pitching well and giving your team a chance to win.  On the other hand, when you go out there and don't perform well enough to win, you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.  In either case, you itch for that next time you get your chance to compete.  Being a starting pitcher is tough in that you are constantly waiting for your next chance to help your team.  Position players have to wait, at most, three innings until they get another at bat.  A week can sometimes feel like an eternity when you are waiting for your next shot on the bump.

This week we will be heading down south again to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  We will play UNC-W on Friday, the University of West Virginia on Saturday, and Miami-Ohio on Sunday.  Looking ahead to these three very quality opponents, a good week of practice and preparation is key. 

Well, we need to get back to hammering out school work before practice.  We will check in later on in the week when we dig ourselves out of the snow back here in Poughkeepsie.