Chad throwing a complete game shutout against Niagara this past weekend

Hello once again to everyone! We have been quite busy over the past couple weeks with games almost every day and working towards a strong finish before graduation.  After a tough start to conference play we have worked our way back to .500 standing at 9-9.  With two crucial series to go we will have to play well in order to make the conference tournament where the top 4 teams play for a spot in the NCAA tournament.  We host Iona in our last home conference weekend before the final series of the year at Siena.

We have enjoyed writing all semester on the blog and hope to continue it through the rest of the season.  We appreciate all the feedback that has come with it and thank everyone for tuning in.  We will keep everyone posted on game results and how the rest of the year goes, in the mean time you can visit www.goredfoxes.com for more updates about the red foxes!

Thanks again, Hope you all enjoyed!

Kyle Pitching in the 6th annual Hudson Valley Classic

Life Behind Baseball

For the first time in 2011, we were on the wrong end of a weekend series sweep.  This time it was at the hands of conference rival, Rider University.  The Bronc’s out-played us in all three games to earn a crucial sweep early in the MAAC season; the three losses put us below .500 in league play.  It is crucial to have a good week of preparation going into 9-0 Manhattan next week.   Nevertheless, we wanted to feature the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center as this week’s story.

To come in a freshman and play a Division I sport and take a full class load requires exceptional time management skills.  Oftentimes, student-athletes struggle with this skill. We had to complete a minimum of six hours per-week of studying in addition to doing work in the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center.  This is what we refer to as study hall. Located in the main athletic building, the center provides 19 computers with access to research databases, as well as word processing programs.  Student-Athletes also have access to a group-study conference room, and an individual tutorial room in which to study.  After spending many of hours in study hall we have both become close with the center’s director, Alyssa Gates.  

Marist Student-Athletes at work in the Enhancement Center

Working with Alyssa is Assistant Director, Cammie Jones, and intern Matt Francis.  The goal of the Student-Athlete Enhancement staff is to help to ensure that student-athletes successfully balance their commitment of academics and athletics.  The staff and enhancement center provide student-athletes with academic support through various means. Academic advisors, tutors, and other study facilities all help provide the student-athlete with a means to be successful in the classroom as well as prepare them for life after college. Alyssa and her staff have done so much not only for the two of us, but the rest of Marist student-athletes. We cannot thank them enough.

We will be checking in later on in the week with a video interview with senior RHP Brendan Chapin.  Stay tuned!

Baseball in Buffalo

Sophmore SS Zach Shank led the offense this weekend in Buffalo collecting 8 Hits

Let us just tell you first hand Buffalo is not the ideal place to play baseball in early April.  However, there were conference games on the schedule and we were determined to win them no matter how cold it was.  After dropping the first game of the series we rebounded scoring double digit runs in game 2.  Sunday our bullpen was able to piece it together in the end and it was another game 3 win for the Red Foxes.   It was a good series win for us leaving the weekend 4-2 in conference and 19-6 overall.  

This week we head to Bucknell on Tuesday before hosting Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon.  Mid week games allow for pitchers like us to stay back on campus and attend class.  Since neither of us is scheduled to pitch our coach will let us stay back and catch up on any school work were behind on.  Through the grueling schedule of spring, 54 games and taking a full class load things can become very busy.  Staying home for mid week games like Bucknell can be very helpful in continuing academic success.  

We continue our MAAC schedule this weekend as Rider will come to town.  Rider, the defending MAAC champions will be a tough test, one we will be ready for.  The three game set will begin at noon on Saturday.  Thank you all for continuing to follow.  We will have another video by next week checking in with one of the ball foxes.

Conference Play: The Real Season

After starting the early part of our season with a solid 14-3 record, we returned from our spring break trip with an extreme amount of confidence. Starting off the season winning fourteen out of seventeen games on the road is uncommon for many northeast programs. In fact, this ball club was able to put together one of the best starts in program history and capture what is believed to be the first ever vote in the AP Coaches Top 25 Poll. Despite all of the notoriety, it was time to get to work for the “real season”, the opening weekend of conference play. Starting conference games is like starting a new season; one can feel the excitement in the air at practice and in the locker room.

In the conference opener we hosted the Stags of Fairfield University. Having the opportunity to open the conference season at home brings a lot of nerves and excitement for everyone involved. Showing up to the field on Saturday morning, walking in to the locker room and getting to put on the home uniform makes one realize it is all coming together. All of the work preparing for the begging of the season and traveling fourteen hours on a bus to play non-conference games is worth it when we finally got to step on our home field for the first time, and compete for a conference championship.

Winning two of three games against Fairfield made for a successful opening series; yet, somehow it was not gratifying for us. This coming weekend we will head to Buffalo for a three game series against one of our conference rivals, the Canisius Golden Griffs. Prior to leaving for Canisius, we split two weekday games, losing one at Bryant University and winning one at Hofstra University, putting our record at 17-5 before the weekend. 

Life of a Big Leaguer: Tony Sanchez

Pirates Catcher Tony Sanchez

The Marist baseball team has put itself in great position heading into conference play this upcoming weekend after going 8-0 during the spring break trip.  Baseball was the only concern and top priority during the trip since we were without classes and schoolwork.  As a result, I (Chad), was able to catch up with an old friend who is currently fighting for a spot in the Major Leagues.  Tony Sanchez, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is preparing for another successful season in pro baseball.  Tony attended Boston College through his junior year, after which he was drafted fourth overall by the Pirates.  Tony recently informed me that he was a fan of the blog so I asked him to write about his experience in baseball starting from his younger days all the way to what he has become today.  Here is what Tony had to say:

Throughout my years of playing baseball at the high school and college level, my sole dream was to get drafted into Professional Baseball. That was the goal, the only goal; do whatever needed to be done to get drafted. Whether it be extra sets in the gym, extra swings in batting practice or just a few more blocks during catching lessons. I had my sights set on one thing and one thing only, professional baseball. Ever since I made varsity my sophomore year of high school as the starting catcher, I knew I had the potential to turn baseball into a career. Little did I know that the “Pro” life is neither as easy or as glamorous as I dreamt it to be.

After I finished my senior year of high school and began my journey at Boston College, I can remember how excited I was to receive a scholarship at such a prestigious university and have the opportunity to play everyday in the gauntlet conference you know as the ACC. Playing against, and at venues such as Miami, Florida State (schools that passed on yours truly), North Carolina, Clemson, and NC State, it was always easy to stay focused on doing whatever needed to be done to win the game. We faced the some of the best teams in the country and I got the chance and experience of hitting off some college arms that could have easily had success in the pros. If it wasn’t for playing in the ACC, I would not of been as polished of a hitter or a catcher and probably would not of had as much success as I did when I first got into pro baseball.

For me Personally, the hardest part of going from college to the pros, or I should say the “minors”, was the fact that minor league ball is an everyday GRIND, one maybe two off days a month, long bus trips, sub par hotels and 100 fans in the stands, not the image I had dreamed about when I was an amateur.

Tony was the 4th Overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft

While I was at BC, I was going to war with my brothers every game. We spent 24 hours a day together, living together, going to class together, lifting and practicing together, all because we had one common goal, to win. When I first got to the minors, I still had that college mentality that everyone pulled for one another and everyone wanted to win every game. I still had the sense that the team I was going to be playing for was a family and guys would take bullets for one another. Unfortunately, I was mistaken and what I learned fairly quickly was that the minors was all about developing players. Its a dog eat dog world and its a business, everyone is out there taking care of their own business and worried about themselves because we all want to make it to the next level. Now, I’m not saying that guys are rooting against each other or hoping for others to fail, but my first realization of minor league ball was that everyone is on their own agenda. Yea people wanted to win games, because lets face it, losing sucks. But winning isn’t at the top of the list of priorities.

As I log more and more games and practices with my fellow professionals and guys that play on the Pirates with me, I get the sense that we are becoming closer and closer everyday. I for one am always working harder for my pitchers behind the plate then I am for myself when I’m at the plate, and they notice. We all have each others backs and we all want each other to do well, but if me and another guy are battling it out at a certain position, you better believe I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m in the lineup every night.

Tony working an at-bat against Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay last week

Washington D.C

2011 Marist Baseball Team in D.C

After coming off a nice two game sweep of the Towson Tigers we arrived in Vienna, Virginia last night to get ready for our weekend series with George Washington.  Today our team spent the day in our nation's capital.  We walked around the Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the White House.  Many of us have been to these sites before but some guys had not, either way it was a great experience for all.

Guarding the tomb of the unknown soldiers

One of the coolest things we got to do was see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inside the Cemetery.  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937.  No matter what the weather, there is always a guard patrolling the area around the tomb. It is considered one of the highest honors in the Army to guard the tomb.

Kyle, Rick Pacione, Chad (L to R)

After leaving the Arlington National Cemetery we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.  After taking some pictures of honest Abe a few of us walked over toward the White House to see what that was all about.  It was pretty cool actually seeing the White House in person and all the security and activity around it.  After grabbing some food downtown we got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel.

Burial Site of JFK

We will start our series with George Washington tomorrow at 3 p.m.  We will play a single game on Saturday and Sunday before heading back to Poughkeepsie to conclude our Spring Break Trip.  We Will check back in early next week when we are back at Marist.

Spring Break: Dover, Delaware

The front of the Speedway

While most students boarded planes off to exotic places for spring break we were once again boarding a bus for an early morning trip, to Dover, Delaware.  The Hornets of Delaware State hosted us for the weekend and it was another good weekend for our ball club.  We played well enough to earn another sweep bringing out winning streak to six games now.  However, some of the most exciting events took place off the field in Dover…

Bryce Nugent, Ben Luderer, Eric Helmrich, and I (Chad) took off from the hotel Saturday night in search of a good dinner spot.  Right down the street from our hotel was the Dover International Speedway.  I swear you could see the stands for this place from miles away.  It was unlike any professional baseball or football stadium I have ever seen.  So, the four of us decided to take a stroll around the track to see if we could get a glimpse inside the 250,000 seat stadium.  We came across a security guard who was of no help to us, so we kept walking.   As we kept going we found ourselves getting closer and closer to the actual track. As it turned out we walked through a gate, which someone must have left open knowing we were coming, and there we were right in the middle of the track.  It was quite an experience.  The stands seemed like they never ended, and the fact that cars drive over 200 miles per hour right where we stood, was a little spooky.  After venturing around the track for a few minutes we made our way out and enjoyed a nice dinner from Chipotle, laughing about what we had just done.  

Dover International Speedway- Home of the Monster Mile

We arrived last night in Towson, Maryland for a 2-game mid-week set with Towson Tigers on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.  We will be checking in frequently this week with some good stories we are working on so stay tuned.