March 3, 2008

Adam Genn

As a freshman last year, I watched with reverence towards the ten seniors who led our team to the College World Series and the best record in school history.  Two days after the season ended, we said our goodbyes and went home for the summer.  On my drive home, I couldn't help but think of the faces I would see again in the fall, and those I would not.  I couldn't imagine a better group of guys to play ball with than those with whom I had shared the previous year.
           
This year, we have four seniors at the helm who hope to accomplish the only thing last years team did not: win a national championship.  Just like last year, we worked hard in the fall and formed our new squad.  Just like last year, we lifted and conditioned hard in the winter.  And just like last year, we came together after winter break to begin final preparations for the season.
           
Our opening weekend split with Millsaps College mirrored last season, as did wins over Greensboro and York leading to a Rawlings Southern Classic Championship, our third in as many years.  After six games at Chappell Park, we left the familiarity of home for a three game set on the road against Maryville and Huntingdon.  Our first campaign away from Emory proved as successful as we could have hoped for; 3-0 with a weekend sweep over Huntingdon College-the only team to beat us twice last year, the only team to beat us at home last year, a team we had not beaten since 2005.  

As the season goes on, our team continues to define itself.  This year we have twelve freshmen, ten sophomores, two juniors, and four seniors; a young team.  But just as we learned from the seniors last year, so to do we learn from this year's leaders.  It is important to know that this team is not the team from last year, but our goals are just as lofty.  We now have only one task left incomplete.

Currently we sit at 7-2 with a full week in which we face off against LaGrange, Oglethorpe, and UAA competitor Case Western.  Looking forward, we have UAAs coming up next week, a huge opportunity for us to take one step towards our ultimate goal of gold and mahogany.  We look forward to the heat and familiarity of the Altamonte Springs Holiday Inn, the "Why Not" Bar and Grille, endless games of Yahtzee by the pool, and of course, good baseball.  Joining us at UAAs are most of the team parents which of course means food not made by Emory Dining Services.

Going into this week and our conference championships leads us to "what to watch for" (stolen completely from ESPN).  Freshmen Elliot Coor and Matt Ryckman will take the mound for the Eagles in the coming weeks and will look to improve on their combined five wins in as many starts.  On the offensive side of the spectrum, look for our offense to continue on its current hot streak.  After a slow start in the first three games, our team batting average has gone from .151 to .311 in the following six.  Our hot bats have been lead by the senior trio of Frank Pfister, Joe Roth, and Dave Hissey who are batting .462, .483, and .432 respectively.  The three seniors have combined to drive in 35 runs, over 50% of our offensive production.  Other big contributors are freshmen Sam Schrieber (.350) and sophomore Dan Molnar (.314, 6 RBIs).

All those statistics aside, baseball is a team sport and our team will continue to work hard and support each other. We hope to get on a roll this week and take it to Florida for UAAs. Until then, see you on the field here in Atlanta and in Sanford, FL.

March 18, 2008

Adam Genn

Most sports fans will tell you, including many members of our team, the past week was one of great importance to the NCAA.  Conference titles were on the line, and while we played six games against our UAA competitors, the eyes of the nation rested on the SEC and the Cinderella Georgia Bulldogs, the ACC, the Big East, and the other division one-powerhouse conferences to see who would make it to the big dance. 

Under the lights at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, we too were fighting for a conference title.  With a 3-0 start winning against Washington University on Tuesday, Brandeis on Wednesday, and University of Rochester on Thursday, we were pumping on all cylinders.  The second contest against Wash U started as a pitchers duel, but in the top of the fifth, the Bears put up five runs.  We quickly answered in the bottom of the sixth inning with five runs of our own.  Unfortunately, the bears put up single runs in the remaining three innings to take an 8-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, and as those who follow this team know, we fight until the end, and on that overcast Friday in Sanford that is exactly what we did. 

We scored two runs off Wash U errors, then with two outs, Steve Bralver came to the plate with Frank Pfister on second and Dave Hissey on third.  Bralver's at bat in that game was reminiscent of the entire day: he fought until the very end, launching a ball to deep center field eliciting cries from the bench and stands.  The outfielder ran back to the wall and with only one foot left on the warning track, caught the fly ball to end the game.

On Saturday we played a double header against Brandeis and Case Western.  We ended up splitting the games and tying for first in the UAA with Brandeis.  While we did not win outright, we have now won the UAA championship three years in a row, and there is little better than an eight-hour bus ride home with a conference title.

Over the week there were many great performances by pitchers and hitters alike.  Matt Ryckman started against Washington University on Tuesday and Case Western on Saturday, earning wins in both games and throwing eleven innings while striking out fourteen.  On the mound, freshmen Patrick Sandman earned his first win in his first collegiate appearance, Brian Cournoyer and Charlie Robbins both recorded saves, we saw a very gutsy performance by Matt Katten, and J.B. Meyer make his first appearance for the eagles.

On the offensive side, we scored 52 runs in six games, with seventeen of them coming on Saturday.  We saw clutch hits from nearly everyone on the team including home runs by Frank Pfister (5), Joe Roth(2), Steve Bralver (4), Dan Molnar (1), and two freshmen bombs by Andrew Cohn and Jeremy Bolian, the first of their careers. 

In tournament play such as last week, a team can only be successful if every member contributes.  Last week, every player on our team had an impact and we fought as a team from the bench and the bullpen, to the field.  The support of our friends and family at the tournament did not go unnoticed.  Parents did a great job supplying us with food and their support, and alumni such as Tim Cournoyer and Dave Murchison made appearances to cheer us on.  Your support is greatly appreciated by the whole team.

As you fill out your brackets for the NCAA tournament this week, don't forget we will be squaring off against Purchase, Centre, and a two game set against a tough Rhodes team over the weekend.  Until next time, see you on the field.

April 1, 2008

Adam Genn

For those of you who doubt that Global Warming exists and were not convinced by Al Gore and his complicated graphs and riveting presentations, believe me when I tell you it is real.  In the past weeks we have played in 80-degree sun, freezing rain, and everything in between, including snowflakes falling on the Emory campus last week.  During these weeks we have played seven games with a record of 5-1-1.

In our first week back from the UAA Championship Tournament, we had a three game home stand against Purchase and Rhodes.  Against Purchase, our offense was led by the bats of David Hissey (3-4) and Michael Saleh (4-5).  Our team suffered a scare when Elliot Coor got in a fight with a line drive - he won, but the fight left him with a broken jaw and a few missing teeth.  As a tribute to his character, after leaving the game in the second inning, Elliot came back for the end of the game to be with the team and do see how we had done.

Over the weekend we split with a good Rhodes team led by two all American pitchers.  Our team was led by the stellar performance of freshmen pitcher Charlie Robbins who threw a seven-inning gem leading us to a 10-1 win.  The offense started early and never looked back, putting up two runs in the first two innings, and eight in those to follow.  We were lucky to have quite a turnout for both games, and it was great to have so many parents supporting us at Chappell Park over Easter weekend.

We continued our offensive onslaught on Tuesday at LaGrange, where Dan Molnar went 4-4 with a walk, Joe Roth went 3-3 with a walk and 4 RBIs, Dave Hissey was 2-5 with 2 RBIs, and Tommy Dugan was 2-4 with 3 RBIs.  Altogether, we put up fifteen hits and scored eleven runs against a good south region team.

Wednesday against Depauw, freshmen Andrew Johnson took the mound for his first start as an Eagle and had a very strong five-inning, one earned run effort against a good hitting team.  Our defense was on point on Wednesday, making plays behind Johnson who threw ground ball after ground ball.  The big story of the day, however, was Frank Pfister's 200th and 201st career hits.  Frank is currently one hit behind Bryan Langbord ('06) for sixth all time in career hits.

This past weekend we traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina to face off against a very good South Region team in Methodist University.  We stopped at a sports restaurant on the way called "The Swamp" to watch some of the elite eight, and got to the hotel with plenty of time to relax and watch the end of the later games.  The weekend proved to be a test of our will, and we played like it was a regional-type atmosphere.  We fought through cold, wind, and rain and left 1-0-1.  Saturday's 7-6 win was big, and our comeback from a six run deficit the next day, and scoring a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 8 was even bigger.  Unfortunately, due to rain, cold, and a soggy field, the game was called in the top of the eleventh inning.  The tie on Sunday left something to be desired - some sort of conclusion to our efforts.

This week we play five games, Oglethorpe on Tuesday, Sewanee on Wednesday, and a three game set with Piedmont over the weekend.  We will continue to play with the urgency that comes with a regional atmosphere, and with the end of the season rapidly approaching, we will push through the finish line with the same conviction and force with which we have fought all season.