Catching Up

I've spent a good portion of the last week-and-a-half trying to negotiate schedule changes and look for places to play. The weather has been taking up a lot of our time.

We had a nice 6-2 win over Brockport at Houghton.

The trip down there was a mess. We ended up on a muddy dirt road and were fortunate not to get stuck. I would recomend NOT taking Route 39 from Fredonia to Houghton.

We played Brockport tough and executed about as well as we could. We played errorless defense, and converted 4 for 4 on third base and one out situations. Pretty much any situation that came up offensively, we executed. We need to do that in rivalry/SUNYAC games. We do need to cut down on walks, though. We issued six or seven in the nine innings.

On the other hand, Sturm, T-Mo, Joey Tingue and Kyle Grey pitched effectively. The same format worked for us against a solid Bradford team on Sunday.

T-Mo started and gave us three strong. Carl Wolf, Tingue, Joe Korszun and Cody Herman also contributued short, effective outings. We did not execute as well offensively -- gave away 4 third and one situations. However, the bats came through with three in the ninth and got us the win.

I'd like to give a shout out to Alex Foster, Class of 2012. Alex emailed me today and is planning to get involved in the Big Brothers program in Buffalo. Alex is a bright guy -- graduated in 3 1/2 years from Fredonia. He intends to work with young people and let them know to "run with the wise".

Wrapping up FLA... nothing else to do

I wanted to add a few thoughts regarding our Florida trip. It's still below freezing up here and we're back in Steele Hall.

Bright spots from our trip:
- We beat three New York region teams -- Skidmore, St. Lawrence and St. Joe's. We also beat Plattsburgh, but only one of three, so we won't count that. We are looking forward to making up some conference wins soon. Right now we are 4-2 in the N.Y. Region.

- We played excellent competition, and saw No. 1 pitchers from Haverford (a pre-season All Americam), St. Joe's, Knox, Salve Regina and McDaniel. We saw another solid arm in the big 6'5'' righty from No. 3 ranked Johns Hopkins, but we left a lot on the table that game. Good competition to prepare us for the competitive SUNYAC.

- All of our pitchers got in multiple appearances. We need to see who we can rely on with a number of new arms. Best game so far was when freshmen Cody Herman and Jason Weyman combined for nine innings of relief in a 13-inning victory over a pretty good McDanile team. The game ended just before midnight. Fun game to be a part of.

- We were 22 of 23 in stolen bases after not swiping too many last spring. Let's get back to being the Runnin' Blue Devils.

Today at practice, we talked about the areas we need to improve in. If anybody sees Thurston Rockmore, tell him I have his belt. I took it back in '96.

I'd like to give a shout out to Koty Leeper. Koty made the modified team at Dunkirk and they have him working out as a catcher. He's come a long way in the five years he's hung around. Tomorrow, we're heading to Olympia to get him some new catcher's gear.

Split with Cards

Today we split with Plattsburgh in the opening SUNYAC series. Game 2 saw Sturm toss a nice game. Seven shutout innings. Lars threw a CG in Game 1, so we got a lot out of our starters. That will hep set us up stronger on the mound for Game 3. A late-afternoon 4:00 start.

The key for the Cards in Game 1 was four double plays. We had a few hard hit balls, but they were right at the Cardinal fielders. They played solid defense and kept us from mounting a rally. We had a few other scoring opportunities and need to get away from easy fly-ball outs.

Game 2 saw us jump out early and get two runs in each of the first two innings, and chase the Plattsburgh starter. Any time we can get into the bullpen early, that's a positive. Their Game 1 starter went 8 2/3 before we got him out.

It was good to see Ciro start to swing a good bat -- four hits. Ryan Carmody has gotten a lot of action due to injuries, and came up with a big triple and another RBI hit.

Today's W went to Matt Tobias. 'Spider' entered the game as a defensive replacement. He gunned down a runner at third base. He also reached base twice. Until three days ago, he was just a pitcher. He said it felt good to be home. He played outfield in his two seasons at JCC, so he's no slouch.

Close loss, but ready for the Cardinals

We dropped a close one today. We had our chances. Three times we had third base and one out and did not push one across. We had 11 hits, but need to be more timely.

Joey Tingue and Tommy Morris threw well out of the pen. Scoreless four innings. Scott Schuster has continued to shopw he a baseball player -- a lot of clutch at bats and heads up plays. Freshman Mike Prentice got his second start in two days and added two more hits. Good to see him take advantage of his opportunity.

We are at Greenwell's tonight -- putt putt, go carts and the arcade. A little mental break from the game, plus a day off tomorrow. Three games coming up against conference rival Plattsburgh. Always a good game when we play the Cardinals.

I'd like to give a shout out to last year's intern, Jordan Doolittle. He's been following our progress and looking forward to someday lighting up a victory cigar.

Midnight baseball

I didn't have a chance for any updates last night due to our late-ending game. We had a 13-inning thriller vs. McDaniel. We were up 5-3 in the ninth, before McDaniel tied the game with a pair of runs. Four innings later, McDaniel scored a run to take the lead.

Conner Lorenzo finally ended the game with a bases loaded single to score a pair.

It was one of the funnest games we've been a part of in a while. In the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th innings, McDaniel got runners on and constantly threatened to score. Freshman Jason Weyman held the rope and refused to let them score. A lot of emotion in every inning. We had as much fun pulling for the fiery freshman as we did competing.

In the 13th, a couple of nasty hops courtesy of Connie Mack field put a pair of runners on with two out. Weyman sawed off the next hitter, but the ball blooped just over Casilios head and out of Conner's reach.

But -- like we did all of last year -- we came back to take a win off the table. After Conner's game-winner, the entire team mobbed him. Quite a scene.

Weyman and Cody Herman got the W for the day. Cody had gone four scoreless before giving up a pair in the ninth. He handed the ball to his former HS teammate for the win. Herman was speechless and had nothing to say after the game. Weyman thanked his defense.

We had to settle for McDonald's in the WalMart after the game. Not much open after midnight on a Sunday.

Game 1 also saw some significant highlights. Nate Lester and Ben Senior, who both are coming off Tommy John surgery, went the first eight innings. Good to see them bounce back after missing out on last season.

We also moved to 3-0 in the New York region after beating St. Joe's.

Monday was a tough day. We ran into a couple of pretty good arms from Johns Hopkins and didn't get much going. Freshman Mike Prentice did get two hits and lined out sharply in his other at bat.

Next up is Knox College, a day off, then the Plattsburgh series. Looking forward to that.

Missed opportunities

We fell to Haverford, 4-3, today. We had four or five opportunites with runners at third and less than two outs that we did not convert. We can't do that and beat a quality team like Haverford.

We did get a 13 strikeout performance from our pitchers, Tommy Morris and Joey Tingue, and contiued to have solid defense.

Haverford's pitcher was a pre-season All American. We were able to work the count, get a handful of hits and muster some walks to get him out after four innings with a pitch-count over 100. Good to see quality pitching down here.

Today's W went to Joey Tingue. He went threw 2 1/3 perfect innings and got us out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.

Tommorrow is St. Joe's at 4 p.m. and McDaniel after that.

Pair of NY Region wins

Friday saw us take a couple wins against Skidmore and St. Lawrence. Lars was rock solid in game one. Eight strong. In the eight, after loading the bases with no out, he bore down and struck out the next two. He had the next batter 0-2, before an error extended the inning.

We broke out for 13 hits. Next game we ripped 17. Bobby Frantz had six hits in the DH, and got robbed of another.  A lot of hard-hit outs, too.

Played solid D. With Krohl taking the day off, freshman Ciro Fronatel stepped in at 2B abd made some nice plays. Ryan Cramody earned a couple of starts, and had two RBI in game 1 and two hits in game2.

Kyle Grey -- a late arrival late last night due to the storm -- threw three scoreless in relief.

We also had five doubles into the wind at the stadium. The batters are gaining confidence.

We finished the day at Bellacino's. Gary gave us a nice discount and we did not go away hungry.

Looking forward to Haverford tomorrow. Good chance we'll see their pre-season All American pitcher. Gametime is an early 9 a.m.

Opening Day in the books

We dropped a pair of sloppy games today. A lot of walks put us in the hole. We used seven pitchers on the day. At least a handful of guys got on the mound, including both freshmen pitchers -- Herman and Weyman.

Senior Nate Lester finally got a taste of action. After missing his junior season, it was great to see him out on the mound. He's worked very hard to get where he's at. Big addition to the staff.

Defensively we were sound. I think one error in two games.  Offensively, it is always a challenge early. We expect to see some solid pitching the whole trip, but we need a few more hits.

Captains Kos and Conner combined for five solid hits. Game 1, we saw very little to hit. The SRU senior lefty worked both sides of the plate and changed speeds, but that is what we'll see from the SUNYAC aces.

Lars and Sturm are on the mound v. Skidmore and SLU on Friday. hoping for a good show vs. a couplle of N.Y. teams.

A shout out to Huggy who worked a 20 hour shift, then stayed up to watch the webcast. Miss the Big Guy.

Barely made it!

With our flight out of Buffalo canceled due to the winter storm, we had to scramble like crazy, but made it to Florida. The lacrosse team's flight was also canceled, so we were able to share a crowded bus to Pittsburgh and take off from the Steel City to avoid the major catastrophe going on in Buffalo.

The team was split into five separate flights, ranging from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. departures, but we got in -- with the exception of coach Bowman and a couple others. They are scheduled to arrive just before midnight on Thursday.

We are back at the famous VPI hotel, which boasts new mattresses and new chairs according to the manager, Jerry. Quite frankly, I can't tell.

Our change of plans got us in a little earlier than expected, and some players were able to get in a round of BP in the early afternoon.

We open against Salve Regina with a doubleheader Thursday. Check back here daily for wrap ups and further insight on our trip.

I'd like to give a shout out to the Class of 2013. Several players responded to some texts. It's the first time in five years Jake Nowak hasn't been here. He really misses getting subs at Bellacino's.

Ian Gallagher stopped by last weekend for a team meal and announced the rooming lists. He says to remind the players to run everything out. Will do, IPG!

Getting to know Conner Lorenzo

Senior second basemen came by today for a few quick questions with Quinn Danahy.

In high school, Conner was a State Rep wrestler making him one of the best wrestlers of his weight class in the state. When asked why he chose to play collegiate baseball instead he told Quinn that it was his first love. And of course the Italian loves to eat.

When asked his favorite player, Conner was quick to say Bernie Williams. The four-time World Series champion played his entire 16 year career with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. Like Conner, Williams is multi-talented. The five-time MLB All-Star is also a classically trained guitarist who has released two jazz albums.

Finally, Quinn asked the famous “Deserted Island” question and Conner said he’d like to be stranded with transfer Ricky Mendiola. He told Quinn “Big Rick” would keep him warm.

We are live

Thursday saw six pitchers throw live. All six showed command of the fastball. We are going to have quite a battle for that No. 3 starter slot this year. Last season, our No. 3 starter (a combination of arms) was 1-7 in the SUNYAC. After missing last season, Steve Sturm will step back in to his role and take over for the graduated Zack Hugg to solidfy the top of the rotation.

A number of players talked about wanting becoming the third starter. One of them stepping up will be a big boost to our season. A few weeks ago, pitching coach Matt Bowman said he felt this year's staff is better than last year.

Six more throw live today. Having five catchers is nice. Last year, Sheehan and a raw Jake Nowak were all we had behind the plate.

Tuesday's W went to Quinn Danahy. Did a great job in the hit and run drill. Would have gioven it to Ben Senior, but he had to leave after his pen to get to class.

Sean Larson took the W on Wednesday. He made freshman Cody Herman stay out on defense until he got our bunt rotations down. Small thing, but we need accountability.

Thursday saw Herman take the W. I spent a good part of practice trying to get in his head, but he was rock solid. He and Weyman -- our two freshmen arms -- have shown some moxy. They carry themselves well. Both former Wayne Eagles.

Coach Greco subbed in Dunkirk on Thursday. He said he was showing the class a film on Roberto Clemente. A very intersting man. The hispanic Jackie Robinson. He overcame a lot. He was also one of Baby Colletti's hero's.

Misc.

We did our strength testing a few weeks back. Here are the results of the top four in each category:

Mile		Bench		Dips
Wolf	5:04	Lorenzo	33	Frantz	61
Johnston	5:22	Johnston	32	Lorenzo	53
Lorenzo	5:28	Carmody	32	Johnston	37
Carmody	5:32	Frantz	32	Castonguay	35

Carl Wolf and Bobby Frantz set new standards in their events.

Today's W went to Matty "Ice" Casilio. The hockey-first third baseman had a good day bunting and has strung together a few good practices.

We also had a visitor stop by the office yesterday. He goes by 'Mike'. He will be running for SUNY Mascot of the Year.

We're hoping Mike will be out to support the women's and men's basketball teams on Friday. A big game vs. Geneseo for the women. Our team will be there in the Blue practice shirts. That means Friday morning is High School Spirit Day.

Pushing on

This week we continued our rotation of defense one day, hitting the next. We've done a lot of tee work. Today we wrapped up the hitting by doing the *Basile Drill with front toss.

(*Basile Drill - you get three pitches. Pull the first, middle on the second; oppo on the third. Jordan basile, the Hits Leader, used to finish his BP every day by calling his final three swings.)

Bat control, focus (small number of reps that are measured) and competition were the focus during the drill. Great hitters can take any pitch and hit it anywhere they want.

W's this week have gone out to Sean Larson (excellent focus in his bullpen session); Ciro (his second - intense practice player) and Quinn Danahy. Quinn stood out in the Basil Drill and is extemely coachable. Good for other teammates to compare themselves to.

I'd like to complement Trot Kelly. He struggled with his mile goal, but finally reached it on Monday when he turned in a 5:55. Pretty good time.

Monday saw our final "Delinquent Milers" turn in their best times. Now we can focus on baseball everyday.

The Mile concept: Be up to any challenge. Be mentally tough.

-A mile does NOT equal better baseball performance.

-Putting yourself through the rigors of improving your mile time and achieving a higher personal standard DOES REQUIRE mental toughness.
- Mental toughness and competitive drive DO improve performance.

I'd like to give shout out to Jeremy Engquist. Jeremy was my first assistant I hired back in the day. He recently gave birth (his wife, actually) to twins. FOur kids and counting. Congrats to the slef-proclaimed No. 1 Dad!

Alums still in the game

A recent alumni, Taylor Gahagen, 2011 grad, has gotten a job in the sports world working with the Sabres. Here is a nice article from our latest alumni newsletter, The Statement. A handful of other alums are working in sports these days. Here's a look at a few:

- Pete Lusk, 2009, now at George Washington Univ. athletics (was at Fordham)
- Mark Taurisani, 2003, Arkansas Univ. football
- Jordan Basile, 2009, Lake Erie College baseball
- Tim Zulawski, 1988, Atlanta Falcons
- Matt Clark, 2003, golf pro at River Oaks on Grand Island

At practice, the W's the past three days went to Kenny Johnston, Mike Prentice and Sean Larson. Kenny was an energy giver on Tuesday, and always practices with a positive attitude, even with a slight wound he had a productive day. Mike had a good day blocking and throwing in the Around the Horn drill on Wednesday. Lars threw another good pen when half the pitchers threw on Thursday.

I'd like to give a shout out to the Timon boys. Matt Sullivan ran into current Blue Devil Quinn Danahy last week and says hello. Andy Dlugosz says he will be up in the spring for a few games via the texting. Tommy Dee has already made plans to stay about a week with us in Florida. Tommy currently works about an hour from Fort Myers. All three graduated from Bishop Timon HS together before reunuiting at Fredonia State.

Super Joe and Dan The Man making their mark

Saturday's practice saw Joe Korszun take home the 'W' off the table and Monday's top practice player was Dan Cecilia. Both are transfers new to our program.

Joe is a gung-ho pitcher that has been putting 100% in everything he does. Early bullpen session have his stuff rated near the top of the staff. Joe spoke about how he watches Conner Lorenzo in practice everyday and is motivated by his effort.

Joe came to us from Mohawk Valley C.C. I saw him at a workout last winter, and he seemed very excited to be at practice there, too.

Dan spent Monday catching bullpens. He was constantly blocking balls and working on his catch and release mecahnics while catching the bullpens. He's chatted up each pitcher after each session to get to know them better. Looks like he wants to play.

Dan comes to us from St. John Fisher. They had a glut of catchers there, and we had none returning, so he's just what we needed. At this point, he'll battle Anthony Schiro (a Niagara County C.C. transfer) for the No. 1 catching job. Freshman Mike Prentice and junior Jason Howard will push them daily.

Dan talked about how the past is the past and he's very excited about the team.

I'd like to give a shout out to Zack Hugg. Huggy is working at Stateline Auto and working on getting some interviews after graduating in December. He checked in this morning and was asking about how his former roomates Sturm, Melo and Grey were doing. He also asked about the new intern, who is not as good as he was.