The Curse!

Believe it or not, hosting the conference tournament has not benefited the host team. Never has the host of the HCAC conference tournament, won it. We call it; a curse. My freshman year in college we came in second place in the final conference standings. Transylvania came in first, giving them the right to host the tournament. Transylvania went 2 games and out of the tournament. We, however won 3 straight games , won the tournament, and went on to the regional tournament.
Last year, we hosted the tournament after coming in first place in the regular season. Just as Transy did the previous season, we went 2 games and out, and were held out of advancing to the regional tournament.
It will be up to us this year, to make sure that the "curse" lives on so that Franklin will not win the tournament.

Lions End Regular Season

As we concluded our regular season, we finished with a 26-13 record, and a 16-6 record in the conference. This conference record was good for a tie with Rose Hulman for 2nd place in the standings. However, we received the # 2 seed for the tournament because our series win over Rose-Hulman in the regular season.
We ended the season with a series win over # 4 seed Anderson University. These were very tough games for us and prepared us even more for the upcoming tournaments.
The tournament starts Thursday, May 7th, at Franklin College. We will take on Rose-Hulman in the first round of play at 3:30 p.m. following Franklin College vs. Anderson University. This a 2 and out tournament, with the championship game being played on Saturday, May 9th.

Rain Rain Go Away

Recently, we played a game where we played a couple innings and then had to forfeit play for about an hour because of rain. At the time, we were ahead 5-0 and had a lot of momentum going for us. Our pitching was dominating, and our hitting was there as well. We tarped the field only before it began to pour. It is during games like this where you DEFINITELY hate to see rain delays. We had momentum going and were up by 5 runs at the time, and that was a momentum killer. We resumed play about an hour later, and we still held on to the lead for quite a bit. But you could definitely tell that we were not playing the same way we had been earlier. It got to the last inning and we were still winning. But things did not go our way, and we wound up losing the game. We scored all of our 5 runs in one inning, and were held scoreless the rest of the game.
In that particular type of game, a rain delay is a definite momentum killer.

Warm Weather At Last!

As of late, we have finally had a chance to play in warmer and nicer weather. For the majority of the season, it has either been cloudy, rainy, or cold out. It is nice to know that we can go to games now without bringing a numerous amount of jackets/coats/winter gloves to keep ourselves warm. Lately, we have been able to warm up in short sleeve shirts and put on a nice sweat before the game starts.
Baseball is not meant to be played in 30 degree weather, which is what we were forced to play in for a number of games this year. When it is April, fans should not have to bring blankets and coats to keep themselves warm throughout the game. When there is a chance of snow in APRIL, that is just not baseball weather. It does happen here in Cincinnati and there is nothing we can do about it, but just go out and play baseball.
It is a lot tougher to be at the top of your game when not all of your muscles are loose and warm. We just hope to not see any more crazy weather where a possibility of snow will somehow pop up in MAY.

Coming down the Stretch

As we head into the last week of regular season play, we stand at an overall record of 23-12 and a 13-5 conference record. This puts us in 2nd place in the the conference standings. Only the top 4 teams in the conference standings at the end of regular season play qualify for the tournament. We have already clinched a spot in the conference tournament, still with 4 games left to play.
Our schedule this coming week has us playing 4 conference games. We travel to Hanover College to play a single game, then play host to Anderson College on the weekend in a 3 game set. The first and single game takes place on Friday, May 1st at UC's Marge Schott Stadium. The following day will be a doubleheader in which we play a 7 inning game as well as a 9 inning game.
We will look to end the regular season on a strong note heading into the tournament, hoping to make a run to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

Midway Mark

As we hit the midway mark in the season, we stand at 15-9 with an 8-4 record in the conference. After just taking 2 out of 3 games from first-place Rose-Hulman over the weekend, we are in very good shape in the conference, giving us another shot at winning the conference for the fourth consecutive year. Last night, we battled the cold of April and defeated Transylvania 7-1.
After starting out slow in the conference and in the season, we have won 7 out of the last 8 games in the conference, sweeping Bluffton, beating Hanover, Transylvania, and then the 2 against Rose- Hulman. We will travel to Defiance this weekend, to play a 3 game conference series. We will look to take 3 games this weekend to keep our hopes of winning a fourth straight conference title in sight.

3 an doh!

The Mount Saint Joseph baseball team stands at a 3-0 record after playing 3 games in the cold. The first game was played on February 28th, where the weather was indicated 35 degrees with a wind chill of 25. The next game was played the following day on another cold day at Spalding University. Each game was somewhat close but the Lions prevailed and won by a margin of 3 each game.
The Lions would then visit the University of the Cumberlands. Although the weather was still cold, it seemed warmer out because the wind was not blowing nearly as much as the previous two games. This would be the first test of the season for us. This was a very strong team, who was ranked, and is a member of the toughest league in the NAIA. We started out slow, going down 2-0, but we fought back and took a 4-2 lead. They would score one more run in the 7th inning, but the Lions pre-veiled and went on to win the game to improve to 3-0. Next on the schedule for us will be our spring break trip to Florida, where we will take on perennial power Heidelberg College in a doubleheader.

Scheduling

Is it better to have a tough schedule throughout the whole season? Or is it better to have some tough teams on the schedule, but for the most part have a lighter schedule of games?
To me, I feel that it is better to have a tough schedule throughout the whole season. Now, this could vary based upon what type of team you have. With our team, we can compete with anybody. My freshman year in the NCAA tournament, we faced the #1 team in the nation in the very first round.(Wooster College) Wooster had no idea what was coming. They thought we were just some team that they could look over and beat up on. We had them on their toes the entire game, and wound up losing 2-1. This was quite an experience, and I believe that the tough schedule that we had during the season, and with the tough conference that we play in, prepared us for this type of game.
This season, our conference is even tougher, and our schedule outside of the conference is tough. Down in Florida, our first game is against a top 10 team(Heidelberg College), and our second game in the same day is against another ranked opponent in Ohio Wesleyan. Those are the two main tough opponents amongst a strong list of teams on our schedule throughout the season. These games will prepare us for our conference games, and for the NCAA tournament in May.

Florida! Florida! Florida!

We leave for Florida in exactly one week, and I for one cannot wait. It is our spring break, and I could not ask for or picture anything better than playing baseball in a warm/hot climate for a week straight, not having to worry about school. Sitting here in Cincinnati, where it is in the 40's, will make Florida feel great because it is in the 80's down there. The only downside to this years' Florida trip, is that we will be driving down on a charter for the very first time. Obviously, it will take a much longer time, but all I will be thinking about is the warm weather and playing very competitive baseball.
Spring break is meant to be a time of relaxation, and to keep your mind off of school for a little while, which is exactly what we will be doing. Only difference between us and the majority of the students/athletes at the school, is that we will be playing the sport we love while on our spring break. What more can you ask for?

Cincinnati Weather

It is now 2 days until we play our first game, which is a home game at the University of Cincinnati. It is so hard to tell what the weather will bring us, because you never know what will happen in Cincinnati. I have checked the weather everyday this week, and it has said something different each time. One day it will say 47 degrees and partly cloudy, and the next day it will say 39 degrees with a chance of rain/snow showers. Now, it says it will be 44 degrees and partly cloudy with a chance of rain at night. Basically we will have to be prepared for anything, because the weather could change at the blink of an eye.

So Long Rec Specs

After just a couple weeks of practices, we received news that Chris Sabo will no longer be coaching for us this season. In a way, I am a little disappointed that we will not be having a former Major Leaguer coaching for us this year. I have had past experiences playing for Major League baseball players, and all have been very beneficial. I was looking forward to have another coach who has played in the majors, but now I am just looking forward to the season that is coming up in 12 days.

Rounding Third and Heading into Opening Day

MSJ Baseball's season starts in 13 days, and we are very excited to embark on a new season that looks to be a very promising year. The position players finally got to go outside and practice while the weather was somewhat warm. Outfielders were able to take fly balls, while infielders were able to take ground balls on a different surface other than the gym floor. There is so much more you can do during a practice outdoors, while in a gym you are limited with space to practice. With just 13 days left until the first game, we hope mother nature will help us out and grace us with warmer weather so that it is possible for us to practice outside.

A-Fraud to A-Roid

Another big name player in The MLB has been tested positive for steroids. A-Rod came clean, and admitted to taking steroids, in a chat with ESPN studio analyst Peter Gammons. In a 45 minute chat with Gammons, A-Rod admitted to and apologized for taking steroids. But what does this mean to the fans? Do we still hold to believe that A-Rod is still one of the greatest hitters of all-time? Do we think less of him for taking steroids?

To me, I still believe A-Rod is one of the greatest hitters of all-time. Steroids have nothing to do with how you see the ball, or choosing when or when not to swing the bat. It does, however, help hit the ball with more power that may add on about 20 or more ft. of distance. Like many others, he did break a rule and will deal with the consequences. he may lose some fans, and there will be people who think less of him. But I still think he is one of the best hitters in baseball.

Preseason Polls- Prediction or Fact?

Practices have started, and the preseason polls are out. The Mount baseball team is picked to finish 4th in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. To me, preseason means nothing; all that matters is where you finish. After finishing 1st in the conference the past 3 years, we know what it takes to win. According to the preseason poll, they are expecting us to be worse than last year. Although, people do not realize that we have a stronger and better team than last year. We will have to go out and prove ourselves, and show everybody that we are for real. I believe that this could be a special season for us. It will not be easy, and it will not come to us. We will have to work harder and harder each practice to prepare ourselves for competition.

We are not out to JUST win the conference. Every team says "we're going to the World Series this year!" It may or may not be realistic, and most of the time it is not. For this team, it is realistic to say we CAN go that far. With a team like we have, we expect to win every game. Realistically, however, it is rare to see a baseball team go undefeated. Although, we do expect to win, and we have a team that puts us in position to win any game no matter who we are playing.

The preseason poll to me is just motivation. When you are picked 1st, you have to work hard to prove you deserve that notoriety. Other teams will be motivated to work harder, to show that they deserve to be recognized. We were only recognized as the 4th best team in the conference as of preseason. It will be up to us to prove that this was only a prediction and not a fact.

Former Red a coach at MSJ

Chris Sabo, a former Major League Baseball Player for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and the St. Louis Cardinals, is now an assistant coach for the MSJ baseball team. Sabo was drafted out of high school, but opted to attend the University of Michigan, and later was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1983 in the 2nd round. In 1988, Sabo would win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. One of his greatest achievements in his career, however, was leading the Reds to a World Series Title in 1990. Sabo was recognizable by his protective eyeglasses which were commonly known as "Rec Specs."

Chris will be a bench coach as well as the infielders coach for the Mount this upcoming season.

The team looks forward to working with, and learning from a former Major Leaguer, also hoping that his knowledge will factor into another great season.

MSJ Baseball '09

The MSJ Baseball team is about to start practices Monday, the 26th of January. After another strong season in '08, the team looks to improve on every aspect of the game in '09. 2008 had a lot of ups and downs. The team had a low start, but gradually got better, ending up with a 24-18 record, with a conference record of 16-5; good enough for sole possession of the regular season title. The '09 team comes into this season with many returners from the previous season, with a lot of new talent from the freshman class as well as transfers.

The '08 season showed a lot of promise for '09, and this could be a special season for th Mount baseball program.