Baseball Tigers Look to Continue Winning Ways
by: John Hobart ‘10With 7 wins since spring break, Tigers stand ready at #3 in conference to pounce for title
Senior Third Baseman Matt Brown is 3rd in the ODAC with 5 homeruns.
Coming off of a Spring Break trip that included two losses, the Tigers’ 6-5 record did not look very impressive. However, the trip seems to have ignited Coach Kinne’s offense and Hampden-Sydney is 7-1-1 since returning to the Hill. The most impressive thing about the Tigers’ hot streak is that during their past eight games, the team is averaging almost 11 runs scored. Granted, college baseball is always going to be high scoring because of the aluminum bats, but if our high-powered offense keeps putting up numbers like that, look for the Tigers to make a run at the ODAC title.
The top of Hampden-Sydney’s lineup has lit up opposing pitchers. Left Fielder Herbie Williams is batting .380 at the top of the lineup and has 19 steals through 20 games. Catcher Zach Harrelson is hitting .414, which is tops on the team and 6th in the ODAC. Third Baseman Matt Brown’s average sits at .382 and he has hit a team-high 5 home runs while First Baseman Justin Hebert is not far behind with 4 dingers of his own.
Hampden-Sydney currently sits at 13-6-1 (6-4 ODAC) with eight conference games left to play. The Tigers currently sit at 3rd place in the ODAC behind Bridgewater and Randolph-Macon. While the offense has been explosive lately, the pitching staff is going to be the key to the team’s success. In a doubleheader with ODAC-leading Bridgewater earlier this year, the Tigers were able to squeak out a 5-4 victory over the Eagles in the first thanks to a brilliant outing by senior ace Johnny West. However, the pitching staff imploded in the second game and the Tigers fell 21-4. To make a run in the ODAC tournament and potentially further, the pitching staff will have to continue to develop into a deep unit.
The pitching staff will look to a few veterans to continue to improve and hone their arsenal of pitches to add to the depth of the pitching staff. Ryan Daniel and Mike Blanchard are second and third on the team behind West in innings pitched and the two hurlers will continue to carry a heavy part of the load. Senior relief pitcher Tyler Napier has the experience and confidence that Coach Kinne will look for come tournament time. Also, the continued development of Freshmen Dan Nicoll (17 IP, 3.18 ERA) and Matt Batten (9.1 IP, 2.89 ERA) will be vital to the Tigers’ continued success.
The Tigers hit the road for a few games before returning to Yank Bernier Field for an April 6th match up with Lynchburg. On April 10th the Tigers will host a double header against Roanoke. This should be a fun game to attend, as it is the Saturday of Greek Week. Go Tigers.
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