 Brian Holbrook, Cory Childress, Mike DeMaeo, Eli Childress, and Kyle Milbert (l to r) are members of Appalachian State University’s men’s club baseball team. The team plays Saturday. Photo by Rachel Noel.
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by CORY WATSON
Sports Editor
Among all the lunchroom chatter occurring at the Central Dining Facility Friday, members of Appalachian State University’s club baseball team gathered to talk about their upcoming spring season of play and expressed hopes for a strong start.
Since the conclusion of a fall season of play which included a huge win at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Fall Invitational Tournament during the weekend of Oct. 24, the Mountaineers have been eager to get back on the playing field.
“I think everybody’s ready to get back up there,” Club President and junior management major Bryan S. Holbrook said of the onset of spring play.
The Mountaineers open play this season against Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. Saturday.
“It’s
probably going to be a nice test for us starting out,” Holbrook said of
the matchup against a Clemson team who began the season ranked ninth in
the country.
Holbrook said he scheduled a highly-ranked opponent to ready the team for conference play.
“Playing against teams with better talent makes your team better,” Holbrook said of Clemson.
Though
Clemson may pose a challenge for the Mountaineers, ASU will enjoy the
benefit of a deeper roster compared with last semester’s.
“We
added a few new guys, four of them I think,” Holbrook said. “We added
two pitchers, which is always a big deal. Adding these guys can’t do
anything but help us.”
Sophomore building sciences major Ben J. Wilson said he felt the roster was stronger this semester.
“For the most part, we’re pretty well rounded,” Wilson said. “Overall, we don’t have any really blatant weakness.”
In addition to a strong roster, Holbrook said hitting will be a strength for Appalachian.
“The
hitting has been a strong point for us in the past, but we always have
the challenge of not being able to take live batting practice like some
other teams do,” Holbrook said.
One of the key benefits the Mountaineers will also enjoy this season is the use of a state-of-the-art practice facility.
The
Sofield Indoor Practice Facility, traditionally used by varsity sports
to prepare for games, is now at the disposal of the Mountaineers
Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 9 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Sophomore
accounting major Corey E. Mallard expressed how important he felt the
use of the facility was, stating the heated building would allow
members of the team to continue to practice in cold weather.
Given all their advantages, Holbrook said he expects the Mountaineers to start off well this weekend.
“I think
we can handle it,” Holbrook said. “I want to see exactly where we are.
Against a team like Clemson, we’re going to be able to find out really
quick what we need to work on and exactly how good we are.”
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