 "Photo: Kristyn Ulanday")
The end of September in Boston belongs to baseball. Cheers of anticipation radiate from Fenway Park as the Red Sox vie for a playoff spot. Boys and men alike carry their big league dreams atop their heads with baseball caps. Teams change and rosters grow, but the goal is always the same - win a championship.
The Boston University club baseball team doesn't get 162 games a year to find a way to win. Membership in two leagues affords BU just 25 games during the fall and spring to bring a title back to Boston. And, instead of preparing for one round of playoffs, the Terriers have to contend for two. In other words, every game counts.
The Terriers joined the New England Club Baseball Association (NECBA) this fall to accompany their usual membership in the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA). The NECBA membership gives the team 10 additional games through September and October on top of the split fall/spring schedule of the NCBA.
"[The NCBA] starts in October, and it gave us a whole month where we weren't doing a whole lot," BU coach Brian Spadafino said. "With the new league, we play more baseball. That's what these guys are here for."
Playing against teams such as Northeastern University and the University of Maine increases the level of competition for the Terriers. Unlike BU, most of the schools in the NECBA have Division-I baseball programs. Club sport athletes at those schools are often the players who just missed making the varsity roster.
"The competition is better," sophomore Brendan Blake said. "We've had three nail-biter games and have been playing great baseball. At this stage, you aren't looking for blowouts, but tight games. It's the tight games that build character, and that's what you get in the new league."
Much of the potential success for BU is in the skill of the team's returning players. After playing in legion leagues at home or on inner-city teams in Boston to keep fresh over the summer, the Terriers are out to prove that they mean business as the new team in the league.
"We have a good group coming back from last year," team president and starting third baseman Josh Cabana said. "[Senior] Chris McIssac has been picking it up with the bat, and we've had some solid starts from [senior] Randy Forrester."
Along with McIssac and Forrester, seniors Zach Purcell and Dan Korney continue to provide power in the middle of the lineup.
But just like every college team, the Terriers had to replenish a roster depleted by the graduation. Though they will miss the leadership of last season's 10 seniors, the team's 12-player rookie class is already showing signs of promise.
"Whenever they've been asked to come in, they haven't missed a beat," Blake said of his newcomers. "Whether it's to pitch an inning from the bullpen, pinch run or pinch hit, the freshmen are itching to play and getting that shot and coming through."
Freshman Mike Robinson, who scored the winning run on a passed ball in the team's come-from-behind win over the University of New England Friday night, credits the returning players for helping to build team chemistry between the rookies and veterans.
"[Junior Kevin Kravitz] and [senior Phil Asaro] have helped me with my defensive skills in the outfield. The guys take it serious and they play to win," Robinson said in an email.
The ultimate challenge for the Terriers is to combine the veteran wisdom and rookie enthusiasm into a dangerous combination of consistency and power.
"I'd like to see us consistent through the entire seven to nine innings of the games," Spadafino said. "Sometimes we have lulls. If we can be consistent, I think we can win a lot of games."
Defending league champion Northeastern currently sits in first place with a half game lead over BU. The NECBA playoffs begin Oct. 25, and with NCBA games joining their NECBA schedule in October, the Terriers must work harder to reach their goal of winning a championship.
With a month of games left in its fall schedule and the talent and drive to succeed, the BU club baseball team is hoping for a magical October.
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