After being trumped 3-0 last weekend in a disappointing series against Louisiana State University, the men’s baseball team will travel to Greensboro, N.C., to face the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in a four-game series. The first two games will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, followed by another doubleheader on Sunday, with games at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Tigers, hoping to improve on their 14-26 record from last season, will be looking to bounce back and mark their first win of the season. The team will also look to return to winning ways in the Ivy League after posting a 8-12 record against Ivy League opponents last season.
With their 0-3 start to the season, the Tigers are currently rock bottom in the Lou Gehrig Division of the Ivy League. However, none of the teams ahead of the Tigers look particularly frightening. Cornell has started 1-5, while Penn has opened its season 1-2, and division leader Columbia is the only team above .500, posting a 2-2 record this season. Should the Tigers claim a victory in the series against UNC-Greensboro and should other results fall their way, they could go on to claim the first place in the division.
The team’s offense and defense are still in the works, as the team shakes off the pre-season rust and rounds into gear for the new season. The group is hoping to see more great performances from senior Peter Owens in his farewell season, especially with his returning home to play in his home state this weekend. Having hit 0.400 so far, Owens is looking to continue his hot start to the season. Sophomore Paul Tupper has also gotten off to a decent start this season, batting .333 in the past three games, including a double.
However, the team hasn’t fared as well offensively as it could have, combining its performances to hit just above the Mendoza line, at .212. The team will hope for a better offensive performance this weekend, looking to add both contact and power to its game. The Tigers will also need to up their batting with runners on base; they left 24 players on base in the past week alone. Some clutch hitting may be important in the upcoming games.
Defensively, the team also remains a work in progress, having committed eight errors during this past weekend, twice as many as its opponent LSU. This eventually led to 9 unearned runs for LSU, which certainly didn’t help remove the burden on their pitchers.
Although the start to the season could have been better, there is hope for better days for the team. There is hope that sophomore batters Zack Belski and Danny Baer and senior catcher Tyler Servais will round into form and start adding a bit more pop to their game. Both Baer and Belski put up impressive batting stats in their first year, with Baer batting .306 with six extra base hits and Belski hitting a .280 average with four extra base hits.
A win in the series could provide an important platform to a successful season for the Tigers.
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