The Bowdoin Orient

April 6, 2001
Volume CXXXII, Number 20

Rough start for baseball

by ALLISON MCCONNELL, STAFF WRITER

   While the rest of us are still shaking spring break from our minds, the baseball team has already played 15 games after a trip to Homestead, Florida and two victorious double-headers away from campus. The men took on teams from Ramapo to MIT down South, losing their first five. "We had a very tough schedule," head coach Mike Connolly said. "Ten of the teams we've played have very good chances of getting to the NCAA tournament. We had chance to win every game, but didn't get it done."
   The team rebounded toward the end of break, getting some big wins over Wesleyan and nationally-competitive Endicott Connolly said that the Florida trip was a positive indicator for the 2001 season. "Going down there, I felt that we were very competitive," he said. "I knew we would have to come up and get some bit hits and make big plays, and I liked what I saw."
   The men defeated Brandeis and UMF twice each last week, and played a 16-1 St. Joseph's squad yesterday. First-year pitcher Kevin Bougie was named NESCAC's Player of the Week after he earned saves and drove in some crucial runs in both Brandeis defeats. Bougie's efforts at bat and on the mound guided the Polar Bears to a 5-1 record last week.
   The team is currently third in NESCAC's overall standings, with no divisional games yet played. This season is the first of official standings and league scheduling in NESCAC, with the league split into divisions: East (Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Trinity and Tufts) and West (Amherst, Hamilton, Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Williams). "We play each East team 3 times, and then the two top teams play in a league tournament," Coach Connolly stated. "Our goal is to qualify for that tournament." The NESCAC champion earns an automatic bid to the national playoffs, and Connolly said that the team is "shooting for going on to NCAAs."
   Connolly also indicated that his expectations for the season revolve around cooperative, team-oriented play. "In order for us to be successful when we play league games, we need contributions from everyone," he said. "Our seniors and juniors have set the tone. They have been great in terms of leading by example."
   Underclassmen, compiling 16 of the 24 team members, are obviously a large part of his strategy as well. "I have high hopes for all of [the first-years]," Connolly said.
   Divisional play begins this weekend, as Sunday brings a double header at ever-rivaled Colby. The men travel to USM next week for a non-league matchup before facing Bates at home on April 13th.

The national pastime here in Maine.
(File Photo/Bowdoin Orient)