Reflecting on The Ripken Experience

We’re back in Plattsburgh following our Myrtle Beach trip, the first of two preseason trips down South. Coming back 4-1 feels good, but we definitely regret letting that first game slip away from us. After getting to 2-1, we swept the final day’s games winning 3-2 over Wilkes and 8-4 over Penn State Abington. Dan Tracy threw a gem in the first game, striking out 11 over 7 innings of work. It was the pitching performance we needed at the time, and one we wanted to see from Dan before heading to Fort Myers. Getting the two outings that we did from him and Matt O’Leary really builds our confidence knowing we can send out our top two pitchers against anyone and have a great chance of winning the game.

One of the highlights and surprises of the trip was getting the type of performance from Anthony Presto, a junior transfer from Orange County Community College. Playing in right field and leading off for all five games, he was a great table setter for us and played great defense. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the range he has out in right, and that allows our pitchers to throw to contact rather than trying to strike everyone out. We might have the quickest outfield in our conference, or at least very close to it. Between Presto, Andrew Gooch, and Danny Roeser, there are not a lot of fly balls that are going to drop in the outfield.

We knew going into our season that we would rely heavily on our pitching and defense, and Tory Bouyea and Pat Shaughnessy playing up the middle was a huge contribution to our success. Having played on the same teams since high school, they always know how each other works. Being strong up the middle throughout the entire defense (catcher, second base, shortstop, centerfield) will always lead to success, and I think we’re better at that this year than many years past. Our hitting has yet to take shape from top to bottom, and once we start rolling at the plate, we’re going to be a very dangerous team to play against.

#17 = Matt Burns