The one thing certain in college football is there is no stability.
When a team has a successful season in pro sports, they rely on their starters to come back and continue that success, but in college sports, it is a revolving door in talent coming in and out.
College football coaches truly never have an off-season. Once the final whistle of the last game goes off, the coaches turn their first priority to recruiting.
Besides the championship game, National Signing Day might be the most important day on a coaches schedule. A collegiate teams future could depend on a decision where the top talent chooses what school to attend. Saint Xavier and head coach Mike Feminis already know this, as the Cougars added 13 new recruits.
Coach Feminis recruited student athletes from or around Illinois, as nine recruits are from Illinois and four hail from Indiana. These recruits will be relied on to restock the talent that will be missed from graduating seniors.
The Cougars biggest strength next season may be their offensive line. They racked in six new recruits to the o-line, that will have four starters from last season coming back for the 2018 season. With the new recruits, the depth at the position will be a positive.
After a successful 2017 season, the Cougars hope to take the next step beginning August 25, as they travel to Indiana to take on Marian in the season opener.
While the football season is months away, the Saint Xavier baseball team season has just begun. After a disappointing 2016-2017 season, that saw the team struggle when playing on the road, the Cougars look to turn the page in 2018.
Opening the season off with a doubleheader at Freedom Stadium in Kentucky against Indiana-Wesleyan, the Cougars spilt the series to begin the season.
Game one was highlighted from a fine performance from the Cougars pitching, only giving up a total of five hits in nine innings. Starter Tyler Kebel pitched the first two innings, giving up one run and striking out three. Matthew McKenzie came in from the bullpen to pitch a strong two innings, striking out four and picking up the victory.
The offense didn’t go silent in the night. Taking advantage of Indiana-Wesleyan’s errors, Cougars tacked on two unearned runs early, then followed by third baseman Matt Monahan home run in the eighth inning to help the Cougars prevail 4-2.
Game two wasn’t quite the pitching masterpiece due to some bad defense from the Cougars. Cougars scored two runs in the first but quickly gave those runs back, as Indiana-Wesleyan scored two runs without recording a hit in the bottom of the first.
Errors were the story of the game, as the Cougars commited 4 errors causing the pitchers to give up five unearned runs and losing the game 9-6.
The defense being rusty to begin a season is nothing out of the ordinary for a baseball team. Many teams struggle in the first few weeks of the season and the cold weather hurts a baseball players flow of the game.
Though a disappointing loss, the offense once again had a strong showing. Collecting 12 hits on the day, the teams offense looks like it can carry the Cougars to a strong season.
The pitching in game one of the double header gives the Cougars hope of having a solid bullpen, along with the starting rotation. If the defense improves, runs would be hard to come by for teams facing this pitching staff.
The Cougars will travel to Indiana University Southeast for doubleheaders on back to back days. Hopefully the cougars bats will help heat up the weather, as Indiana University Southeast is a tough team, being ranked No.19 in the country.
Dominic Pellegrini
Sports Reporter
Upcoming Schedule
2/16 @ (19) Indiana University Southeast 12:00 PM
2/16 @ (19) Indiana University Southeast Game 2
2/17 @ (19) Indiana University Southeast 12:00 PM
2/17 @ (19) Indiana University Southeast Game 2
2/23 @ Georgetown College 12:00 PM