Welcome, spring sports!
We have had such great performances from our athletes here at SXU for our spring sports, and our baseball team has been no different.
Even with the opening season loss, the team has fought through the little early season adversity and won three straight games since the early defeat.
All our team’s games have been against the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan University. They got to witness, firsthand, how dominant our team can be, even when we are a ways away from being our best.
Currently sitting pretty with a 3-1 record, our team holds the same record as they did through the first four games of the previous season and before it got away from them.
Led by 5th year coach, Rocco Mossuto, the Cougars look to build on their great start by staying locked in on each practice or game at hand.
SXU graduate Mossuto has a ton of experience with both playing and coaching, so he knows what it takes to keep a group moving forward on the right path.
In a tedious and fun mind game like baseball, the more talented team cannot simply show up and expect to win. There must be a high-level of focus brought to each moment of the game, and consistency is vital to keep things moving forward.
Given this wisdom and previous experiences from years ago, this young baseball team must soak up every bit of knowledge they can from the skilled staff they have the privilege to play for.
Even with several new voices to listen to now, the young guys are finding understanding pretty early.
Coming up later this week, on February 15th and 16th, our Cougars travel to St. Louis, MO, to compete against a couple of decent opponents (Missouri Baptist University and Clarke University).
Getting swept by both of these opponents early in the 2016-17 season means that our Cougars look to avenge these losses – just as they did after dropping the first game of this year to Indiana Wesleyan University.
Judging by how they have played so far, it looks like we will be able to get revenge on those teams and keep our season moving along in the right direction.
There is about a month before we get to witness our Cougars up close. They follow this trip by traveling to Ohio, Georgia and finally, Florida for the biggest non-conference series of the year against Southeastern University (#1).
We will be able to meet our team at Ferrell Field on March 16 at 1PM to cheer them on to victory against Roosevelt University.
Up until then, let’s check in on game notes and the well-being of our players since we will not be seeing much of them for a while. Encouraging words and other small actions are important to an athlete’s psyche, as support from the outside helps performance as it does with pretty much any activity we do.
But most importantly, we have Cougars named as NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Seniors Erik Eggert, Matthew McKenzie, Brian McNamara and Cameron Powell were honored, along with juniors Garrett Bright and Anthony Chimera.
To all Cougars, continue to do well in school and be responsible young adults. Challenge yourself to become a better all-around person everyday, and by doing your part, you will see small changes for the better around you.
Until next time, go Cougars
Dallas Haywood
Sports Reporter