May 26, 2009 (Final Entry)
There was a song that was a major part of my childhood called “Closing Time.” For those of you who don’t know the song, it has a key line that says, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” So maybe this was the song we ended all of our junior high dances with, but even still, the message rings true in all situations. With a 2-2 record at the NCCAA National Tournament, we finished the season as the most successful Yellow Jacket team of all time.
The entire National Tournament experience was absolutely amazing. Our first night down in Mason, we were treated to a great dinner before the awards banquet. The awards banquet was special in itself because of who won what. We didn’t have any guys on the All-America team, which was surprising to some of us, but we had the award winner that means more than any All-American award. Brady Workman received the “Unlimited Potential” Award for his work with Daystar Baptist Ministries and his individual efforts to help out people down in the Dominican Republic. It was a great way to start out the week.
Over the next two days, we dropped a game to conference rival Mount Vernon Nazarene, but battled through the loser’s bracket with wins against Oklahoma Wesleyan and Geneva. Each night we ate at the same restaurant. In most cases, this wouldn’t be acceptable by our team, but we were eating at Red Robin, so we could eat there every night as far as we were concerned. The first night there was by far the best though. After we had gotten our food we were watching Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals when Clint Price called over our waitress. He told her that it was our coach’s birthday, and that we wanted them to sing to him. After anxiously waiting for what seemed like hours, the crew invited us to join them in singing to him. The next thing you know, the customers at Red Robin were treated to 25 guys clapping and singing a happy birthday song to their coach.
When we got back to playing baseball, we were faced with another familiar rival with Malone. After our pitcher had given up five runs things seemed pretty bleak. Our dugout was a little less lively than before, and their pitcher was throwing a no-hitter. With two outs in the top of the 7th, Nate Davenport drew a walk, and Juan Martinez followed suit. Brady, the man with unlimited potential, then got our first and only hit, a three-run home run to left field. Brady joined an exclusive group with the likes of Ted Williams, to hit a homer in their last at bat. It was an incredible ending to the tournament.
Going back to school that afternoon was a little sobering. Everyone was saying goodbyes, turning in uniforms, and cleaning out lockers. We weren’t real sure when we’ll see each other again, but knew that when we got back together that there would be a new beginning. This has been a great year and I’ve really enjoyed bringing you an “insiders look” to our team, and when a season of records and success finally ends its hard to say goodbye to it. In the words of every Cubs fan, "just wait until next year!"
May 11, 2009
Today I’m writing you as an NCCAA Midwest Regional Champion! Just a week after Brady got his first “walk-off” hit against Shawnee State to get us a run-rule win, he came through in the clutch again in the bottom of the 7th, this time to give us a 1-0 victory. I must say that, as a front row spectator, this was one of the coolest/best baseball experiences I’ve ever had. After we went on to win the second game handedly, it made everything that we started at 5:30 a.m. on January 19th seem to be worth it.
My high school coach always preached toward the end of the season, “Freshmen, you are now Sophomores, Sophomores you’re Juniors, Juniors are Seniors, and Seniors, well…” and that quote was ringing through my head throughout the entire week. Looking out at our team now compared to where we were at the beginning of the season, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve really come. Out of our starting nine, we could have at any point, six of the starters as new people to the program. Considering this, our team chemistry has been tremendous all year.
Since everyone has moved into Lawlor Hall, things just seem to be crazy. I never had the experience of living with a brother before, but now I’m getting an idea of what it would be like to have 10 brothers living in close quarters. There’s noise at all hours, water all over the bathroom, video games blaring, and of course the occasional argument over something pretty stupid. I have to say, it’s really an awesome experience.
May 4, 2009
This week was a little more hectic with finals looming over everyone’s shoulders. Everyone was a little more focused on school and less on anything else, which made it kind of special I guess. This week was extra special for a couple guys on the team. Brady Workman, Micah Wilson, and Jordan Shumaker were all taking finals for the last time. Their Senior Day was Saturday against Shawnee State, and I can’t think of a better way to go out than they way those guys did.
After coming off two tough (and embarrassing) losses at Shawnee on Friday, we came back knowing that we could and should beat the Bears. Shout out to Ty Rost who hit not one, but two bombs against the Bears in the second game on Friday.
Coming back to Cedarville we knew that we’d be able to handle the Shawnee State offense because we were playing on a field that wasn’t built for home runs like theirs was. With a 1-1 score in the bottom of the 6th inning, Micah pinch-hit to get his first base hit of the season, and after a sacrifice bunt the wheels just never seemed to stop turning. In the inning Micah had two hits, "Shoe" had a two-RBI single, and Brady hit a double to drive in the walk-off runs!
I couldn’t really think of what to talk about, so I thought I would provide a personal memory I have from each of the seniors. I’ll never forget arguing with Micah over the Cleveland Indians team players and personnel, and always seeming to “agree to disagree” on basically every position in the organization. Jordan really showed me how to stay calm under pressure; whether it was taking heat from coach, getting free food from the concession stand, or dealing with campus safety. And I’ll always remember sitting in a little Mexican restaurant in Florida with Brady and eating six baskets of tortilla chips before our food even hit the table.
It’s been a great ride for these guys and I just wanted to thank each of them for all of their leadership throughout the year. Hopefully we can keep the season alive for them for a couple more weeks!
April 27, 2009
As the semester is winding down it’s easy to understand why and how the importance of studying loses its luster. In most cases, the temperature is rising and the sun is shining, making it much easier to go out and golf rather than stay in and study. In our case, the weather didn’t really get good until this weekend, so we were stuck trying to find other ways to make studying seem not important. We have officially found this escape in the Great American Pastime - whiffleball.
The basement of Brock Hall is now known as The Diamond in the Rough. There are masking tape foul poles, a solid outfield wall standing 40.2 feet away from home plate, fans, and even a record book. It all started when a couple of us (Nate Davenport, Juan Martinez, Josh Sisson, Dan Petke, Brian Brown and myself) were trying to find a way to show our recruits that visited a good time. Within two days, the Diamond in the Rough was designed and constructed, and the regular season was started. Two games into the season, Juan finds himself alone on the throne of Home Runs, but Nate is close behind. It’s a competition sure to live on for years.
Another competition is a friendly wager between our second basemen. Paul Hembekides and Jordan Shumaker have a deal that whoever finishes with the lower fielding percentage has to buy the one with the higher percentage a foot long sub from Subway. As of this very moment, Jordan is leading .942 to .939. Stay tuned for updates on both races!
Oh yeah, this week for us in baseball is a chance to hit the 30-win mark, which is what coach challenged us with after splitting with Mount Vernon. With 26 wins and 5 games this week, it’s something that is surely possible. And on top of that, I just want to let everyone know that Brady Workman is doing okay after being hit in the nose on Saturday. He’ll be asking the doctor permission to play tomorrow. And one last thing I wanted to add was a special thanks to Mrs. Beelen for always making us the best cookies in the world. We all appreciate them very much!
April 20, 2009
I can’t even think of where to start this blog. There is a major event from this week that should stand out more than anything else. After our victory against Rio Grande on Saturday, we officially set a new school record for wins in a season. The funny thing about it though, no one seemed to notice this because it wasn’t one of our goals.
Yeah, it’s great that we have a new record and we are all very excited about it, but our goal was not to win 24 games. We want to win 35 games and most importantly get into the NAIA playoffs, something that hasn’t been done in a long time here.
This is a big week for our team. We have five games, including the Cedarville Classic against Wilmington at Dayton’s Fifth/Third Field, and a BIG conference weekend against Mount Vernon Nazarene. Standing tall? Setting records? Sounds like the new Cedarville baseball team to me!
April 13, 2009
Times, they are a changin’. I’m not sure who said that, but it’s easy to see that it’s true. I sit writing this week’s edition of the blog from on board our charter bus heading back to Cedarville from Canton where we split a doubleheader with Walsh. Not only am I writing it, but I’m also going to be emailing via the bus’ WiFi, while watching the Nationals play the Phillies on satellite. Truly amazing. Things are changing for the Cedarville baseball team, too.
This week was rather dull compared to some of those prior. No one locked keys in the vans, there was no dunk contest, or freshman prank; basically it was a week solely focused on baseball. Going into the week we needed to win five out of our six games to set the new school record for wins in a season. We came away 4-2 for the week, so we are aiming to get that record-breaking win this weekend against Rio Grande.
With 14 games left, it’s easy to see how the times have changed for Cedarville University baseball. Just two seasons ago they won as many games in a season as we did this week. It’s fun to see the younger guys maturing every game; not to mention it’s also what is helping us win so much. I’m sure the upperclassmen who were around during that season can see it more than any of us newcomers, but it’s a time to get excited for Jacket baseball.
With a good chance to take a jump in the conference standings in the next two weeks, we can take a big step towards our goal of making the NAIA playoffs. Who would have thought that? Times certainly are changing. Oh yeah, and it was Bob Dylan that said that - thank you Google and charter bus internet!
April 6, 2009
Last week had many highlights. We pushed our record back over .500 with 19 wins at weeks’ end, snapped Ohio Dominican’s 16-game home winning streak, came from behind to beat UC-Clermont Thursday, and got to witness Dan Petke’s first career home run. From these little things you’d think we had the perfect week, but not all of us did; just ask Alex Beelen.
After a good day against Ohio Dominican Wednesday, we headed north to Worthington to get a bite to eat at the Home Country Buffet. This was nothing new to us; by now we’ve gotten used to finding the nearest buffet after road games and stuffing ourselves until we almost bust, but there was something different about this trip.
After we were done and all anxious to get back to Cedarville, we headed out to the vans as normal. While walking out, Alex says to me, “Glad I got the keys, we can get in our van first!” with a huge grin on his face. He unlocks the drivers’ side door and hits the lock button, and then promptly shuts the door, leaving the keys on the seat! Notice I said he hit the lock button, not unlock. In his rush to get into the car, he seemed to forget one essential element…UNLOCKING THE DOORS!
For nearly 45 minutes the baseball team was either trying to break into a van (which the pedestrians walking about the area were truly enjoying the chance to watch), or causing havoc in The Sports Authority by playing ping pong in the store. After many failed attempts with clothes hangers and anything else we could think of, the man of the day - Jeremy from AAA - showed up. On a day where we beat one of the top teams in the conference, our MVP was a man with a pump and a lock pick. What a great day!
March 30, 2009
This week we had our first experience of Ohio’s crazy weather. On Wednesday we were supposed to host Ohio Dominican, but the rains moved in and prevented that AMC match-up from happening. Just the night before we all got to watch Luke Freshwater deal against Earlham on an absolutely gorgeous night in Indiana. (Brief recognition for Alex Beelen who hit his first career home run in this game; congrats!)
Two days after our rain out we hosted NAIA #25 Malone, and had to move our Saturday game up a couple of hours to avoid the storm line that was heading our way, and never really produced the storms everyone expected. Oh, and then Sunday it snowed. In between it all, we got to see a new side of our team.
Wednesday, after learning the game was canceled, we all made our way to the Doden Field House for a light hitting work out. Afterwards, there was a group of about 15 guys that decided to play some basketball. For those of you who don’t know, we could make a pretty good basketball team out of the players on our baseball team. Nate Davenport and Colby Stoltzfus were particularly impressive with some high flyin’ dunks. Andrew York, who played basketball at Liberty briefly, and Dave Convertini, also a pretty good player, were completely amazed (and humored) when captain Jordan Shumaker skied to the rim and threw down a dunk too!
The actual games over the weekend were heartbreaking from a spectator’s standpoint. Malone is 17-4 and deserves their ranking, and we had our chances to beat them in three out of the four games. Clint Price may have put on one of the gutsiest pitching performances I’ve ever seen in the first game of our doubleheader on Saturday. He threw a fantastic game, matching Malone’s ace and closer pitch for pitch for almost 10 innings. He took the tough-luck loss, but it’s good to see that everything is starting to come together. One day we’ll have that one game where everything clicks. I have a feeling its coming soon.
March 23, 2009
March Madness has swept the entire nation, and that includes the Cedarville University baseball team. We had six games this last week, all of which were double headers, and all of which we split. During those games, the constant question was who was winning what game, and how each others’ brackets were looking. In our first game against Notre Dame College, we seemed to be more focused on the NCAA tournament than our own game, and it cost us dearly. I think we can learn something from not only this experience on focus, but also from individual teams in the tournament.
The Arizona Wildcats squeaked into the tournament this year, despite years of great tradition. No analyst gave them a chance to win their first game, let alone give them a thought for the second round and beyond. Now they find themselves in the Sweet 16, and are poised to be 2009’s Cinderella team. We can learn a lot from the Wildcats. Everyone was writing them off, much like we have been, and yet they just kept doing what they’ve been taught. They’re fundamentally sound and rely on each other more than pure athletic ability. This is exactly the type of mentality we have been trying to learn throughout the first part of the season, and hopefully we can have continued success like those Arizona Wildcats.
Though the week was tough mentally splitting six games, we did have a chance for some laughs. Nate Davenport showed signs of his power with his slash-bunt home run that he hit which won us the game in the top of the 8th inning against Ohio Northern. And then after the game he found a rotting bird in his shoe, thanks to an undisclosed freshman second baseman. We all got a good laugh watching Josh Sandlin deal his devastating curve ball to the Notre Dame hitters, often leaving them buckling at the knees or swinging completely out of their shoes. All in all, this week was a good learning experience for us and only a beginning of the real March Madness; this upcoming week we have seven games in a span of five days, including a 9-inning affair at Earlham.
On behalf of the entire team I’d like to thank everyone who has been out to support us so far, and look forward to seeing even more of you this weekend at home against Malone!
March 16, 2009
This week we found out a very important fact about the Cedarville University baseball team. We went 3-2 overall, splitting our conference games with Point Park over the weekend, but that really has nothing to do with the important fact.
On Monday, after our first practice on our own field, we had to roll the tarp out and cover the field. After only 20 minutes, the field was covered. After spending a year at another college where it took an hour to tarp the field, this seemed too good to be true. After a lot of wind and a little rain, we were back out onto the field on Wednesday, and maybe it all was too good to be true.
The tarp had slid almost 10 feet from where we had originally placed it, even after we pulled our batting cage and parked two tractors on the tarp. The result? It took us a LOT longer to get the tarp off of the field than it did to put it on. A lesson lived is a lesson learned.
After splitting with a team that we surely could have swept, we’ve gotten a new view as to how we are going about our season. We’ve had to learn the hard way that the previous game means nothing, and that all we do by beating a team 10-0 is motivate them more. The next challenge for us as a team is to be able to come back the second game and perform better than we had in the first. We’ll get three chances this week as we play Ohio Northern and Notre Dame College.
It’s been a week full of lessons, ranging from field maintenance to how to dodge an incoming baseball (thanks to Luke Freshwater) to being able to bring our best one game, and better than that the next. We’ll have to see if we’ve truly learned the lesson.
March 9, 2009
I’ve been in Ohio for less than 24 hours and have been asked what my favorite part of my Florida trip was over 17 times. The problem is, it isn’t an easy question to answer. A week full of memories like pizza with the sauce on top, Elmo wishing Mrs. Coach Thompson a Happy Birthday, taking BP in the same cages as Josh Hamilton, the King of Speed getting the permanent red light, and many more.
My conclusion at the end of the trip was simple: we’re spoiled. The “worst” place that we ate at the entire trip was Chick-fil-A, which is nicer than any restaurant I’d been to on my previous baseball trips. Our restaurant stops included Sonny’s Barbeque (which was amazing!), Giordano’s for delicious pizza, some Chinese buffet that really hit the spot, and of course the Golden Corral. I’d like to thank all of the parents who helped keep us from starving between games as well; the oranges and sandwiches were always great.
We also got to go to the beach, where Nate and Colby got completely burnt, giving us all a laugh for the plane ride home. We went to one of the best putt-putt courses I’ve ever been to, where Jordan Shumaker put on a Tiger-like performance to lead the way with a score of 38. And my favorite part of the trip - seeing the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Philadelphia Phillies. Yeah, so maybe both teams were depleted because of traveling rosters and the World Baseball Classic, but I got to see my childhood hero, John McDonald, play shortstop for the Jays, which made everything worth it.
We were even spoiled with the weather. After the initial coolness of Florida, it heated up and was beautiful for the rest of the week. Then to top it off, when we got back Saturday night, it was like we had never even left; except for the lack of palm trees.
We came back to Ohio with a respectable 6-4 record for the trip (8-6 overall), but we know we could, no, SHOULD have done better than that. We had a lot of positives come out of the trip though, and are really looking forward to getting conference play started.
March 2, 2009
There are a few things that one should never think about doing, like throwing rocks at hungry alligators, jumping into a grizzly bear pit, or making the freshmen wear shirts and ties at five o’clock in the morning for the ride to Florida. So maybe the last one doesn’t seem like it’d be nearly as dangerous as the first two, but you could ride with the team on the way to one of our games and still hear them complaining three days later.
Coming down to Florida has seemed like a dream come true. The first day it was picture perfect weather - 78 degrees, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. You could tell that we hadn’t gotten accustomed to the sun yet because the majority of the team had sun burn on every inch of our bodies.
Our second game Saturday was tough for us because we know that we were better than the team that we split with. The good news from the day was that David Convertini continued his great hitting, going 5-for-6 with a two doubles, a triple, and a home run on the day. It was an amazing sight for anyone in the Clearwater area. I would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Convertini for providing the team with snacks between games. Coach then completely splurged on us for dinner as we went to Giordano’s to eat some Chicago style pizza, along with salad and pasta. It was phenomenal.
Sunday was pretty cool because we went to First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks and got to experience what attending a mega-church is like. Personally, I come from a congregation that averages 55 people per Sunday, so the experience was extremely eye-opening for me.
We had a light workout in the afternoon and got to spend some downtime with whatever we pleased. The R&R was much needed, especially with a busy week coming up. Eight games in the next four days will be a challenge on not only our physical endurance, but our mental strength as well. Enduring the perfect weather might be the biggest challenge of all!
Feb. 23, 2009
If the Yellow Jacket baseball fans were waiting for a sign that something about this team is different, wait no more. I’m not talking about the 12-inning marathon of a game against Covenant that we came out on top of, which provided a boost of team morale. I’m not talking about the team watching, of all movies, The Mighty Ducks, on the bus ride to Tennessee, which provided a loose atmosphere. I’m not even talking about the team beat-box/freestyle rap session in the back of the bus on the way home, which provided a good laugh for everyone.
I’m talking about spending the hour and a half of down time before our night game by playing mind games on the bus. We could have rocked out to music, watched a movie, or done other “chill” things by ourselves, but instead we opted to have bus-wide brainteasers.
Here’s an example….We’re going to Holland, we’ve never been there, and we’re just going to hang out for a bit. We stay there for 2 days, and come back to go hiking in the Adirondacks. We’re going to stay there for an afternoon and drive down to Tennessee. We’ll play a couple games down there, and where will we go next?? Did you guess Miami? Me neither. Once you figure out the pattern it becomes easy, but figuring out the secret is the hard part. Just ask Clay, he’s still trying.
This team is different in other ways, too. Our first game of the season was played in Georgia instead of Tennessee, and the guys took the extra hour of time on the bus without complaining. A couple of times this weekend, the starting infield was all freshmen. “King of Speed” Clay Bryan scored from first base on a double to right center which was the first run of the year, and even more impressive, scored from second on an infield single. David Convertini put on one of the best hitting displays anyone could imagine, going for 9-14 in the tournament, and 7-7 on Saturday alone, with two home runs.
Overall, the weekend was great. We came away 2-2 and know that we can play better baseball than we did. We just want to keep improving every game. Who knows, maybe by the end of the season we can take what we do different, and make it into what makes us “special” or even “great”. We just need to figure out the secret.
Feb. 16, 2009
There comes a time in mid-February when a baseball team starts to get cabin fever; a time where the crazy Ohio temperatures make it possible to go outside, but the snow that still hasn’t melted causes a major problem. Since we’ve been practicing at 5 a.m. for the last four weeks, we’ve been itching for the snow to melt and the season to start for the last three.
Our last morning practice is this week, and we actually get to head down to Dayton, Tennessee to open our season. We'll leave on Thursday and play two games Friday and two games Saturday in the Bryan Invitational.
It’s already easy to see the hard work that we’ve put in during those early morning practices paying off. Our first intra squad scrimmage went very well last Friday, with everyone bearing the frigid weather while playing at the Athletes in Action field.
Team A defeated Team B in a well-fought 5 inning battle in which first baseman/designated hitter Clay Bryan almost recorded his "first stolen base" in his college career; until the official ruling was the pitcher balked. Clay still felt the need to email everyone to let us know his speed has increased, dubbing himself the "King of Speed."
Needless to say, we are all very excited to get this season underway. We knew back in October when we went to the Dominican Republic that this would be a season full of memories. The awkwardness of being new teammates has officially gone by the wayside, and the new players are beginning to mesh very well with the returnees.
I know that I speak for the entire team when I say that this season brings a lot of high expectations; expectations that might be a little higher than what traditional Cedarville baseball is used to.
If anyone out there would be interested in meeting the 2009 Yellow Jackets, we’re having a Meet n’ Greet on Tuesday, February 17th, from 7:00 to 8:30 in the Varsity Room in the Callan Athletic Center. No RSVP is needed and the event is open to all Yellow Jacket fans, family, and supporters, so we hope to see you all there!
Kyler Ludlow is a sophomore broadcasting major from Fort Loramie, Ohio. He is in his first season with the Yellow Jackets as a transfer from West Liberty State College.
