With the spring season on the horizon, Bates Varsity Athletics is gearing up to bring home some hardware this year. The Men’s Baseball team is ready to make a statement after narrowly missing the playoffs last year due to some extra inning heroics from their conference rival, Bowdoin. Finishing last season sitting one game over .500 (16-15) with most of their losses coming from conference play (1-11), all eyes are on the ‘Cats to see whether they’ll be able to perform or not.
I sat down and spoke with the three senior captains, Chris Cimino, Jack Brennan and Noah Timmer, to hear their thoughts about their offseason preparation and the expectations they have for themselves as they start to look towards their first game on Feb. 22.
“As far as the fall season went, it went smoother than any previous offseason we’ve had before,” Timmer said. “We were able to quickly instill into the new guys our running philosophy and it translated into this winter season with some captain-led team lifts and workouts. Our guys were ready to go and knew what was expected of them and I would say they went above and beyond.” Timmer also praised the work ethic and team-oriented mindset that every player has adopted this year.
Being the last class to suffer an abbreviated season due to COVID, the three seniors have been through countless ups and downs and know what it takes to continue to get better year after year, as last season marked the first positive record for the team since 2019.
“It’s one practice at a time and one game at a time because we’re not getting to where we want to be without focusing 100% each and every day of practice and every game,” said Cimino. He believes the key to being successful through such a long and grueling season lies in their ability to stick to the process and fundamentals that were instilled by Head Coach Jon Martin and Assistant Coach Mike LaFlamme.
When asked about their attitude and feelings heading into the season, Brennan said, “It’s us versus them. If we stay on ‘us’ and really focus on what we can do as a team then we’ll find success. Ultimately the season comes down to twelve NESCAC games so from now on it’s just a preparation to get ready for those games and keep building.”
Brennan’s words resonated with his fellow captains, as they each seemed eager and ready to test their metal against other teams. Being forced to wait until April to play their first home game due to inadequate field conditions, year after year the ‘Cats are faced with a grueling schedule packed with long road trips and lack of local support. However, after speaking with the three seniors it’s obvious they aren’t willing to let anything slow them down, as they continue to prepare for what they hope to be the beginning of a new and historic chapter in the history of Bates Baseball.
