By Mikai Bruce
This past week, both the baseball and softball teams at SUNY Plattsburgh traveled to South Carolina to participate in a week-long slate of games. Each team had differing levels of success on their trips, but both succeeded when it came to team chemistry.
Softball had a positive trip on the field, going 4-2 during their time at the Ripken Experience tournament, and it boosted morale and team chemistry.
“This trip was worthwhile because it was a learning experience and a good start to the season. It was also positive because we won the majority of our games. I think that it brought the team closer together by spending so much time together,” senior pitcher Kristina Maggiacomo wrote in a text.
Road trips force a team to spend plenty of time together and the time spent at the tournament can help build friendships, which in turn can improve the cohesiveness of the team. Winning also boosts morale. For softball to get off to such a hot start to their season, it bodes well for its future.
The baseball team didn’t do as well as the softball team during the Ripken Experience tournament, recording a record of 3-5 on their trip, but there were still plenty of positives from their trip.
“Besides being on the field, we were around each other 24/7, which definitely increased our chemistry as a whole. Not only was the trip beneficial towards physically prepping us, but it definitely made our team bond much stronger,” graduate student pitcher Sean Malamud said.
The baseball team found itself improving its chemistry as a result of this trip. Having a bonding experience like this makes the trying times of the season easier to handle.
The goal, however, is to win and this team, including their coach, set high expectations for themselves.
“Overall disappointing trip. Played good in spurts. Veit had a great pitching performance vs Worcester State. Nick Cergol played well including hitting a walk off homer vs Albertus Magnus,” Head Coach Sam Quinn-Loeb said.
Disappointment can be the result of high standards and the standard Quinn-Loeb has for this team is high because of its postseason trip last season.
“We had our up and downs in the tournament but we definitely came together as a team and came back to Plattsburgh as a much better team,” junior pitcher Tyler Kohn said.
Both teams had some highs on the field. The softball team won their game against University of Maine-Farmington March 15 with a staggering final score of 16-3, which included five players scoring multiple runs. The baseball team beat Albertus Magnus 8-7 in crunch time thanks to a clutch walk-off home run from Nick Cergol.
The baseball team’s season continues this weekend with three games against SUNY Oneonta, while the softball team’s season continues March 29 in Saratoga against Skidmore College. The baseball team will look to bounce back from its performance last week for conference play and the softball team will look to ride the momentum it built during its road trip.
