The Norwich men’s baseball team has started the preseason with a new mindset and a new goal.
“We want to make a statement this year. We want to show that we have a lot talent on the team and we are better than what our records in the past have shown,” said Travis Dyke, a senior in the corps majoring in criminal justice from Lewiston, Maine.
“We are a lot more consistent already and have raised the level of competition,” said Ryan Kelly, a 21-year-old senior majoring in physical education from Albany, N.Y.
Last year the team achieved one of its goals which was making the playoffs; now going into this season it looks to accomplish even more: host a playoff game and win GNAC, according to Kelly.
“Making playoffs is always the main goal, but hosting a first-round playoff game would be a great accomplishment for our program and taking another step higher,” said Kelly, the four-year pitcher.
For preseason, the team has been going through the lift program with Coach Kruger as well as night practices in Shapiro and inter-squad scrimmages, according to Dyke.
“Even though it is preseason, we try to go hard in every practice and every lift,” Dyke said.
“The batting cage is always open, so a couple of the guys try to get in about five times a week, and we also do drills and scrimmages in the field house. It’s more than what most teams accomplish because of the winters,” said Charlie Shaw, 18, a freshman majoring in engineering management from East Hampton, Conn.
The team looks to make some early improvements with a good crop of returners from last year as well as the talented freshmen class, according to Dyke.
“The last four years I’ve been here, this has been the biggest freshmen class. They have a lot of potential and have leadership qualities. If they stay together and work hard, they’re going to be a very talented group,” Kelly said.
“As freshmen, we look to make the team, and work hard in practices as well as push each other to be better, including the returners,” Shaw said.
According to Kelly, the team’s chemistry is something that they do not have to work hard to achieve.
“This group has been together for awhile, we have graduated five players in the last two years, so everybody is pretty close,” Kelly said.
“We are definitely a lot closer, we are always together, it’s better than it’s ever been,” said Dyke, the four year outfielder,
The team is bigger than ever; there are about 15 returners and 10 to 15 freshmen, according to Dyke.
“I really like it here, a great bunch of guys, quite honestly this is the first time I have ever felt like I am on a real team,” Shaw said.
The team looks to kick off the season next semester, with official practices and games held in the spring.
“Our biggest motivation is to prove that we’re better than what people think we are. Everybody thinks that we’re going to have another losing season with three or four wins, but that’s not who we are and that’s not how we played like before. We know we can win,” Dyke said.
“The program is on the rise. We use the lack of respect from the Norwich community as motivation to show that we are a good team,” Kelly said.