Loss of focus only vice for Lancers
Brett Starkopf
Features Editor
At the midway point of the regular season, CLC’s baseball team is among the nation’s elite. The Lancers (17-9, 7-3 conference) started receiving votes to be ranked in the top 15 in the nation (comparable to top 25 for NCAA athletics).
Sophomores Jeff Baird and Rob Wilson are pitching lights-out. Baird is 3-0 in four starts, posting a 1.80 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. Wilson isn’t far behind with a 3-1 record, a 1.90 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23 2-3 inning of work. Unfortunately, an arm injury could sideline him for a while but the team remains positive he will come back strong. His 16 punch-outs lead the team. Sophomore Ben Ehgoetz is second with 15 strikeouts and a 2-0 record.
The offense has been on a terror, putting up double-digits in 10 of their 17 victories. On March 31, the Lancers scored 25 times, the most since April 2006 when they beat Waukesha County Technical College 22-3. The 25-2 rout is their largest margin of victory to date.
Freshman first-baseman Steven Torres has an astonishing .544 batting average with a team-leading five home runs and 36 RBIs. His batting average ranks second among the NJCAA Division II leaders. Torres is joined on that list by sophomores Marcos Peneloza (.519) and Chris Stewart (.477) and fellow frosh Tomas Catala (.500) and Jay Mueller (.477). Torres and Stewart both lead the team with 31 hits.
“I’m not unhappy with the way we are playing,” head coach Ken Kelly said. “We lost a couple games early then won 12 in a row. We’re a good offensive team, we’re a good defensive team, our pitching’s been good. We just need to get better everyday. It’s not who you play, its how you play.”
Lately, the Lancers haven’t been playing well. They lost six out their last eight games. Kelly attributes his team’s recent struggles to the team’s lack of focus.
“If anything, my concern for the team is our arms and our ability to stay focused for seven or nine innings,” Kelly said. “We have not done that yet. In baseball, what differentiates the teams who are very good to the teams who are good is their ability to focus.”
The team’s struggles can be viewed as a learning experience. Since it’s the middle of the season, the team should be able to work out their kinks and be ready come playoff time.
“We were getting better, but we took a step back,” Kelly said. “It’ll be interesting to see how things go.”
If the first 18 games of the season were any indication of how this team can play (15-3 to start the season), they can and will go far in the playoffs. The only thing holding them back from scoring 25 runs-a-game is the lack of concentration towards the end of games.
“We’re a very good team,” Mueller said. “We start games out really well. We’ll focus for four innings of the game and just lose it sometimes. There’s other games where we are focused and when we do, it’s a victory, usually. As long as we stay focused we are a very good team.”
Features Editor
At the midway point of the regular season, CLC’s baseball team is among the nation’s elite. The Lancers (17-9, 7-3 conference) started receiving votes to be ranked in the top 15 in the nation (comparable to top 25 for NCAA athletics).
Sophomores Jeff Baird and Rob Wilson are pitching lights-out. Baird is 3-0 in four starts, posting a 1.80 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. Wilson isn’t far behind with a 3-1 record, a 1.90 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23 2-3 inning of work. Unfortunately, an arm injury could sideline him for a while but the team remains positive he will come back strong. His 16 punch-outs lead the team. Sophomore Ben Ehgoetz is second with 15 strikeouts and a 2-0 record.
The offense has been on a terror, putting up double-digits in 10 of their 17 victories. On March 31, the Lancers scored 25 times, the most since April 2006 when they beat Waukesha County Technical College 22-3. The 25-2 rout is their largest margin of victory to date.
Freshman first-baseman Steven Torres has an astonishing .544 batting average with a team-leading five home runs and 36 RBIs. His batting average ranks second among the NJCAA Division II leaders. Torres is joined on that list by sophomores Marcos Peneloza (.519) and Chris Stewart (.477) and fellow frosh Tomas Catala (.500) and Jay Mueller (.477). Torres and Stewart both lead the team with 31 hits.
“I’m not unhappy with the way we are playing,” head coach Ken Kelly said. “We lost a couple games early then won 12 in a row. We’re a good offensive team, we’re a good defensive team, our pitching’s been good. We just need to get better everyday. It’s not who you play, its how you play.”
Lately, the Lancers haven’t been playing well. They lost six out their last eight games. Kelly attributes his team’s recent struggles to the team’s lack of focus.
“If anything, my concern for the team is our arms and our ability to stay focused for seven or nine innings,” Kelly said. “We have not done that yet. In baseball, what differentiates the teams who are very good to the teams who are good is their ability to focus.”
The team’s struggles can be viewed as a learning experience. Since it’s the middle of the season, the team should be able to work out their kinks and be ready come playoff time.
“We were getting better, but we took a step back,” Kelly said. “It’ll be interesting to see how things go.”
If the first 18 games of the season were any indication of how this team can play (15-3 to start the season), they can and will go far in the playoffs. The only thing holding them back from scoring 25 runs-a-game is the lack of concentration towards the end of games.
“We’re a very good team,” Mueller said. “We start games out really well. We’ll focus for four innings of the game and just lose it sometimes. There’s other games where we are focused and when we do, it’s a victory, usually. As long as we stay focused we are a very good team.”
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