The College of Southern Maryland baseball teams return to competition for the first time in nearly a year when they host the Potomac State College of WVU Catamounts on March 6 for the opening game of the 2021 regular season. Hawks will face the Catamounts in a double header in La Plata, Maryland, with the first pitch in Game 1 set at 1 p.m.
The last time the Hawks played against anyone other than themselves was on March 11, 2020, when they swept a double head at home against Ulster County Community College. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the rest of the season.
This will be Michael’s fifth season as head coach of CSM. Last year looked like it would be one of his best, as the Hawks had an 11-5 record while on average they had a little more than eight races per game.
But, Michael said, every season is different, and he does not necessarily expect this team to continue exactly where last year’s team left off.
“Every year is different; some players stay, but the whole team’s chemistry changes, ”said Michael. “I would like to get back on a roll like last year, but we can not just duplicate it - we have to work hard to find this year’s identity, to find this year’s success.”
Michael said he has repeated success from third-year players Trevor Drummond, who was named the All-Region XX Division II Honorable Mention Team, Peyton myers, and Dylan bell should help the Hawks get off to a good start like last year. While he also looks for repeated performances from second-year players Eli wilhelm and Ethan Zorbaugh, he noted that “every player on the list has a role to play, and each one is crucial to the success of the team.”
“The returning players give the team a level of experience and confidence; they should help the team get off on the right foot, ”said Michael.
When last season ended, Myers and Wilhelm led the team in races with 17. Drummond was first in line with 20 with Wilhelm right behind at 18 and Myers at 17. Myers had the most home races with three, Wilhelm had two, and Drummond and Zorbaugh each had one . Wilhelm ended the year with a slaughter average of 0.450 and a slugging percentage of 800.
On the mound, Bell and Zorbaugh started four games each. Zorbaugh collected three wins and 24 strikes over 24 innings. Bell picked up a win, a complete end to the game, and nine strikes over 17 innings were thrown. Zorbaugh finished with a 1.50 ERA while Bell had a 3.71 ERA.
Michael is still preparing his team as best he can to get a new season started.
“The team has had new challenges this year that we do not face with most seasons, so we have had to train for new circumstances, which has helped us stay focused on the big picture and try to put our players in positions to succeed. , ”In Michael. “We’ve tried to get them to focus on small parts of the game, the things they can control, and try to treat it like a normal game, but we understand that it will probably be a bit excessive early on.
“Excitement is an understatement for our players.”
For Michael, he is most excited to “just get out on the field, compete and represent our college in the best way we can. Our school and the administration have done a good job of navigating the uncertainty around the last calendar year, and because of that we get the opportunity to start bringing back a sense of normality to the school, and we are very happy for that opportunity. “