By Spencer Paterick ’21, staff writer
LVC’s baseball team returned from its spring break trip with its best start to a season since 2011.
The baseball team traveled to Fort Pierce, Florida, to take on other teams from the east coast. The Dutchmen played a total of nine games over the course of seven days. LVC returned home with an overall record of 7-2.
The Dutchmen started the week-long trip off in a big way with a win over the Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a score of 15-0. However, this wasn’t the team’s biggest win of the week. In the third game of its trip against the Dominican University Stars, the Dutchmen offense showed what it’s capable of, scoring a total of 23 runs before the game was called in the seventh inning.
The defense also held up well in this game, largely due to stellar pitching from Jake Williams, a senior right-handed pitcher, and Joe DeGrazia, a freshman RHP. Williams threw for a total of four innings, struck out six batters and recorded his first win of the season. DeGrazia also struck out six batters, threw for three innings and recorded the first save of his collegiate career.
“Florida really proved to us that we can be competitive in every game we play,” Brendan Ward, a junior RHP said. “Seeing everyone play down there, especially the younger guys, was really cool. I think that people should expect a lot from us this year as a team.”
Ward pitched for a total of nine innings in two appearances in Florida, both of which he started and recorded a win. He currently has the second most strikeouts on the team with 11 and also holds the team low ERA of 0.00. Ward has only given up nine total hits and two runs.
The game against the Dominican University Stars was also the most exciting game. With two outs and the game tied at six in the bottom of the ninth, Mitch Rickabaugh, a junior catcher, hit a single that allowed Josh Herring, a junior center-fielder, to score the game-winning run.
“Florida gave us a lot to improve on,” Daymond Zweizig, a sophomore RHP said. “We did some things right and did some things wrong. We just have to keep working hard and ride the wave.”
In Florida, Zweizig pitched for just over three innings. He recorded six strikeouts and allowed just seven hits and five runs.
Overall, the Dutchmen outscored their opponents 84-38, batted .341, recorded 18 different starters in nine games, struck out 99 batters and threw for a team ERA of 3.00.
As of March 17, the Dutchmen are 9-9 overall and are fifth place in the MAC with a 2-4 conference record. The next time the team is in action at home, is on Friday, March 29, at 3:30 p.m. as LVC takes on Messiah College.