NU baseball team heads to playoffs after great season

By Dan Robinson
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Norwich's baseball team has recently ended its regular season and is looking ahead to the first playoff game of the 2003 season.

Right now the Cadets' conference record is 10-6, and their overall record is 10-13. Norwich's first tournament game will be against Western New England College.

"The first time we played them, we won 11-5. The second game, they barely pulled out the win at the end, beating us 8-7. I think we have a real strong chance of getting by them in the tournament," said Josh Creighton, a junior, communications major from Scituate, Mass.

"In that second game, we had them on the ropes, but we let the game slip away from us. I think we have a good chance in beating W.N.E.C and also moving even farther in the tournament," said Bill Tucker, a junior, business management major from Halifax, Massachusetts.

Goodridge added, "The last time we played them, I think we beat them 13 out of the 14 innings we played. In the last inning of our loss against them, we weren't able to put things together in the last inning, which cost us the game."

If Norwich wins its playoff game against W.N.E.C, tournament play will continue on Saturday over at Rhode Island in a double elimination tournament.

The Norwich baseball team has a couple players who are posting big numbers, specifically in the area of batting average. C.J. Daley and Josh Creighton rank among the top ten in their conference.

"C.J. Daley has been playing very well. I believe he's 10th in the conference with a batting average of 386. Just recently, he went 7 for 13, so his average is even better, now," said Tim Goodridge, a sophomore, civil engineering major from Whately, Mass.

Josh Creighton is fifth in the conference with an average of 419.

"Josh has impressed everyone this season. I think if everyone can work the bats like he has, we'll be in great shape," said Goodridge.

In the last few weeks, the Cadets have had to cram many games into a short amount of time.

"This whole season has been very aggravating, with the weather, games being postponed and set back. We ended up having to play 15 or so games in only a week and a half. It was difficult, but we made the best out of what we had," Creighton said.

"Our whole season relied basically on two weeks of games. It was really intense, but I'm happy with how we did," said C.J. Daley, a junior, history major from Orange County, Calif.

In the GNAC conference the competition is very close.

"The whole GNAC conference is basically a toss up right now. There's a lot of good teams, and I think we're probably one of the top teams in our league," Tucker said. "Even though we're seeded fifth, I don't think our record shows how good we really are. I think we have the potential to go far in the tournament."

"Overall, I think we have a lot of talent, as well as a lot of depth. In our pitching rotation we've improved from last year, with nine-ten solid pitchers," Creighton said.

According to Creighton, the teams to beat in their conference are Johnson and Whales and Suffolk. Johnson and Whales beat the Cadets twice in two hard-fought games.

"They're the team to beat right now at the number one seed, and we were in the position to win. I think if we get the opportunity to play them in the tournament, we have good chances of beating them," Creighton said.

"Suffolk is very good, and they swept us the first time we played them, but I think they're a very beatable team, as well," Daley said.

Many of the players talked about the positive things which the 2003 team has shown this year.

"As the season has progressed I've seen a lot of maturity among the other players. We have taken on an attitude that we can't be beaten, and I think this attitude started with the upperclassmen and has trickled down to the younger players," Goodridge said.

"I think we've really come together towards the end of the season, and I expect us to do very well in the tournament," Tucker said.

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