Syracuse club baseball is in spring training before it’s season starts in April.
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WILL HENTSCHEL: WELCOME INTO NCC SPORTS, I’M WILL HENTSCHEL. WHILE THE YANKEES MIGHT BE SPENDING THEIR SPRING IN TAMPA, AND THE METS IN PORT SAINT LUCIE, ANOTHER BASEBALL TEAM IS ALSO IN SPRING TRAINING, BUT MUCH CLOSER TO HOME.
THIS COLD WINTER NIGHT AT MANLEY FIELD HOUSE MIGHT NOT LOOK LIKE FLORIDA, BUT IT’S SPRING TRAINING ALL THE SAME.
WITH GAMES ONLY A MONTH AWAY, SYRACUSE CLUB BASEBALL IS IN THE MIDST OF IT’S SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE. TWENTY-ODD BALL PLAYERS TAKE REPS ON A MAKESHIFT TURF DIAMOND, TAKE HACKS INSIDE THE BATTING CAGE, AND THROW BULLPENS. WHILE TRAINING FOR TWO HOURSE LATE AT NIGHT MIGHT NOT BE EVERYONE’S CUP OF TEA, TEAM CAPTAIN CONNOR BURKE SAYS HIS SQUAD IS PUTTING THEIR NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE.
CONNOR BURKE: SO, IN THE SPRING WE STARTED WITH TWO DAYS A WEEK OF BOTH IN THE CAGE AND FIELDING IN THE TURF, AND WE JUST ADDED A THIRD ONE.
HENTSCHEL: AND THESE REPS ARE FOR GOOD REASON. S-U IS NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLUB BASEBALL WORLD.
BURKE: WE’RE CURRENTLY RANKED THIRD IN THE NATION GOING INTO THE SPRING, SO THAT’S BEEN A BIG MORALE BOOST OF JUST KINDA REALIZING, IT’S STEMMING OFF WHAT WE’VE DONE IN THE FALL. AND IT’S KINDA A MORALE BOOST OF LIKE “HEY” WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING HERE AND WIN SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT
HENTSCHEL: THE ONLY THING MISSING FROM THESE PRACTICES IS AN ACTUAL FIELD. CURRENTLY, SYRACUSE PLAY’S IT’S HOME GAMES AT A NEARBY HIGH SCHOOL. WHILE IT GETS THE JOB DONE,BURKE SAY’S AN ON-CAMPUS FIELD WOULD PROFOUNDLY BOOST THE PROGRAM.
BURKE: IT IS A BIG BUMMER THAT WE DON’T HAVE OUR OWN FIELD THAT WE CAN USE AND HAVE PEOPLE COME TO SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY AND PLAY ON THE CAMPUS.
HENTSCHEL: FIRST PITCH FOR SYRACUSE CLUB BASEBALL’S SEASON IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL FIRST AT CORTLAND.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – For most people in Syracuse, late February and early March mean snow, and many more weeks until true spring weather arrives in the region. But for the players on Syracuse Club Baseball, they’ve been in spring training for weeks.
The team, which practices out of the iconic Manley Field House, only has a month before its season opener on the road against Cortland on Apr. 1. With time winding down, team captain Connor Burke has ramped up the number of practices for his team.
“In the spring we started with two days a week, both in the cage and fielding on the turf,” Burke said. ” And we just added a third one [practice].”
Syracuse finished it’s fall campaign 11-1 in the National Club Baseball Association Division II conference. With the impressive record in a division including Cortland, Ithaca, Siena, Clarkson and Rochester, SU is now ranked as the #3 team in the entire nation. It’s a a badge of honor that has the team playing with some extra fire.
“It’s stemming off what we’ve done in the Fall,” Burke said. “It’s kind of a morale boost of like, ‘hey, we can actually do something here and win something significant.'”
But it won’t be an easy job hold on to that high ranking. Syracuse has road trips to Boston College and Georgetown this season, and a continuation of a tough conference slate. Still, the baseball team – clad in new hats and sweatshirts – seems confident moving into their upcoming spring campaign. If Cuse advances through this season into a playoff position, they’ll have the opportunity to play for the DII national title in Alton, Ill. in late May.