What's up devoted Catamount fans? Welcome back to another Potomac State Baseball Player diary entry
Currently, I am on the bus ride from Sumter, SC, back to Keyser, WV, and I thought what better way to kill a 10-hour bus ride than by typing up another player diary for you all to enjoy.
Well, the weather held off and we were able to load up the buses bright and early on Friday morning and start the long bus ride down south to Sumter.
The night before the trip, it was hard to fall asleep with all the excitement and anxiety of getting to finally play. Some of my teammates and I found some creative ways to kill some time since we couldn't sleep. The first thing to accomplish was a typical Sheetz run with my roommate Abe Sterns, as well as freshman Jake Ours and Justin Stone. After that, we decided to get some throwing in to get our arms ready. So, Jake, Justin, and I found some light outside the gymnasium and played some catch. Once we were done, I went back to my room. There, Abe and I had a great shred session playing Guitar Hero. Abe's a Guitar Hero stud; pretty much can play any song on expert's level. And then there's me who can barely play songs on easy mode. After a good hour of rockin' we finally fell asleep at 4 in the morning for a quick nap, before we woke up again at 7 a.m.
On Friday morning, we packed up all the stuff, grabbed some quick breakfast from the Potomac Commons café, and headed up to the bus. Once we got loaded up and situated everything, we hit the road. Good thing was that due to the lack of sleep, it was super easy to get some sleep during the trip. We stopped to get some lunch along the way, and finally made it to the hotel room around 7 p.m. Then, Coach Schafer assigned us to our rooms, we moved in, then went to get some dinner at the Applebee's right next to our hotel. Once we were all fed, we walked back to the hotel, trying to get as much sleep as possible because we knew Saturday was going to be a long opening day, two tough games at 10 a.m. against Florence Darlington, and another at 6:30 p.m. against Walters State.
Opening day is always interesting because with a new team, you really never know what to expect. And with first game jitters and tensions running high, you don't know what to expect. But Saturday was a great opening day for the Catamounts.
For the first game of the weekend, we faced Florence Darlington, who is a very powerful and competitive team in the South. But we were ready for the battle. The team stretched out, threw, hit in the tunnels, and just like that -- we were playing.
We jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead and held it through the beginning of the game. Later in the game, Flo-Dar tied it all up and 1-1. In the middle of the game, we had two runners on when freshman Haydon Almond came up in a big spot. He laced a single into right-center and scored both runs. Then, through a pair of throwing errors, he also scored, giving us the lead 4-1. Flo-Dar ended up making it 4-2, but that ended up being the final score, as the we won our opener and upset Flo-Dar who was at the time #23 in the country. I must commend our starting pitcher for the game, sophomore Colt Webb. Colt was absolutely dicing up hitters and keeping them off-balance, he had no hit them through his 4 innings, where he was then pulled due to pitch count limit set by Coach Little. After this, freshman Tyler Bradford came in and picked up right were Colt left off, keeping us in the game through the 7th inning. In the 7th inning, freshman Brandon Schaeffer came in to close the game out. And that was it, we started the season with a win.
It was a great team win! Energy was high and I think we're all ready to prove ourselves. But the celebration of the win was short lived, as we knew we had a much tough opponent later, Walters State. At 6:30 p.m., it was a night game under the lights which had us pumped up. During the game, hitters battled extremely good pitching, and pitchers did what they could to keep us in the game. We kept battling all the way to the end, where even a late rally wasn't enough to bring us back as we fell to Walters State, who is now #2 in the country, 8-3.
We packed everything up, headed back to the hotel, and got some dinner at Chili's before turning in for the night. In the morning, we had one more game left against Flo-Dar again at 10 a.m.
In the morning, we knew weather was going to be a factor, due to the rain, but had to put that aside to get mentally ready for the game. We got prepared and ready and started the game even though it was raining. We had jumped out to another early lead going up 3-1 in the top of the 2nd. In the middle of the second inning, umpires decided the rain was getting too much for the field and put us on delay. This was a huge momentum killer, as now we had to play the wait game. After a while, when it started to look like it was going to clear up, it was decided to cancel the game to prepare it for the games that followed ours, all of which were eventually canceled.
It was very frustrating having to cancel the game while it was going on, especially being up like we were. I could tell we were all hungry for another win. But nevertheless, I couldn't be more pleased with how the weekend went. We started the season 1-1 against two of the best teams in the nation. This really proves that we are a driving and hardworking team, willing to do what it takes, grit our teeth, and battle during any game, no matter the opponent, to get a win. After we get back, we plan to have Monday as an off day of recovery. After that, it's going to be another week of practices, trying to get ready for next weekend in Dobson, NC. Hopefully, we can get some practices outside to get ready for Saturday.
I did have time to produce a new hype video that you can see here:
Thank you for tuning into this week's player diary! Please join in next week for updates on the team, as well as some exclusive team videos. Also, for more coverage follow the teams twitter (@PotomacStateBB) and Instagram (@potomacstatebaseball). If you have any questions or suggestions on videos, please email me at jts0033@mix.wvu.edu.
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Welcome back Catamount Faithful to this week's edition of the Potomac State Baseball Player Diary. For this week's edition, Sophomore Left-Handed Pitcher Brandon Schamp will be talking about the routine a starting pitcher goes through on gameday. He will also go over any certain rituals he has and his gameday superstitions.
Hello Catamount fans. Brandon Schamp here to give you the run down on a typical gameday when I am the starting pitcher. My gameday preparation usually starts the night before. I like to make sure that I have a good night's sleep so I am well rested to perform the best I can. When I wake up, I begin my day by looking up the opponent's roster and going over the stats for each of their hitters. By doing this, I can try and find trends in the hitters to learn how to attack their lineup. For example, if a hitter has a high strikeout per at-bat ratio, I can assume that he tends to chase pitches outside the strike zone and know that I can get ahead early then put him away with a good off-speed pitch in the dirt or an eye-level fastball. If a player has a lot of stolen bases, I can use that information to know which situations I should use a slide-step when pitching compared to when I can use my regular leg kick with runners on base. Following that, I usually skip breakfast and either do not eat a meal before the game or do not eat until lunch depending on the start time of the game. It is probably not the best thing that I skip breakfast since it is the most important meal of the day, but it has become one of my rituals over the years. I believe that when I skip breakfast, I tend to pitch better.
If the game is at home, I attend my classes for the day while listening to calming music in between classes and while I am walking to class. I am a big fan of 2000's R&B music so that tends to be my choice. If we are on the road, I usually listen to my music during the bus ride to the field no matter how long or short the trip is. The music really helps me stay relaxed while getting into the zone. When we are at home, I like to get to the field early so I do not have to rush to get into uniform and I can relax in the clubhouse until I begin my warmup. During away games, I get into uniform before I am on the bus so I can become comfortable with my uniform. If I am not comfortable in what I am wearing, it will bother me the whole game and take my mind off focusing on the game.
Around 30 minutes before game time, I begin warming up to take the mound. I start off with a light jog usually consisting of some poles or light sprints to get moving and get the blood flowing. Then, I move into my stretching. I do a variety of static and aerobic stretches and take up a lot of time with this portion. It usually lasts around fifteen minutes as I like to make sure I am as loose as possible. Some of my favorite stretches to do tend to do with getting my lower back and shoulder loose. In the past, I have had some issues with my back bothering me, so I like to be sure that I do everything in my power to loosen my back up. For my shoulder, I like to do some of our Crossover Symmetry band workout. They put my shoulder and arm through almost an entire workout before I even make a throw. This way, I know that there is no chance that my arm is not completely prepared to pitch.
The next segment of my warmup consists of a thorough long toss with one of the team's catchers. To me, this is the most essential part of my warmup. I can work on my arm slot and make sure the ball is being released and traveling the way I want it to. Following long toss, I move over to the bullpen. The first thing I work on off the mound is establishing my fastball. If I cannot command that pitch, it is going to be a long day for me. My off-speed pitches come next and I try and get a feel for each of them to determine which is working best for me. After that, I am ready to take the mound for the day. Coach Little makes sure that in between innings we always stay off our feet and have a jacket or sweatshirt covering my arm. Due to that, they have become an essential part of my routine. Before I throw my first pitch of the game, I touch the right side of the bill of my hat. Written there, is the initials of a good friend I lost earlier this year, Seth Wilson. He was a member of the team during the fall semester last year. This way, I know that he is always there with me while I am pitching. Other than that, I try to stay even-keeled while on the mound and do not let my emotions control how I pitch. It helps me stay consistent.
That is a typical gameday for me when I am the starting pitcher. Whether it is a single game or I am pitching the first or second half of a double header I like to keep this routine consistent for each. Thanks for letting me take you through a typical gameday for me and I hope you all enjoyed it. If you have any other questions about pitching, you can email Andrew and he will make sure to pass the word on to me. Thanks again and Go Cats!
Now, to continue my "10 Questions With…" segment, this week I decided to do 10 questions with…Abe Stearns. Abe is a redshirt freshman infielder on the team from Point Pleasant, WV, where he attended Point Pleasant High School.
Since you're from the same town as the famous Moth-man, do you believe it's real or a myth?
I believe it is a myth. I have never encountered anything and have tried countless times.
What is your favorite candy bar?
I gotta go with Take 5. They're delicious.
What is your favorite hobby outside of baseball?
Hunting racoons and fishing. I love the outdoors.
What is your favorite part about Keyser?
I love the small-town environment. I grew up in a small town and it feels like home.
Who is your favorite professor at Potomac State?
Probably Professor Sydow.
What is your major?
Currently my major is Athletic Coaching.
Which teammate is most likely to become famous?
Drew Leach or Justin Stone. I have a good feeling with those two.
What is your favorite activity to do with teammates?
I love chilling in my room and having a shred session with the boys on guitar hero.
If you could be any of the Potomac State Baseball coaches for a day who would you pick?
Probably Coach K because he always drives cool cars so he must make bank.
What are you most excited about for the rest of the season?
Hosting the Region XX Tournament at home in Keyser. That will be great.