Player Diary 3.28.18
Welcome to the 2018 Potomac State Baseball player diary homepage. This season, Sophomore's Mitchell Henshaw (Brockport High School / Brockport, NY), and Jeff Wong (George Washington High School / Charleston, WV) will take the lead on the Potomac State Baseball Player Diary. Note: Wong's entry will be in bold font.
Welcome back Catamount fans! For this week's edition, I sat down with two freshmen on the team, Austin Chavis (Bel Air, MD/Calvert Hall), and Juwuan Weaver (Virginia Beach, VA/Tallwood). Austin and Juwuan have been huge additions for the Catamounts. They are both extremely talented baseball players and I was very excited to do this interview with them. So, let's get to it!
What has been the biggest challenge for you?
Austin Chavis: "For me personally, the biggest challenge has been adapting to the speed of the ball off the bat in the infield. College baseball players are much stronger than high school baseball players and they hit the ball much harder. That has been something that seems to be the biggest change, but I enjoy working hard to make sure I am ready for it."
Juwuan Weaver: "The biggest adjustment for me has been conditioning my body at an elite level to perform up to high expectations for a whole college season. In high school, we only played a 20-game season, and here in college we play a 54-game season plus playoffs so that is a huge difference. Being mentally prepared for each and every game is something I really try to focus on and improve my abilities with."
What do you enjoy most about college baseball?
Austin Chavis: "The competitive nature, everybody is good. The games tend to move at a quicker pace. You have to do your best to slow the game down. To me there is a lot more action, like I said before, kids are much stronger and they hit the ball a long way. That is something I really enjoy about the game. Every aspect of it from pitching, to defense, is better in college and I thoroughly enjoy being a part of this."
Juwuan Weaver: "Coming from a freshman standpoint, learning more about the game from the older kids on the team is a great learning experience. Looking up to some kids and seeing how they deal with adversity and how I could apply that to my game so I can become a better player. I am always trying to improve my game at every aspect. Listening to our coaches who know what it takes to make it to the next level and understanding that it is only going to get tougher from here. I really enjoy the competitive nature of the game."
What are your expectations for the team this year?
Austin Chavis: "Of course our goal this year is to be a national powerhouse. With , we want to not only get to Grand Junction, but to get there and compete. In order to do that we must continue to develop on and off the field as men and baseball players. Talent wise we have the ability to reach that goal, it is just the matter of putting the pieces together to do it."
Juwuan Weaver: "First, to grow as a program. Putting in the time and dedication every day to be the best team in Region XX and of course the goal is to always make it to Grand Junction. I think we have the team to do it, and I am really looking forward to continue the season."
What has been your most memorable moment so far, this season?
Austin Chavis: "This is a tough one for me, there has been many great moments so far in my opinion. But I have to say it was my first practice here at Potomac State. Coming in as a young freshman, I did not know what to expect. All the little details that I never knew coming from high school and realizing that you have to pay attention to the little things each and every practice. That is what will make you great."
Juwuan Weaver: "I would have to say it was our first home game at Golden Park against Eastern Gateway Community College out of Ohio. Taking in the whole experience of being a college baseball player and hat it feels like to play at the next level."
Outside of baseball, what are some of your favorite things to do in your free time?
Austin Chavis: "Anything with my teammates is always a good time. Going to dinner and having some deep conversations is always a great time. Even little things like eating in the café every day, creating memories with your boys is what I love. We tend to play Fortnite quite a bit and that seems to have taken over a good bit of our free time."
Juwuan Weaver: "In the off-season, traveling to other schools and catching up with old teammates is something I look forward to. Getting a chance to understand certain individuals on the team and getting to know them outside of baseball is something I tend to enjoy. Along with watching movies and listening to music with my roommates"
That will be it for this week's edition. Make sure to check in each week to catch up on all of our games, and to see what the team is doing. Feel free to follow the team on Twitter @PotomacStateBB and Instagram @potomacstatebaseball. You can also follow me on Twitter @mhenshaw4 for some exclusive coverage of the team. If you have any questions or comments about the player diaries you can email me at mjh0025@mix.wvu.edu. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it.
Hello Catamount fans! Welcome back for another installment of the Potomac State Player Diary! The past couple weeks have been filled with cold, nasty weather. We battled the elements and worked our tails off on the field. The roller coaster of weather started last week, when we played St. Clair Community College out of Michigan. The Catamounts hosted St. Clair CC for a four game stint, having double headers on both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday, March 17th, was a cold one. Due to the weather, the scheduled double header transition into a single, 9-inning game. The game started at 2:00, and so did the snow. It was snowing hard enough to hide the baseball on pop flies, but not hard enough to stop the game. The temperature hovered around 33 ° , causing the light snow to turn into a spitting rain from time to time. The Catamounts dealt with the elements, picking up a 9-1 win, which set the tone for the weekend. The following day’s (Sunday the 18th) weather could not have been more different. The grey sky opened to a cloudless dome of blue, and the temperature rose to a comfortable level, staying in the high 40’s and the low 50’s. Carrying the momentum from the day before, we took both games and completed the weekend sweep.
The nice weather did not last long. On Monday, the very next day, the snow came again, but this time it was more than just a dusting. We woke up on Tuesday morning to 6 inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground. Having both days off from class due to the weather, we could catch up on any school work. On Thursday, we went to work on the field.
There was an even 4 to 5 inches of snow on the entire field, but fortunately we had put the tarp on. The first order of business was clearing the infield tarp of the snow on it so we could pull it off. Catamounts manned every broom and shovel that we have; brooms were used for the tarp and the shovel guys teamed up with the rake guys to start on the daunting outfield. We worked for 3 or 4 hours clearing half melted, wet, heavy snow that didn’t want to move. Once we got the tarp off, the entire team went to work on the outfield, breaking up the snow as best as we could so that it would melt faster. On Friday, we continued to work on breaking up the outfield for a half an hour before practice in the gym.
This past Saturday, March the 24, our field was still a little too wet to be played on. Thankfully, we were able to reserve Monongalia County Ballpark: home of the West Virginia Mountaineers and Minor League Class A team West Virginia Black Bears. Only three years old, the park boasts a beautiful back drop and an all turf field. It was a great experience for both teams to get to play a regular season game in such a setting. The trip to Morgantown resulted in 2 wins.
On Sunday, our hard work paid off. Cecil College travelled to Keyser for the day for a double header. The field was a green patch amongst snow covered hillsides, giving Golden Park a magical feel. The Catamounts swept the weekend, taking two come-from-behind wins against Cecil. The pair of wins brings our record to 17 wins and 4 losses.
The weather continues to interfere, forcing Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s home games to be cancelled. Thanks for reading and watch the attached video to get a look at how we dealt with the weather!