Player Diary 4.4.18
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 Catamount fans to this week's edition of the Potomac State Baseball player diary. For this week's video, I have created a day in the life film of sophomore pitcher, Tyler Shorter (Morgantown, WV/Morgantown). Shorter is a great kid and has a phenomenal work ethic. In fact, I have seen fewer players work as hard as he has over the last two years. Tyler would be the first to admit he was not blessed to be 6’3”, but he has more than made up for that with a work ethic that is second to none. The stride he has made are amazing and it is a tribute to his preparation, hard work and dedication. On top of all that he is a great student and an even better teammate. Please click the link below to follow Tyler throughout his day!
On Tuesday afternoon, I participated in my bowling class up at Rainbow Lanes. Fortunately for me, there are many of my fellow teammates in this class. This makes it a great time because having a bunch of guys on the team there makes for a very competitive atmosphere. How this class works is that you check in, bowl two games, record your scores and then you get to leave for the day. So, you know we are going to have some fun bets on the line. For my two games, I was matched up against Sebastian “Seabass” Williamson (Oley, PA/Oley Valley), Tanner “Dale” Lambert (Morgantown, WV/East Fairmont), and Dave McQuain (Fairmont, WV/East Fairmont). For game one, Seabass and Dale had a fun bet going on. If Seabass won, Dale would have to buy him a latte and then if Dale won, Seabass would have to buy him two cheeseburgers. Seabass got off to a hot start, and never looked back. Dale struggled a bit to say the least. He was cleaning the gutters half the time and finished the game with an embarrassing number under 100; not a good start. Dale would have to pay up, and he was a man of his word. Seabass would make sure to not let Dale forget who beat him. Nothing better than a competitive atmosphere.
For game two, we did team scores. The teams were the four of us going up against Austin Kuhn (Fairmont, WV/Fairmont), Brett Whiteman (Ridgeley, WV/Frankfort), “Pistol” Pete Costigan (Alexandria, VA/St. Johns), and Joseph Dodrill (Bridgeport, WV/Bridgeport). Let's just say that my squad was not off to a stellar start. Dale had yet to find his game, holding a strong 25 into the 6th frame, but things would change. Pistol Pete was off to a great start with a 114 in the 6th frame. Going into the 6th frame my team was down 85 total points. Just when you thought it was all over, we would turn it around. Dave McQuain was the MVP of our team. Dave would finish with a 166, by bowling 5 strikes in the last six frames. Dale would find his way out of the gutter and roll a few spares to pick up the team. Once Pistol Pete and his team saw themselves in a big lead, they led off the gas. We would come from behind and steal a win in the last frame with a strike by David McQuain on his last shot. Say what you want, but this was one bowling match for the ages. We would have a great time heckling the other kids on the team to make sure they knew they collapsed at the end. It was a good day for Potomac State Baseball/Bowling. Come from behind victories is what this team has done on and off the field.
That will be it for this week's edition. Make sure to check in each week to catch up on all 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.
Welcome back Catamount Fans! Thank you for reading another installment of the 2018 Potomac State Player Diary. April just started, and it brought the rain with it. The Catamounts have struggled with the adverse weather conditions for most of the season up to this point. The beginning of baseball season for any team playing in this part of the country usually consists of cold days, but usually gives way to the rising temperatures. We hope that sunlight accompanies it.
Though the temperatures have risen slightly, the precipitation has yet to let up. The team has grown very used to getting the tarp on and off the field at a moments notice. The tarp is on the field today, Wednesday, April 4, in preparation of our double header that will be held at Golden Park on Thursday the 5thnow instead of today.
Rain has plagued the Catamounts’ mid-week schedule, not allowing us to play a single game during the week, despite having 8 planned. That is not including the ones postponed until tomorrow. Mid-week games are vital in a number of different ways. They help our pitching staff stay on a more balanced throwing rotation, week games help our hitters keep their timing, and helps the overall confidence level of the team. This balanced schedule, with rest periods long enough, but not too long, allows a team to gel and ultimately perform better.
Without these essential games on the week-days, the Catamounts are forced inside, confining practice to the gym. When inside, especially in a basketball gym, a baseball team is very limited. No fly balls are possible, there is very limited space to throw, and ground balls must be very cautiously hit. This creates an environment in which it is easy to lose absolute focus and more importantly: motivation. Motivation is the key to most success. One cannot hope to accomplish when they want if they are not willing to put the work in to reach that success.
Motivation comes in several forms when we are in the gym practicing. Coach Little keeps the team updated on who is playing who in the Region (Region 20) and where we stand amongst the league. Getting a glimpse of what your opponents are doing is often the best motivator. No one likes to get out-played, but the ability to overcome an opponent or obstacle stems from the motivation to out-work the next guy.
When athletes show up for a workout, practice or game: it is a common saying to “clock in”. Clocking in usually has to deal with going to your place of work and recording when you got their so you can be paid. In sports, athletes must ‘clock in’ and initiate a period of focus that doesn’t relent until the work is done. This 2018 Catamount Baseball team knows how to clock in very well. There is little chat about anything except baseball once practice starts, and everyone puts on the ‘PS’. Every single guy is clocked in and ready to go to work.
The ability to clock in and and go to work is exceedingly prevalent throughout this team, allowing us to make the most of our time in the gym. Other teams that cannot motivate themselves when its raining outside and are ‘forced’ to be on hard-wood do not get the same repetitions that a motivated team will get. Catamounts welcome the opportunity to work on a limited set of skills (due to being inside) on days that other teams and players don’t want to work on. The rain may be cancelling our games, but we will not let it dull our skill set, but take the opportunity to enhance it.
We continue to combat the elements, hoping for a break in the gray skies very soon. When we do get that opportunity to play all our games, the Catamounts will be ready, motivated and equipped with sharp tools. Thank you for reading and tune in next week! GO CATS!