What’s going on Catamount fans and followers? Thank you again for tuning in for another Potomac State Baseball player diary.
Games are starting to pile on as we’re working through the season. Our team has been very busy over the past couple of days, so I’m here to give you all the rundown.
Yesterday (Tuesday), we just finished our first midweek home series against Lakeland Community College. This was a team that we had played earlier in the season in Dobson, NC, but this time it was on our own turf. Playing them down south, we matched up fairly well with them, and ended up winning the game, but in the game of baseball, anyone knows that one day or game has no effect on the one about to happen so we were ready.
In the first game of the series, Freshman Brandon Schaeffer was the starting pitcher and was electric. The kid was great on the mound, mixing his fastball and slider pitches, earning him a shutout win, as we run-ruled Lakeland 10-0 in the first game. Schaeffer only allowed three hits while striking out 10 batters. The offense was led by Dale Houser, who recorded three hits and drove in one. Also, my fellow diary mate, Andrew Berry led the cats with two doubles in the game. Second baseman, Austin Martin led the team in RBIs with two. Freshman Justin “Chops” Stone closed the game out, giving us the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth with his first career college hit, a base hit line drive to left field.
For the second game of the series, Freshman Tyler Bradford toed the rubber for us. It must have been something in the air today, because Bradford was also dicing up hitters left and right recording 13 STRIKEOUTS in his 5-innings pitched. He only allowed one hit, so hats off to him for working hard for the team. In relief, another freshman pitcher, Garret Haggerty (“hag man”) came in to close things out. This was Haggerty’s first appearance on the mound for the team since he had just recently joined the team a little over a month ago. But all that aside, he was very composed, closing out the game, completing the shutout, for another 10-0 victory for the Catamounts. In this game, there were many players who did well at the plate. Chavis, Costigan and Kelly all had multiple hits for the team. Chavis drove in four runs with two hits and two sac flies. Needing one more run to get the run rule in the bottom of the 6th, with runners at 3rd and first, coach put in freshman catcher, Drew Leach to pinch hit.
On a side note away from the game, Leach is one of the most hard-working kids on this team. As a walk-on in the fall, he has truly earned his spot on the team and then some. The kid put so much work and dedication into helping the team. Whenever there is a pitcher who needs to bullpen, Leach always catches him, without hesitation. Taking pitch after pitch and blocking ball for no reward, catching is really the hardest job as a baseball player by far, but he always does it with a smile.
Well, all his time, effort and dedication paid off when he ripped a double down the right field line with a two-strike count, winning the game for the team. Couldn’t be happier for the kid, there really isn’t anyone more deserving.
Now, time to backtrack to earlier in the week for some more games, we travelled to the West Virginia state capital for a double header against University of Charleston last Wednesday.
In the first game of the series, Brandon Schaeffer threw another shutout, leading us to a 6-0 victory. Our team had a good game at the plate, driving in key runs when we had the opportunity.
For the second game of the series, pitchers Tyler Bradford, Foster Conis, and Nathan Kerr kept us in the game against the Eagles, holding them to six runs. This game was a little more interesting, with a tied score of 6-6 going into the top of the 6th inning. All that changed when Juwan Weaver had a sac fly to score Dale Houser, giving us a 7-6 victory following Kerr’s closeout 7th inning.
We kicked off the past weekend with a trip to Shenandoah University, which was supposed to be a doubleheader, but was turned to a single 9-inning game due to weather. Colt Webb got the start on the mound for the team and went to work. He pitched seven innings, gave up two hits, no walks, no runs, and struck out seven. Just another quality start from him, earning him another complete game shutout. To back him up, the offense went to work, recording 13 total hits, four of which were for extra bases. By piling up hits and driving in runs, we run-ruled Shenandoah 11-0 in seven innings.
With a quick turnaround, we hosted CCAC-Boyce the next day (past Sunday). In the first game, Sophomore Brett Whitemen got the start, giving up two runs in 6.2 innings pitched, recording six strikeouts. The offense backed him up, led by Haydon Almond who had three hits that day, giving him the win with a 5-2 victory. In the second game of the series, the Cats got the sweep in the series with a 9-2 win.
After all those games, the team has an overall record of 14-4 heading into this weekend where Region XX play begins with a game against Hagerstown on Sunday.
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 team’s 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, I will be showing you all what a day in the life of a commuter-student at Potomac State is like. To show you, I followed Left-Handed Pitcher Andrew Liller around and went through a typical day for him. Here is a video covering his day, check it out!!
For the diary portion this week, I decided to also interview Andrew to more extensively cover the life of a commuter.
Andrew Liller
What are some difficulties of being a commuter in college?
For me the hardest thing is having to drive to the campus and back each-and-every day. It makes it difficult for me to find motivation to wake up and go to class. Also, with the gas prices the way they are, it becomes fairly expensive. Another difficult thing is finding places to study on campus since I do not have a room close to go to. Luckily, Potomac State has a beautiful library, the Mary F. Shipper Library, where I can go to study and get work done.
Has it been hard to make new friends since you are a commuter?
Since I am a member of the baseball team, it has been very easy. Our team is like a brotherhood and I have made a ton of close friends over the past couple of years. Other than that, due to me being close to where I attended high school, I am still able to keep good relationships with a lot of my close friends from high school whether they attend Potomac State or not. I also have made friends from working for the maintenance department here on campus. My advice for making friends is to get involved in the College whether it is clubs, a sports team, or any other way to meet students. Getting involved in the College is the best way to get the full experience.
Being from Keyser, what is it like to play for your hometown College team?
It is a great experience. I love getting to play for a team that I looked up to growing up. On top of that, it is great to play close to home and my family has more opportunities to watch me
What do you do to find time between classes or before practice?
During the spare time I have, I usually fill that up by getting some hours of work in with my job. If I am off work, depending on how much free time I have, I either go back home and relax, work on some homework or hang with one of my teammates in their dorm room. Since I live closer to campus than some of the other commuters, my house is usually the meeting place for us to chill and relax during the day.
Where would you say you spend more time, at home or on campus?
Neither. I spend most of my time at Golden Park. Baseball keeps me fairly busy but I like it because it keeps me occupied a lot of the time. Other than that, I am usually on campus working, studying or hanging out with friends on campus or in their dorm rooms.
What are some tips or pointers you can give to future students who are planning on commuting?
One tip that would be useful is to hang out in the Student Union. The College provides a lot of opportunities to meet new people and to be active around campus. The Student Union has pool tables and ping pong tables where I can mess around with my friends and have some fun during the day. Campus activities are a great way to be involved, whether it is intramurals, student activities or working on campus. Another thing I learned over the past year or so is to eat at home as much as possible to save money. If you eat out a lot during the day, you will see your money vanish like it is nothing. One way to avoid that could be to get a commuter meal plan on campus for lunch and some breakfast or dinner meals. For traveling, save extra time for going to class in case of traffic. The worst thing to do is to show up to class late because it annoys your professors. When it comes to doing schoolwork, find places on campus to study that you know you can stay focused on your work.
Now, to continue my "10 Questions With…" segment, this week I decided to do 10 questions with… Pete Costigan. Pete is a sophomore outfielder on the team. He is from Alexandria, Va., where he attended St. John’s College High School.
Being from the big city, adjusting to Keyser was probably difficult. What was the hardest part?
For me, the hardest part was finding some new favorite restaurants.
What is your dream job?
To become a professional baseball player or work in professional baseball in some sort of way.
If you could pick any dessert to have, what would it be?
You can’t beat cherry pie with some cool whip and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Apple or Android?
Android
What is your biggest hobby outside of baseball?
I love to go on adventures, exploring and traveling to new places.
What is your major?
Sports management.
What famous person would you love to meet?
Dan Bilzerian
What is your favorite animal?
Puppy dogs
Which player on the team is most likely to become a NASCAR driver?
Abe Stearns
What are you looking forward to for the remainder of the season?
I am looking forward to winning a bunch of games with my brothers and hopefully making a trip to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at the end of our journey.