The Tripod

Media Credit: Courtesy of Matthew Sullivan [Click to enlarge]

Even after last season's regular-season success and trip to the NCAA Tournament, no one expected the Trinity College baseball team to start the season with a program-best 15-0 record. Initially ranked 23rd in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association poll, the team climbed to eighth in the most recent edition.

Last year, the Bantams were criticized for receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament thanks in part to wins during what seemed to some like a "soft" spring break schedule. This year, they left no questions in anyone's mind with their decisive wins over everyone they played, including such competition as the then-16th-ranked University of St. Thomas Tommies.

The St. Thomas game on Friday, March 21, was an early-season highlight for the team, according to junior tri-captain catcher Sean Killeen, who said, "[it was] the game that would represent the way we should play all year. We played good defense, had outstanding pitching, and when it was crunch time, we hit the ball and left no doubt going into the last inning."

St. Thomas took a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning, when Trinity exploded for five runs. Sophomore right fielder Jim Wood got the rally started with a leadoff double and later scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch to even the tally. Led by senior righty Tim Kiely, who last year spun the only perfect game in Trinity history, the Bantam pitching staff only allowed two runs in Trinity's 7-2 win.

Killeen emphasized the role that pitching will play in the upcoming weeks, despite the high-scoring games of spring break. With colder temperatures and slower infields, the offense will become less productive and the pitching and defense more important.

"Our pitching will definitely continue to be a key to our success, especially since we're are back in New England where there aren't very friendly hitting conditions and every run is that much more important," he said.

The Bantams' first experience in that weather came this past week in four home games against the Springfield College Pride and the Bowdoin College Polar Bears.

Trinity again relied on late-inning heroics as the team took a scoreless game against Springfield into the bottom of the 10th before sophomore center fielder Jack Abbott walked with the bases loaded to force in the winning run. Sophomore righthander Jeremiah Bayer tossed eight innings of one-hit ball, but took the no-decision when the Bantams could not provide him with run support. Senior righty Chandler Barnard relieved him and picked up the win with three scoreless innings.

The Bantams kept their win streak alive in their NESCAC season-opening series against Bates this past weekend, winning by scores of 1-0, 4-2, and 5-4, respectively. The pitchers came through again for Trinity as Kiely scattered four hits and struck out 12 en route to the complete-game win in game one. Barnard and senior righthander Michael Regan combined for 14 innings, allowing just two runs, in the doubleheader on Sunday.

Their scheduled Monday night game against WPI was postponed due to inclement weather, so their next action will be a three-game series against NESCAC East rival Bates this weekend.

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