Cardinals Rewarded for Hard Fought Season...

As Marietta was being crowned the 2011 DIII National Champions, the NCC Cardinals celebrated a season that we believed ended way too early with the Annual Cardinal Players' Choice Awards.

Congratulations to this year's winners!

Scholar Baller - Matt Abraham
Teammate of the Year - Dan Scott
Most Improved - Nick Daniels
QAB Award (highest % of quality at-bats) - Brennan Hagensee
Gold Glove Award - Dan Scott
Silver Slugger Award - Michael Corrigan
Rookie of the Year - Jon Rashid
Pitcher of the Year - Nate Arenson
Most Valuable Player - Michael Corrigan

The Cardinals were also well represented across the CCIW and the region. Check out the plethora of awards that 2011 Cardinal Men accumulated at http://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2011/5/23/BB_0523115744.aspx.

A special congratulations to Michael Corrigan for his selection to the 2011 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region Baseball Team. Read more about this honor at http://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2011/5/24/BB_0524110831.aspx

CCIW Championship Within Grasp...

After suffering a 4th straight loss to defending national champions, Illinois Wesleyan in the first game of the CCIW tournament, the Cardinals did what the coaching staff knew they would eventually do...bounce back and get back to solid, hard-nosed Cardinal baseball. The following day, the Cardinals eliminated both CCIW regular season co-champions---North Park early in the day and Illinois Wesleyan in the nightcap.

An emotional roller coaster is the best way of explaining the ride that these young men have been on for the past few weeks, especially the last two days. The lows of errors, backwards Ks, and missed opportunities give more meaning and significance to the clutch hitting, webgems, and big pitches.

Today we saw our games get washed out by the Bloomington blob of precipitation, but tomorrow will present a chance for the Cardinals to earn their way into the National Championship tournament for the second year in a row. GREAT DAY TO BE A CARDINAL!

***A special shout out to the Lady Cardinals' softball team for a great season and an amazing run. The baseball team salutes you on your great season.***

Thank You Seniors...

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the senior players for their effort and contribution to the Cardinal Baseball squad. It will be sad to see these fine young men move on to a new and exciting phase of their lives, however, the leadership they have brought to the club will stay long after they have hung up the spikes for the Cardinals.

2011 North Central Cardinal Seniors:
#1 Matt Burke
#6 Dan Scott
#18 Michael Corrigan
#22 Brennen Hagensee
#30 Nate Arenson
#32 Matt Abraham
#50 Jeremiah Torres
#59 Jeff Dickey

Thank you senior Cardinal Men!

Check out the newest slideshow of the Cardinals' Senior Day ceremony, which included a first pitch from family members to the senior players. Senior Cardinals were presented with a baseball action photo (thank you Mr. Woltman), and were able to present their mothers with flowers for Mother's Day.

Sometimes You Get the Bull...Sometimes the Bull Gets You

A Saturday sweep of Augustana couldn't have put us any higher last weekend...since then things have been rather unexplainable. There is not much to say. We are not playing our best baseball. We haven't scored a run in 18 innings. We haven't had a hit in the last 9 innings. We only have 4 hits in the last 16 innings. We are making errors that we usually don't. We are getting picked off bases, missing signs, dropping fly-balls, swinging at 2-0 off speed pitches, throwing wild pitches, walking batters....if it is a negative...we have done it and plenty of it.

Here is the kicker: WE ARE STILL ONE OF THE TOP TEAMS IN THE CCIW. The sad fact is is that we play like we are at the bottom of the barrel. It is an unfortunate time to be in a slump as a team, but that is what we are dealing with.

It is something that I have never been a part of. I have been a part of bad teams that played well for a game or series and "fooled" people for a while. But I have never been around the talent that the Cardinals have and played so poorly. Hence, I believe that we are simply "out-thinking" and "fooling" ourselves. We had a bad week...yeah, sure...it sucks. But we have another game to go win and a tournament to do some damage in...SO LET'S GO. DESERVE TO WIN by having an approach at the plate, making the routine plays that you have done hundreds of times in practice, throw strikes, and execute. We have done it before---we WILL do it again.

How to Respond...

Dropping the series finale against Wheaton, having another CCIW opponent celebrate a walk-off homerun at The Zimm, over our homeplate, (They were the home team as their field in under renovation.) and having emotions get the best of us could have been the beginnings of an end for our Cardinal team this season....but no. The Cardinal Men responded by coming out today and finishing a sweep over the Bluejays of Elmhurst, winning by a score of 7-2.

How well did we respond? Well, our 1-5 hitters (Scott, Burke, Abraham, Corrigan, and Turek) went a combined 11-19, a .579 clip. The bottom of the Cardinal order (Hagensee, Daniels, Ross, and Khoury) strung QABs (quality at-bats) together and hit the ball hard the other way while driving in runs. Pitchers Michael McGrath and Tim Riggenbach threw strikes and were extremely effective. After walking the lead-off batter of the game, giving up a 2-run homerun to the next batter and hitting the three hole with a pitch, starting pitcher Michael McGrath settled in and stepped up to deliver a masterful performance. At one point McGrath retired 9 straight Bluejays and finished his 8 strong innings by retiring 19 of the last 23 he faced. The Cardinal defense was on its game as well, especially the middle infielders (Burke and Khoury) and the outfield crew (Hagensee, Ross, and Scott, left to right).

I think it says alot about our team when the men respond like this. Sure,tempers will flare, emotions run high, pressure situations push players to the edge. However, when it is time to respond---time to come together and get the job done and execute, we are proving to ourselves that we are capable of success.

Heading into the last two weekend series against CCIW foes Augustana and defending DIII National Champions, Illinois Wesleyan, the Cardinals are exactly where we want to be...in the driver's seat, tied atop the CCIW at 11-4.

Win Over Wheaton = Huge

The 4-2 win over Wheaton College is a huge stepping stone for our team. A very good team, Wheaton presented us with a very competitive Game 1 of this series. Senior pitcher Nate Arenson stepped up and delivered a complete game win, walking only two. Matt Burke, Brennan Hagensee, and Alex Khoury also seemed to come to the park to play especially hard today. Burkey was a force at the plate and on the base paths. Hags showed off his defensive skills by gunning down a runner, who would have been a lead-off double. A.K. is playing like a seasoned veteran even though he has only started a handful of games at the SS position at the college level. We know, however, that we have two big games against Wheaton this Saturday. Anything less then a series win will be unacceptable.



A shout out has to go out to the Cardinal Men for taking advantage of the "freebies" that the other squads we are playing are offering us. Too often teams do not take advantage of the opportunities they earn by placing pressure on the defense and the opponent's pitching. Over the last four games (1 vs. Millikin, 2 vs. Elmhurst, and 1 vs. Wheaton) the Cardinals have scored 38 total runs; 8, 15, 11, and 4 respectively. Of those 38 runs 19 of them have been scored by Cardinal baserunners that have reached base via a walk, error, or hit by pitch. 18 of 39...50%! Our record over the last four games is 2-2 instead of 4-0 if we do not take advantage of the extra outs we are earning. To use a term from a commentator of the hated White Sox..."Don't stop now boys!"

National College Athlete Honor Society...

Congratulations go out to Blake Schmucker, a junior infielder from Olney, IL for being inducted into the National College Athlete Honor Society. In order to be considered for induction, student-athletes must maintain a minimum of a 3.4 cumulative grade-point average following their seventh term in school and received a varsity letter in their particular sport. Great Job Schmucker!

Elmhurst series Moved to Sun/Mon...

Today's DH at Elmhurst has been canceled due to weather. We will play the DH at Elmhurst's Butterfield Park on Sunday starting at 12 noon. The series finale will be played at the Zimm on Monday at 3pm. Obviously, we are disappointed to be canceled. We were geared up and ready to play today. Also, the weather has ruined what was sure to be a cool environment with plans for the Alumni BBQ and game as well as the kick-off of the baseball team's sale of apparel to raise money for disaster relief in Japan, all of which were to be held on Sunday. Hopefully, the weather cooperates for the remainder of the year.

Important Info About Alumni Day...

Due to potential inclement weather, this weekend's Baseball Alumni Day may have to be cancelled. The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Elmhurst College on Saturday and at North Central on Sunday.

• If Saturday's game is postponed because of inclement weather, then the Cardinals will travel to Elmhurst on Sunday and Baseball Alumni Day will be cancelled.
• If the weather holds out and the Cardinals play at Elmhurst on Saturday, then Sunday's activities will go on as scheduled.

Please visit the Cardinal athletics website at northcentralcardinals.com for schedule updates.

NCC Cardinal Baseball Alumni Game

Our amazing Alumni Relations Team have put together a great opportunity for players of the past and present to come together. Please see the message below from Alumni Relations: Cardinal Alums Dom Sabatino '08, Coach Heller '09, Chris Toy '09 You're invited to Baseball Alumni Day on Sunday, April 17 at Zimmerman Stadium. Join fellow alumni and friends for a pre-game barbecue at 12 noon, watch the Cardinal Men's Baseball team take on Elmhurst College at 1 p.m., then play in the alumni game following the men's game. RSVP to Coach Fitz at 630-637-5512 or jfitzgerald@noctrl.edu.    Visit northcentralcardinals.com/baseball for the schedule and updates throughout the season!

With Cardinal Pride, Adrian, Mary, Bonnie and Meredith The Alumni Relations Team

People You Should Get to Know....

#25 Joe Turek

Junior 1B/DH, Joe Turek, chimes into "A Bloop & A Blast"...enjoy!
 

We all know that following this weekend's series vs. Carthage, perennial CCIW powerhouse, that it could have easily been a sweep 3-0 instead of losing the series 2-1. Sweeping them would have definitely been a statement but that is not the case. The mistakes that were made this weekend are ones that can be fixed with hard work on the practice field the next couple days. With a mid-week conference game and another weekend series on tap this week, it gives us a great opportunity to get right back on the right track. Coach Fitz always says that that is the best part about the game of baseball---you get to go out the next day and play again, and forget about what may have happened the previous few days.

C. Brown, M. Zemke, J. Turek, N. DeWolf

"Vandy" Vanderwall (Photo by S. Woltman)

There are positives that came out of this weekend's big series vs. Carthage and I think the biggest thing is the play by some of the guys who may not see their name on the everyday lineup. These guys put in the same effort as the starters do, if not more. To see these guys come in and succeed in different situations shows that we can call on them at any point and have the confidence that they are going to get the job done. Travis Vanderwall made his case to become a mainstay in the rotation with a 9-inning effort in his Game 2 start. "Vandy," a freshman, making only his 2nd conference start, showed that he has what it takes to take on anyone on any given day. Matt Zemke, another freshman, continues to show that he can make a difference on the basepaths with his speed late in the game. "Z" is definitely a better choice on the bases when we need some speed in the late innings, instead of someone like myself. Freshman infielder Alex Khoury came in this weekend and displayed that his glove is definitely ready whenever we made need him. "A.K." almost made a ridiculous, full extenstion, diving catch in the late innings of Game 2. Even though the ball grazed his glove and went into left field, his effort on that play alone showed everyone on the team that we can count on him. 

 

                                                                                                                                  

Brennan "Hags" Hagensee

Alex "A.K." Khoury

A special shoutout goes to senior Brennan Hagensee. Hags puts in the swings during practice and has been waiting his turn to get into the lineup again. He came in as a pinch hitter in a big situation in Game 2 and absolutely smoked a ball right at the left fielder. That ball was probably one of the hardest balls hit by our team all year. Following that quality at-bat, Hags was in the lineup for Game 3 and had himself a great day. Its great to see Hags on the field being a difference maker.

There is plenty of stuff for our team to work on as the season moves forward, and they will get fixed. For now, it is great to see the depth that our team has. We all knew that these guys can get the job done, but its added confidence when we see production on gameday.

By the way, it was awesome to see the turnout at the "Zimm" yesterday. The "Zimm" was alive and well, and we would all like to keep seeing everyone out there!

Joe T.

The PUP Chronicles with Peter “Romo” Romanello

Since receiving the news of my season ending injury, I decided to add a little different vantage point to “A Bloop & A Blast” with my very own “PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) Chronicles.” Enjoy!

It could be one of the hardest things in the world to overcome when you hear that you can no longer play the sport you love for a full season.  Ever since last Tuesday, March 29^th, I tore my UCL ligament in my left thumb sidelining me for 8 weeks.  I knew I would be in for one of the toughest times of my life when I sat in the dugout and realized that I couldn’t be on the field with my teammates. But I soon realized that I wasn’t going through this alone…

Matt "Simsky" Zemke, Joe "Joey T" Turek, and the PUP, Peter "Romo" Romanello

As cliché as this sounds, I never knew I would ever consider a baseball team a family, until now.  I always thought it only happened in sport movies or stories like that, but it finally presented itself to me.  My teammates are my best friends and I will never forget the support they have given me to help me pull through this difficult time. I know it might be tedious when they need to open a bottle, rip open a bag of chips, or carry a plate for me at the dining hall, but those little things made it clear that they were true teammates, friends, and family.   I will continue to help them succeed on the field by doing anything I can; whether it’s throwing batting practice, helping out with defensive plays, or just cheering them on.

When the schedule hits conference games, it means one thing: business.  The CCIW is one of the best D3 conferences in the country and we have a goal of defending our conference title this year.  We led off conference play this past weekend against North Park.  I would have to say North Park is the one school that really gets our blood boiling the most. They are pros at cheering and hooting from their dugout.  It is unanimous around our team that there is no love lost between us and NPU and that they are our biggest rivals.  So I cannot explain in words how good it felt shaking hands and looking them in the eyes knowing we won the series. 

The bus ride home was great, and always is better when you win a series, and it’s exciting to see people really get along on the team.  I can already tell that our team this year has a very tight bond and it will definitely help when we get deeper into our conference schedule and people begin to stress.  I believe we have grown a lot as a team within these past few weeks and I think we are ready to face Millikin and show that we mean business.

Off the field, we like to get together as a team as much as we can.  Now since we are college students and don’t have the funds that we would like, we take joy in the little things in life. For example, the team loves when K-Man (short for Kaufman dining hall) serves Coach Bogan’s favorite food, “Beef Boganoff.”  When K-Man is having an “off day” and offering to many healthy options---carrot slices, green beans, and rice pilaf---we hit up the Cage for the good burgers and quesadillas.  After the meals, we usually get a good session of video games in. 

 

**On a side note, Andrew Wulbecker (who is one of my roommates and is now a student coach) has been challenging me in NCAA Baseball ’06 on PS2 and I actually beat him 2 games out of 3, and this is with one good thumb and the other thumb in a cast.  So just a little jab there at him trying to take advantage of my injury.*** 

But anyways, it should be a fun week of games and practices, and hopefully it warms up so we can see you all out there! Here We Go!

Romo

Walking Off With a CCIW Series Win...

Matt "Burky" Burke

The #9 hitter supplied the heroics for the NCC diamondmen in the first game of the opening series of CCIW play of 2011. With the scored tied in the bottom of the 9th and a man on, senior second basemen, Matt Burke lifted a 2-2 pitch high into the sky and over the left field fence to chalk up the first CCIW victory for the Cardinals on the season---NCC 14, North Park 12. I can only hope for people to understand the joy that comes to my heart when watching our Cardinal team jumping around the home plate area, tossing helmets and pounding the heck out of the homerun hero...there is no better feeling in sports than getting greeted at home plate by the hammering hands of your fellow teammates...WOW, that gets me pumped! 

The Cards split Saturday's two games and then traveled to North Park on Sunday to win a nail-biter 12-11. This series was great for the Cards. We really showed that we have learned how to compete, fight for runs, and punch back even when we get punched in the face. North Park is a very talented team and I am certain that we will see them later in the season. For now, it was a great series win, but we cannot rest for too long. Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 5th) the Big Blue from Millikin, another CCIW foe, travels up for two games at the Zimm---first pitch set for 12:30.

Coming Home

In an attempt to have more than just my perspectives come through the blog, I have invited some coaches and players, both current and former, to contribute to the blog. Many of you will remember our first guest---former Cardinal OF, Justin "J-Mo" Moriarty. Let's hear from the player turned coach:

Baseball has given me the opportunity to forge so many great relationships over the past 19 springs and summers. Coming back to be around the guys for the moments leading up to game 1 vs. Rockford and between games was especially rewarding. To me, there is nothing like the camaraderie shared by baseball teammates. The time on the bus, in the hotels, at the lunch table, or in the dugout is what really matters when that final out is made in the final game of the season. The playing days of all individuals may come to an end, but that special bond between teammates will continue forever.

Some of the current Cardinals are the closest friends in the world to me. Guys like Danny Scott, Tyler Herman, Aaron Kovac, Matt Burke, Nate Arenson, Peter "Romo" Romanello, Nick Daniels, Joe Turek, and Andrew Highland are A+ human beings who I love to surround myself with. Even current coaches, Joe Heller and Zach Ernst, who I had the pleasure of playing with, are highly successful people who I have the privilege to call my friend. Former classmates, Nick Robinson, Dan Cladis, Mike Charles, Ricky Foytik, Micah Yarbrough, Andrew Wulbecker, and Mike Kloss (now a NPU rival....) will all remain close friends with me for the rest of my life. These are the relationships caused by the wonderful fraternity of college baseball that we all had the pleasure of experiencing together.

One thing is for certain......I would not have decided on college any differently because of my teammates. There are two academic institutions that define me; one is Fenton High School and the other is North Central College. Things may not always work out in your favor whether it is a batting slump, misplayed ball, or bad call by the umpire but you can always be a great teammate. I am a firm believer that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. These guys certainly were great teammates for me, and I hope I was for them.

I know I did not mention a plethora of individuals in this piece, but they are not forgotten. I look forward to attending many future ballgames at North Central and watch the tradition continue.

A special thanks goes out to Coach Jared Bogan for allowing me to contribute to "A Bloop and a Blast."

JMO

Dressed in our Sunday's Best...

A few pics and a video from today's double header sweep of Rockford College. The Cardinals posted 8-3 and 6-1 wins to improve to 6-3 on the season. More on these games later...for now enjoy the pics & video.

Pitcher Jon Rashid - Game 1 winner

Peter "Romo" Romanello & Matt "Burky" Burke on defense

Joe Turek plated four with one swing of the bat. "Joey T." ended the day 2 for 5.

Pitcher Tyler "Herm" Herman delivers one of his many strikes to "Zac  Pac," Zac Pacanowski

 

With Turek at the plate, Dan Scott swipes 2nd to move into scoring position, or as we like to say "Set the table for the big dawgs to eat!"

Thanks to Coach Wulbecker for finding his calling---camera man.

A New Look...

Do not adjust your computer screens. Yes, the Cardinals are excited to don a new red throwback-esque jersey. Those lucky fans who are in attendance for the recently scheduled home DH vs. Rockford College on Sunday, March 27th will be the first to see the Cardinals in action in red. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm at the Zimm on Sunday, March 27th.

The Cardinal JV DH scheduled for Sunday at Triton has been canceled.  

Making the Grade...

In the midst of defending the regular season CCIW crown, the casual fan can sometimes forget that the 20 year-old who struck out to end the game may have earlier in the day aced a physics exam, gave a presentation on how current economic trends may affect future generations, or turned in a research paper on the social impact that smallpox had on colonial America. Well, the Cardinals sure know how to remind everyone that they don't call them "student-athletes" for nothing. Thirty of the 57 men on the team earned a 3.0 GPA or higher for the 2011 Winter term---a term that included 6 weeks of 5:00AM practices!!! Great Job!!!

Ten Cardinal Men qualified for the North Central College's Dean's List:

Matthew Abraham

Trent Anderson

Nathan Arenson

Hector Belen

Michael Corrigan

Thomas Finnegan

Daniel Johnsen

Loukas Kalliantasis

Jonathan Rashid

Daniel Scott

The coaching staff is very lucky to have players who perform in the classroom and are proud of the accomplishments the Cardinals earned.

Blame It on the Rain...

The wake-up call for the Cardinal Men today came in the form of a 6:45AM text message telling them to report to the field asap for tarp duty. If there were any chance to get the two games in against Crown College, we were going to have to get an early start on field prep. Two wins, 6-0 and 9-3, really helped lessened the blow of the early rise and very cold winds that blew at the "Zimm."

 

With the two wins, the Cardinals improve to 4-3 and are above the .500 mark (hopefully for good). Senior pitcher, Nate Arenson shined in the opener of the twinbill tossing a complete game three-hit shutout. Fifty-one of Arenson's 69 pitches were strikes. The Cardinals' 1 through 4 hitters (Tommy Ross, Dan Scott, Kevin Hennessy, and Michael Corrigan) supplied the offense by combining to go 10 for 16 (.625) and accounted for four of the six Cardinal runs.

The nightcap saw more effective pitching. Sophomore pitcher T.J. Hecimovich scattered four hits through four innings for his first win of the season. While he fanned six, "Heci" walked four in just four innings. He is a smart ball player who realizes the negative effects that walks can have on an inning. If anyone will improve upon their struggles it is the hard-working Hecimovich, who is in the weight room or on the treadmill more often than not. 

Another bright spot on the mound for the Cardinals was freshman Travis Vanderwall. "Vandy" came in to Game 2 and faced just 10 batters in three innings of work, fanning six, and locating 38 of his 48 pitches for strikes. Having been around Coach Fitzgerald for the last four years, I know that having a pitcher come in from the pen and throw strikes makes him about as happy as when he gets a new sweetened iced coffee from Starbucks with three sugars. Anyone that knows Fitz knows that coffee runs through his veins.

Nick Daniels

While there were two wins and some solid performances today, the Cardinals will definitely be practicing in the AM tomorrow---focusing on executing at the plate. We need to be much more discipline at the plate and cash in on the opportunities that present themselves. During the two 7-inning home games today, the Cards had 12 innings of offense. In those 12 innings, the Cards left 20 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded on three separate occasions throughout the day. We need to get better in this department if we want to make noise in the CCIW.

Check out the last out of Game 2, a 5-3 put out, Nick Daniels to Kevin Hennessy here:

Usually When the Sun Shines it is a Good Thing...

One could argue that senior Cardinal outfielder, Dan Scott, took the 8-7 loss to the Fighting Engineers of Rose-Hulman a bit harder than his teammates this afternoon. With two outs in the bottom of the 8th, Scott stood in left field and watched in disbelief as a ball off the bat of the Engineers' lead-off hitter cleared the right field fence, plating what became the game-winning run. Just seconds earlier Scott glided over into foul territory in effort to snatch what would have been the inning-ending fly ball. It simply was not meant to be. Scott, fighting a high sky and the glaring sun, pulled up short of where the ball eventually landed and put his hands up in a manner that suggested that the ball was swallowed by the sky...and the baseball gods reared their ugly heads. No amount of eye-black, not even the darkest of shades could have helped Danny.

Never in the four years that I have been a part of the Cardinal program have I, nor any player or coach to my knowledge, questioned the hustle, work ethic, or effort of Dan. Dan holds himself accountable for his performance on the field, in the classroom and on campus for that matter. Not once have I heard an excuse uttered from him...he is an upstanding young man. It just goes to show that the baseball gods do not discriminate...

And that is why the game of baseball is---as Coach Fitzgerald called it---"sadistic." You can do everything right...make all the plays, execute your plan, work your tail off, and yet sometimes you still find yourself on the losing end of the tilt. Sometimes the ball takes bounces your way and on other days...not so much. That is what makes baseball so great. That is what makes baseball so humbling.

Any way you look at it though this was a tough pill to swallow. After suffering the first loss of the season yesterday 9-1, the Cardinals didn't have to wait even 12 hours to find themselves back out on the field with a chance to redeem themselves. In game two, the Cards battled back from a 5-1 and 7-6 deficit at Art Nehf Field only to see their record fall to .500 on the young season to 2-2. Did we deserve to win either game? Probably not...we simply didn't play well enough (4 errors, 10 Ks at the plate, 8 left on, & 10 "freebies" in game 2 alone). We did, however, through all that, battle back and that is something to build on. Just maybe the sun will shine down on us tomorrow as we try to salvage one game of the three game set from Rose and head home with a better taste in our mouths.

***A Special Thank You***
Thank you to all of the parents and support that we have seen over the long weekend. It is truly appreciated by the players and coaching staff. A very special thank you to the Romanello, Crackel, Hecimovich, and McGrath families for supplying the sandwiches between the varsity and JV game today. Thank you.

Leading Off...

The red "2010" now on display at the "Zimm."
The Cardinals look for an even more successful 2011.

If you were to walk into the Cardinal locker room, I am confident that you would be welcomed by a Cardinal player with a greeting that has become all too familiar among the players. So, I welcome you to "A Bloop and A Blast" with the same "Wha'sup, Wha'sup" greeting that players use toward each other. These sorts of things---the inside jokes, the bullpen shenanigans, the secret handshakes, the superstitious pre-game routines---are the intangibles that make being part of a baseball team one of the most awesome experiences one could have in life. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a forum for the Cardinal family members, friends, and fans to gain a little insight into the team---to feel part of the Cardinal tradition.

In addition to reporting on the team, it is also my hope that you, the reader, will hear from players, fans, and other coaches to gain their perspective of the Cardinals' season. The men have endured six weeks of 5:00 AM in-door practices. They have experienced the season opening road trip to central Indiana canceled due to weather minutes before loading the bus to leave campus. They have earned their first two victories of the season 15-6 and 6-2 over UW-Platteville last weekend. The excitement to get out on the field and play again is palpable. 

So "Sit back, relax and strap it d...."---WHOA WHOA WHOA--- my bad! I will have you know that you sox (no capitalization deserved) fans out there will find no words of good fortune here for the south-siders. As a native of northeast Ohio, I proudly proclaim GO TRIBE!!! I will not apologize for the periodic rants I will post venting about the play of either the sox or my Cleveland Indians. Plus, a future post will let you in on the details of the friendly wager that some of the Cardinal players and I have when it comes to the CLE/cws rivalry. 

However, I do hope that all of you enjoy the insights into the 2011 North Central College Cardinals to come! Check back soon as we are gearing up to take on the Fighting Engineers of Rose-Hulman later today in Terra Haute, IN.

GREAT DAY TO BE A CARDINAL!!!