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!!!