This weekend was the SUNYAC tournament. The only time Cortland has lost it, as far as i know, was in 2004. Well, history did repeat itself this year with us not taking the title. We were the number one seed in the tournament because we were regular season champions. We faced Oneonta for the first game and they had their pitcher who is projected to be drafted in the top 5 rounds in this upcoming MLB draft pitch against us. Well he proved himself and lived up to the hype. He absolutely dominated the game. He was throwing his fastball at 92-94 mph for strikes with a absolutely devastating curveball. He held us to one run through nine innings with ten strikeouts. In two games, he has 24 strikeouts. Its frustrating because of that one loss the rest of the tournament we were in the losers bracket. We still had a shot at winning but the weather was not allowing it. The conditions brought in snow and was not allowing us to play. The rest of the games were called and the team that hadnt lost yet was Brockport. They hadnt receieved a loss because they did not have to face the overall #1 prospect in Division 3 baseball. All in all, it doesnt really matter because were still going to regionals with an at large bid and its going to be fun. Our energy is kicking in and we have alot of intensity built up because of how we were dealt with at the SUNYAC tournament. World Series, here we come!

Taking a week off from talking about C-State Baseball on this one. Two weeks ago my three boys and i purchased Drake concert tickets at Syracuse University for only $15. On Friday, as soon as practice was dismissed, we hit the road to Cuse. It was a struggle on who was going to drive because a nice little pregame session was in store for us. Unfortunately, i had to take the plunge and drive, believe me i caught up. But, i hadnt driven in so long so it felt mad wierd trying to drive this car on the highway and through Syracuse. W.E, point is, we got to Cuse and visited their friend from highschool's sorority. We went with all of them as soon as we got there and entered the concert. N.E.R.D opened up and we snuck down on the first level and were only 50 rows back from stage. Pharrel and N.E.R.D killed their performance and set the night up right. A little intermission went on and the fun began when Drake came out and ripped it up on stage. He sung all his nasty songs that are out right now and he performed the underground songs that only his big time fans know about. He was pullin people on stage and serenading women, which was pretty funny, i wish i could sing! After the concert we left and noticed a crowd around these real tall black dudes and realized they play for the school. I went up to their group and asked to take a picture with Johnny Flynn, Syracuses PG for two years. He was drafted 6th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft and plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves now. I dapped him and put my arm around him for the picture, and the friggen Black Berry died. I didnt hold him so i dapped him up again and let him go do his thing, which invovled being surrounded by groupies the whole night. Great Weekend.

Spring Weekend?

This past weekend was Monroe Fest. A weekend filled with partying and enjoying the spring semester at its finest, with nice weather. Well, i spent it on the baseball field. Im not saying that playing baseball in nice weather is a bad thing,but, when you are in your freshman year and dont play at all, you would rather be at other places. All my friends that do not play on the baseball team were bringing friends up from their home towns and getting ready for this epic weekend. To be honest, next weekend for me is going to be better then Monroe Fest. Last Friday, three of my friends and i went to Syracuse University to purchase tickets to their school concert. The artist performing is Drake, perhaps the hottest rapper in the game. Not literally. The tickets are only costing us $15 and we have a place to stay for free. My buddies friends from back home are in a sorority and are letting us stay in the house. The only issue is, who is going to drive because we have practice the next day. All of us do not want to drive because of events that are going to take place the night before. The concert is going to be sick. I do not understand, however, why Syracuse gets Drake and we get the Fray. I understand that Syracuse is a much bigger school and their reputation is much larger then SUNY Cortland, but, the Fray? I dont necessarily know how the concert went at our school but i got an idea of how it went. During our doubleheader on Saturday, they were practicing, and we could hear them from the field, so i techincally heard them sing. They werent bad but nothing i would spend money to go to. I would rather go on YouTube and just type in a song hear and there.

Every season a team plays there spring training games and that is when the caliber of the team is made. Teams go through streaks, winning and losing occurs through this time period as chemistry and skill is worked out. We lost 6 games at the beginning of the year but now we have officially hit our stride. Dominating the SUNYAC conference year in and out has been our teams persona and that is the case this year. We have not lost a game in conference play this year and continue to roll through with no problem. The seniors are leading this team like they are suppose to, constantly committing huge hits and plays in the field that are aiding us in tight games. Our upperclassman have been here for four years and have matured into the center piece of our team and have been the tight nucleus that keeps the engine running. They teach the younger plays the ways of the game at the collegiate level and help with the adjustment period. Certain freshman and souphmores, however, have hit their stride earlier than others and get their fair share of playing time. Our coach has stated in interviews that this is the most talented freshman class he has had in ten years. Everyone works hard in practice and is hoping to exceed the expectations that are put on us. In the three remaining years we have we will be ready to take on the leadership roll and lead our team to more SUNYAC titles, Regional Appearances, and hopefully the College World Series in Wisconsin. With all the team lifting and bonding it wont be tough to assume those rolls and work together in unicen as one team. Our coach has a phrase that can be viewed as corny but in a way makes a lot of sense. "One Team, One Goal," has been our modo all year and means that there are no individuals on the team.

Failed Time Ticket

So my life is spiraling downhill. This is the week where every student is picking their rooms for next year. Everyone has the right to choose what ever is available when there time slot to choose is up. Well, because im an absolute idiot and did not get my room deposit check in on time nor my rsp form filled out, i do not have a time ticket to select a room until AFTER May 22. I cant even get into cheney or degroat. The whole situation is entirely my fault but in my defense i have been really busy. Baseball is my life, writing studies is supplying enormous amounts of work, and i have mad research papers do for health and history. These last thirty days of school could not go by any slower. My plan is to see what is available when my time ticket is presented to me and if nothing is open i could just live off campus or just sneak into an available room that has opened up. The Red Sox also lost two games at home to the Yankees and that completely killed my spirits after they had won the first game of the year. Either way, the World Series is going to consist of one of those two teams, that happen to play in the hardest division in baseball with the hardest schedule. Every year, who ever does not win the AL east the other goes through the wild card. My conclusion is that the Yankees will be plagued with injuries because they got some old dudes on their team. Any tips on rooming let me know?

Duke and The Red Sox

Today im going to take a little bit of a break from talking about Cortland Baseball. I am on cloud 9 right now after experiencing the weekend i just had. First of all, the team won 3 out of 4 games, which is always an accomplishment to win more then you lost. Second of all, the final four was on T.V. this weekend and my all time favorite team, Duke, was in it. Duke was facing the red hot West Virginia Mountaineers and all odds were against them. Everyone who goes to school up here is a Syracuse fan, who of which, resides in the Big East Conference. People wanted West Virginia to win because it would bring the trophy to their conference. The thing is, the ACC is the best conference in America year in and year out and Duke is the best in the ACC. Duke plays a different style of basketball then West Virginia, who relys on athleticism. Duke plays a up tempo game aswell, but much more controlled. They run their plays thoroughly, play good man to man defense and are very with rebounding offensively and defensively. Duke smashed West Virginia by 20 points on Saturday and truly showed who the better team was. The Blue Devils play monday night against Butler University for a shot at the title, a championship, i feel, they will easily obtain. Sunday night, the Red Sox opened up their season against the Yankees and beat them 9-7. We are 1-0 on the year with the Yankees and hopefully well go undefeated.

First home game

The other day was the teams first outdoor practice and it was freezing. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday i have a class at 3-4. My practice was starting at four oclock and i had to rush down to the field. When i arrived at the field i remembered that the team had recently changed locker rooms because of work that is going to be done on our old locker room, right near the field. I finally got to Park Center and when i got into the locker room i realized that i left my bag with all my baseball stuff in it, in my dorm. I got out to practice with just my baseball pants and one of practice shirts. I had no long sleeve shirt, no socks, or my glove. Along with me not being prepared for practice, my coach tells me right away that i will be throwing live in practice. Throwing live implies that practice will be a simulated game situation, so pitchers will throw to batters. Things worked out in the end because i thought i threw well. That weekend we had our first home game, and it was freezing. The weather, at the max, was 30 degrees. Only nine guys play at a time, so you can imagine what the other thirty guys are doing to keep warm. The more important part of the day was the actual outcome of the game. The team we played was absolutely horrible and i think my high school team could of beat them. The final score was 16-2 and the only runs they got were in the first inning. After the game, a huge display of food was layed out for the team and we got to feast.