Dominic Simonetta
Staff Writer
With the North Central College baseball team anxiously awaiting the start of their upcoming season, coaches and players alike are hoping for collective success.
“I think that we have gotten to the point where our expectations are to compete for an NCAA tournament bid every year,” said head coach John Fitzgerald. “We have a solid group of veterans, especially on the mound, and newcomers who have the potential to compete at a very high level immediately this spring.”
That solid group of veterans and plethora of both incoming freshman and transfers has Fitzgerald in high hopes regarding his ball club.
“I feel really good about our club’s work ethic and determination so far,” said Fitzgerald. “This has the makings of a very special group, not only from a talent standpoint, but from a mental determination standpoint as well.”
Assistant Coach Joe Heller also agrees this year’s team has the ability to push themselves even further than they have in the past.
“We have an unbelievable group of upperclassmen,” said Heller. “The leadership and experience on this team shows me that we are capable of taking the next step. We have the talent, we just need our entire team to take ownership in the brand of baseball we put out on the field, and I have no doubt they will do that.”
According to Heller, this year’s team is going to have to rely heavily on its upperclassmen at many positions.
“Our upperclassmen are the biggest difference,” said Heller. “We are fortunate to have experience at every position on the field.”
While a strong veteran presence will indeed be a vital factor to the team’s overall success this season, Fitzgerald feels the team’s starting rotation is its greatest strength.
“Virtually our entire starting rotation has returned, we have added a few quality newcomers, and many of our young guys last year have made huge jumps in their development heading into this year,” said Fitzgerald.
Senior southpaw Kris Singh, who has been atop the Cards starting rotation for the past three years, also recognizes the important role that the experienced players will have this season.
“I think it sets us apart from other schools,” said Singh. “As a whole, I think we have really good team chemistry, we aren’t just teammates, but we are all good friends that hang out on and off the field.”
Despite the fact that the team may realize there are certain individuals who are more developed at their craft than others, Fitzgerald knows they cannot rely on any individual player to carry the entire team.
“To be honest, if we want to be successful, we will need contributions from everyone,” said Fitzgerald. “One or two all-conference players will still get you beat quite often if all 10 in the lineup aren’t having success on a daily basis. While a 40-game season may seem lengthy on paper, it comes and goes very quickly and anything but your best effort every game can unfortunately leave you on the outside looking in when you reach the postseason.”
NCC opens up their season on March 8th against Loras College in a two-game set.
