Men’s baseball has been having a solid season. With nine wins in the first 18 games, the team has been maintaining a level of play that is carrying it through the season. The strength of the roster has allowed the Yeomen to step up to challenging teams as the season has progressed.

Over spring break, they made their annual trip to Tucson, AZ. The team won its first two games against Mid- dlebury College, coming back from a 9–0 deficit in the first contest, but failed to overcome any of the other teams they faced.

“I don’t think our 2–8 record on the trip reflected our play,” said junior Mattias DeDoes. “We played some strong teams, and we were in most of the games. I thought we played all right for not really having been outside that much before the trip. We continued to battle the entire week even after losing a few games.”

The trip provided the Yeomen with tough competition, creating an opportunity for growth and improvement on the field.

“We battled,” said sophomore Danny Baldocchi. “We played a tough schedule, probably the toughest we’ve ever played and did OK.”

Although the Yeomen lost their momentum over spring break, they came home to dominate a double header against Hiram College, winning 11–0 and 14–8 and giving them their first North Coast Athletic Conference win of the season.

“I think as we move into the conference season, we just have to cut down a little on the runs we give away on walks and errors,” said DeDoes. “Our hitting has been pretty good so far.” The Yeomen are on the

upswing, and the players are working hard to keep the positive momentum. According to Baldocchi, the team wants to “see pitchers attacking the strike zone more consistently. All our guys have good stuff, but they can get themselves in trouble when they try to be toofine.”

This past week, the squad had a double header against Bluffton University. The Yeomen won the first game but finished with an agonizing loss of 2–3 in the second game.

“Both of our starting pitchers [seniors Eric Knight and Ben Whitener] threw very well against Bluffton, who always has a pretty solid team,” said DeDoes. Danny Baldocchi also came in and drove in some runs and played well at first base while Whitener was pitching.”

“The highlight for me was really sticking it to a team as good as Bluffton,” Baldocchi added. “The first victory was marred by the loss in the sec- ond game, but they are a good team. It was also humbling to see the memorial that they have devoted to their teammates that died in a tragic bus accident in 2007. I think seeing the memorial reminded us how lucky we all were to be playing the game that we love and distracted us from our disappointing loss in the second game.”

The Yeomen will continue play this Saturday on their home field against Kenyon College.