Baseball starts off season

For a few moments, Oberlin's baseball team was golden.

In a contest against the Univeristy of the South at their annual Spring Break tournament in Florida, senior captain pitcher Carson Keeble struck out 10 batters, five of those hapless victims watched last the strike go by, unable to move. First-year Greg Wells delivered a resounding double. First-year Tom Francavilla nailed a single. Junior Ray Cagan hit a two-run double with two outs in the fifth. With six runs scored by inning's end it seemed nothing would stop the Yeomen.

Nothing did, as Oberlin toppled Sewanee 9-3.

But this performance proved an exception to the rule, as the Yeomen ended the week with a disappointing 1-9 record. Add that to another loss this week, and Oberlin's baseball team is in the midst of an intense losing streak.

Head Baseball Coach Eric Lahetta said the team's performance during break was less than in could have been. "There was something we were missing all week," Lahetta said. "We played poor defense at crucial times. When we needed someone to make a play it didn't happen."

Aware of the difficulties, senior captain Dave Schummers remained optimistic. "The fielding will come together," he said.

Among the team's defensive weaknesses is their ability to limit stolen bases. So far this season the team has allowed 21 stolen bases, a fact that the pitchers and cathchers in particular need to work on.

The Yeomen are also a little shy at the plate. With the notable exceptions of Nagle (.462) and sophomore Andy Smith (.450), the team suffered from too many strikeouts and groundouts in their match-ups. Reliable veteran batters like Schummers have yet to catch fire.

"I'm not seeing the ball at all right now," Schummers explained. "Everyone tells me I'm putting too much pressure on myself. I'm not sure if I buy that yet."

Since returning from the Spring Break trip, the team has played one away game against Penn State-Brehrend, a contest the team dropped.

Lahetta attributed the defeat to a depleted roster and poor fundamentals. "When you're missing your starting pitcher and the first and second basemen, it makes it hard to compete with teams you're supposed to beat," he said. "We combined poor hitting with poor defense."

Next on the Yeomen's horizon is Denison, who they take on Saturday. Lahetta remains optimistc about the contest. "Our team character is much better than it has been," he said. "The camaraderie has really grown to where we're a family and I think every single one of them strives not to let the other one down."

Keeble maintains optimism as well. "We have more talent and motivation to win then we've had since I've been here. But we are young as a whole and seem uncertain as to how to stand up to our competition. Some games we come ready to play, and play with conviction. Others it seems we mentally forfeit before we even step onto the field."

The Yeomen next play Saturday, in a double-header at Denison at 1 p.m.