Pirates' Corner
4/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 15, 2011
At the beginning of the season, going down to Florida and North Carolina provided with us with warm temperatures and comfortable playing environments. However, the last couple games at home have been noticeably colder with 40 degree temperatures. I do not think the colder weather has any effect on how our team plays the game and focuses. For example: When we played at Villanova, temperatures were as low as in the 30s and I believe we played our best series this season.
The series against St. Johns this past weekend was a very exciting series. Especially the Saturday and Sunday games which were nail biters and could have gone either way. We won one game out of three, however, I strongly believe we should have walked away with two wins.
The team is looking forward to the South Florida series this weekend. We believe that we are prepared and ready to bounce back from the St. Johns series and get back on the right track.
Right now we're 4-5 in Big East play which puts us right in the mix of things. Our best ball is still to come, so come May we fully expect to be down in Clearwater, Fla. competing for a BIG EAST Championship.
#5 AJ Rusbarsky
March 22, 2011
What does having the Strike Out Cancer Tournament hosted on Seton Hall campus mean to the team?
I think the Strike Out Cancer Tournament that we hosted means a lot to our team. Cancer is a terrible disease and when we can do something like this to help raise money to find a cure, it means a lot not only to us, but our fans, families, and the American Cancer Society. To have it at Seton Hall means a lot too because it makes us feel like it is our tournament. Even though the main goal of this tournament is to raise money and awareness for the ACS, it feels good to be able to win at home and feel like we did more than win a tournament. To be able to give back to not only the Seton Hall community, but to every person who has been affected by this disease, makes playing for this cause worthwhile.
How does bringing the fence in affect the game... if at all?
In my opinion from what I have seen so far, the fence being brought in has not really made that much of a difference. Of course, myself being a pitcher, I would like to have seen the fences stay where they were, but honestly I have not seen much of a difference. I think the bats have made more of a difference than the fence has. I believe that these bats have less pop in them and have made it harder to hit home runs, not only at our field, but around the country.
How does the team prepare themselves BIG EAST Conference weekends (BIG EAST opener at Villanova)?
I think the team should prepare like this is any other weekend. You can't make too much of it because then everyone plays outside themselves and the results are rarely good. One quote that I think sums up how we should prepare is one that my middle school baseball coach used to say. The quote is "respect all, fear none", meaning that you have to respect all your opponents but there is no reason to be scared because we know that if we play to our abilities we can beat anyone at any time. We just need to take everything one game at a time and we will be fine. I think it’s important to get off to a good start in the conference and I believe this team is prepared and good enough to make the run that we are expected to make.
What can the fans expect from home BIG EAST weekends?
Our fans should expect some exciting baseball. The Big East conference is very competitive and there are a lot of good teams. We have a good home schedule with a lot of good teams coming in such as, St. Johns, USF, Louisville and Georgetown. Most of these teams finish at the top of our conference every year so this should provide some good baseball to watch at Owen. T Carroll Field.
Joe DiRocco
February 28, 2011
Our first weekend of the season was down in the Tampa, Florida area. It was the annual BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. Along with being our first games of the season, it was also our first action outdoors in months. We, as a team, have some high expectations for this season, so our 1- 2 start wasn't what we expected, nor was it what it should have been, but it was our first outdoor experience of the year so we were a little sloppy. We looked to our trusty senior pitcher Joe DiRocco to get us one in the win column and he didn't disappoint. He pitched a gem and we won 2-0. This was important for this team, especially going into an even tougher weekend against the UNC Tar Heels.
As soon as you know it, it’s Thursday afternoon again and it’s time to hit the road. This trip (UNC) had been a tradition for years, with a few skipped seasons recently, but the Seton Hall baseball team always drives down to Chapel Hill for a three game set with one of the best teams in the country. This year they are ranked 24th and should be a great test for our team. The guys know it’s going to be a tough series, but to be the best you must beat the best. So let's see what we got. The trip starts with the usual, a sandwich of choice and a Gatorade. Soon after, its study hall for all the guys pretty much until we reach the Maryland house. This isn't everyone's favorite part of the trip, but it is important because we are students first. After our first stop at the Maryland house, it’s time for our movie of choice and we usually look towards D-Roc (Joe DiRocco) for the movie choice (apparently East Hanover has great quality bootleg movies). Soon after, we make our final stop in Virginia to eat. The final two hours are used for card games and some much needed rest. People ask me about how I go about handling the pitching staff and for the most part, I like to keep it light-hearted. We have a staff with very talented pitchers. Some of the guys don't even realize how talented they are. So far, after two weekends, we haven't gotten the results we expected in our Friday and Saturday games, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to panic. We have guys throwing those days that have what it takes to be successful and I know they will step it up and drive us forward. Our Sunday guy is Joe DiRocco and he has been nothing short of amazing. He has done exactly what we expect from him. Just a couple hours ago he led us in a big victory over #24 UNC in which he pitched six-and-a third dominant innings. Ricky Mangione gave us a great lift out of the pen and Ryan Harvey completed his second successful save in two tries. All of this is a step in the right direction for our pitchers. If we can receive steady pitching this year we will be very difficult to beat. In most cases, I like the pitchers to feel comfortable out there on the mound so they can do their job to the best of their ability. We expect big things from ourselves so failure really brings these guys down. We came together and put forth our best effort of this past weekend to win the final game 3-1. Not to mention it was coach Sheppard's birthday. Happy Birthday, Coach!! The win has put the guys right back to their usual selves. Joking, laughing, and ready for another short week of intense practice to get us ready to take our momentum into Florida…again. Seton Hall Pirates '11 Get That!! Frank Esposito February 16, 2011 Our team is extremely excited to get on the field and begin our journey as BIG EAST champions. As a team, we worked extremely hard in the fall of 2010 and we all knew our success as a team was highly dependent on what type of shape we returned in from the break. Before we left for break we sat down as a team, and didn’t want all of our hard work to go to waste, resulting in the team returning strong and ready to go. Since returning from our longer-than-usual winter break, the team has hit the weights and practice hard. Together, we all took these tough workouts in stride and continue to get stronger in the weight room. There has been a constant feeling of positive energy with our team since the fall, and the feeling hasn’t faded starting with our coaches, flowing through our whole team, managers, and even many of the administrators in the Recreation Center. There’s something different about this team, something special, and we are all anxious to get started. The squad is looking strong, with seniors, Frank Esposito, and AJ Rusbarsky leading the team in intense practices and intersquads; along with Joe Dirocco leading the pitching staff with his experience and knowledge of what it takes to win. With the addition of many freshmen who are ready to step in and win games, to go along with many sophomores’ juniors and seniors with valuable BIG EAST experience, this team knows what it takes to win, and we are ready to “GET THAT”. Until next time,
Since it seems that we have been getting hit with snow every week, it has been tough to get out on the field. However, we all know that being a pirate means staring adversity in the face and dealing with it head on. The pitchers and hitters have been battling it out, going live in the cages 4-5 times a week, helping the hitters receive valuable at-bats, while helping the pitchers become game ready. The majority of the defensive workouts have been held in the field house, which we have used to our advantage, taking groundballs, going over all of our defensive plays; such as bunt coverage’s and first and thirds, along with our highly noted pick-off plays that have been known to give many teams problems in the past. This year, which we haven’t had the luxury of doing in the past, the team has been able to go to the Jack Cust Baseball Academy in Flemington NJ. For those who aren’t familiar with the academy, it is a full size baseball field, with a bubble over it in the winter, becoming an indoor baseball facility. Being able to play on this field is crucial to our development as a team and will help us tremendously being that it is as close to playing a real game as we will get before heading to Florida for the BIG EAST/ Big Ten Challenge. With that being said, the snow hasn’t really affected the Seton Hall baseball team, or so it seems. The team has been going about its business, not letting anything affect us as we prepare as best we can for our opening games down in Florida.
It has never been hard to motivate this team to lift weights, but with the remodeling and facelift to the weight room, it has been hard to get everybody out! Our weight room is new, improved, and better than ever, and couldn’t have come at a better time for our team. It is important as a team that we become as strong as possible before a long season with so many games in such little time. We all realize that being physically strong is a big part of the game, so our muscles don’t fade during the season. We have a bunch of blue collar hard working kids on this team, and this new weight room has brought out the best in all of us. With more squat racks, benches and all brand new equipment, you can be sure the pirates are going to be strong physically, and mentally. SQUATS SQUATS SQUATS SQUATS SQUATS SQUATS!
In the past, our Strength and Conditioning coach Angelo Gingerelli has done a fantastic job of getting our team into peak performing shape, however with a new addition in head athletic trainer Tony Testa, the two have combined their exercise obsessed minds to create what we like to call “Speed School”. Speed school focuses more on proper running technique, dealing with both the upper and lower body, along with sprints at intervals that will help the guys become faster. Instead of plain old ‘conditioning’ the team has taken running sprints to a whole new level, with shorter, more intense sessions of SPEED SCHOOL.
There is a bunch of guys on the team who are pranksters, jokesters, and clowns, along with the majority of the team cracking jokes in the locker room nearly every second. Yet, we are all guilty of becoming uptight and remembering that baseball is a GAME, a FUN game. Yes, we all need to respect the game and play it the right way, but there is something about playing loose, keeping the atmosphere loose, but focused, that makes the game the best sport in the world. In my opinion, and I’m sure every single one of my teammates would agree that one of the funniest kids on the team, and perhaps one of the funniest kids we’ve ever met, has to be freshman John Beaubien AKA “J-Money” (self given nickname). This kid always has the biggest smile on his face, and when he walks into the locker room, opens his mouth to speak, or just does what he does, it is nothing short of comedy. Not to mention he is one of the nicest, hardworking kids on the team, and his positive energy, entertaining sense of humor, and comical jokes help keep the whole team loose and ready to have fun playing the game we love.
Sean Gusrang
