Tigers Rebound from Disappointing Weekend behind Klimesh's Gem

Last weekend, the Tigers were swept by the Hendrix Warriors, their rival and defending SCAC champions, at the Warriors' home field in Arkansas. On Saturday, Trinity blew a 12-7 lead in the bottom of the ninth and failed to rebound on Sunday from the Warriors early 7-1 lead.

There's a notion in sports that sometimes, the only way to cure a road game slump is to regain your team's confidence by winning at home. The Tigers did just that on Tuesday night by beating conference foe Texas Lutheran by a score of 4-2. Starting pitcher Ben Klimesh led the team to a much needed win by pitching a gem. By the numbers, the sophomore right-hander was outstanding as he pitched a complete game three-hitter. He struck out 10 Bulldogs, walked only 3, and allowed only one earned run.

Yet it wasn't the numbers that made him stand out most, but instead it was his ability to come back in counts where he got behind and to keep his composure in crucial moments of the game. "I was really able to locate my fastball today which allowed me to get back on a lot of 2-0 and 3-1 counts," said Klimesh. My fellow fraternity brother was also able to control his curveball very well, as both his curveball and fastball set his slider up to be his primary strikeout pitch of the night. Even when the fielders behind him made some uncharacteristic errors, instead of getting flustered, he pitched like a senior by keeping his cool. He put two clutch zeroes on the board in the 8th and 9th innings after an error in the seventh allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game 2-2. Klimesh improved to 3-0 on the season and hopefully, he and the rest of the Tiger's starting rotation can put up more performances like that at E.M. Stevens field this season.

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Tigers Get Off to a Great Start

The Trinity Baseball team couldn't have asked for a better start to their season. The Tigers are already 7-1 and cruising towards the beginning of conference play. Perhaps the biggest contribution to the team's early success is the way they have performed at the plate. Hitters from the top and bottom of the lineup seem to be getting clutch hits every night. "I think it really shows how much depth we have this year," said starting catcher Kyle Felix. "We're approaching this year with the mentality that any 9 guys on our team can go out their and compete with the best in the country." Rankings from D3baseball.com have not been updated recently, but when they do, the Tigers can expect a spot among the Top 25 teams in the country. Another part of the Tigers game that has been stellar so far is their starting pitching. Noah Solomon, last year's SCAC pitcher of the year as a sophomore, already has a 2-0 record with a total of 5 earned runs allowed. Another pitcher performing well for the Tigers right now is junior Mike Panozzo, who is also off to a 2-0 start. "Pitching is a lot easier when your team is constantly putting runs to support you on the board early", said Mike. While Trinity baseball has seen so many positives this early in the season, there are also some things that they know they have to get better at before the start of conference play. While the starting pitching has been phenomenal so far, the relief pitching has been below par. In a couple of the games so far this year, the Tiger relief pitchers have blown big early leads. Also, while the defense has been good, the Tiger infielders know that it has to be better against conference favorites like Millsaps College. Even with these little flaws, the Tigers and their fans couldn't be happier with the way they've started off the 2010 season.

De ja vue?

As the much anticipated 2010 Trinity Baseball season approaches, it's easy to tie the team's situation and expectations with those of the 2008 Trinity Tigers. In 2008, the offseason was full of hard work, long practices, and heavy competition for spots in the starting lineup caused mainly by a talented group of freshman. The 2008 team's motivation fed off their dissatisfaction of the results the previous year in which they finished with a "below .500" record. During the 2008 season, they were lead by strong, experienced pitching and instant success from their younger players. Every game, it seemed like 3 to 4 freshman were not just in the starting lineup, but were in the top half of the batting order. They finished the season 35-16 and were just one game away from advancing to the DIII College World Series. This year, everything seems a little too familiar. The Tigers just came off a disappointing season a year ago where they finished 24-22 and missed the playoffs. Also, they brought in a freshman class with a lot of players that have the potential to have an immediate impact. It's hard to speculate what Trinity's starting line up will be before a single game has even be played, however, it looks as if the Tigers starting middle infielders will both be freshman (John Hall and Kevin Clements). It also appears that they will also rely on freshman Tyler Rockefella out of the bullpen. Who knows what kind of season the Trinity Tigers will have, the only thing I'm sure of is that it seems a little like de ja vue to me.

Though I am not a member of the Trinity baseball team anymore, baseball here at Trinity University is still a big part of my life. I have a bond with the members of the team and the coaching staff that I will cherish for a long time, especially while I'm still attending Trinity. While the 2009 season ended with a loss in the region championship game and missing the playoffs, the 2010 season looks to be different. I believe this is so because of Trinity's more experienced and talented pitching staff, the return of several all-conference hitters, and the team's hard work this off season to try to put the sour memories of last year behind them. The key development of young pitchers that saw a significant amount of playing time as freshman and sophomores last year will be crucial to keeping the opponents of the scoreboard. The Tigers will rely on particularly junior Noah Solomon, who was named the "Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year" after the 2009 season. In terms of hitting, all-conference juniors Kyle Felix and Kevin Jackson should be a powerful combination at the top of the order and be able to set the tone early in games. Lastly, from talking with the players, their is a common feeling in the locker room that their determined attitudes and rigorous morning workouts will allow them to succeed when the season starts. Kevin Jackson said, "There's no way we are going to have a season like last year, we worked to hard this off season and I personally would do anything to get that taste of defeat out of my mouth." Let's hope the 2010 Trinity Tiger's can match the high expectations they have set for themselves this season.