Birdies, Pizza & Peanut Butter

Most people who know me are fully aware that golf isn't exactly my game. And by not my game, I mean I would probably have just as much success playing water polo in the Olympics. Oh and by the way...I don't tread water very well.

Defiance baseball alum, Ron Habecker, once told me that a bad day on the golf course beats a good day in the office. Obviously he hadn't yet seen me attempt my infamous punch shot, or else he might have rethought his statement.

Held shares a high five

All joking aside, last week the Defiance College baseball team held its first ever Alumni & Friends golf outing, 9 Innings of Golf. A mix of alumni, current players, and even some team parents, hit the links on Homecoming morning. The alumni turnout was great, from 1985 graduate and state champion high school coach Tom Held to 2013 grads Aaron Patterson, Jake Taylor and Andy Habecker. A big thanks goes out to all the golfers who made that day possible as well as DC Alumni Director, Lorie Rath, for all her efforts in organizing the event, in conjunction with the Eagle Rock Golf Club.

DC Baseball Alumni & Friends

The Chase and the Fall

This past weekend (10/5) the Defiance College baseball team wrapped up its 2013 Fall Ball season with a doubleheader scrimmage against Taylor University - capping off a four week fiesta that included team practices, individual work and intrasquad scrimmages; known better as the Chase for the Cup! The Diamond is here to recap the fall and give you a slight glimpse of what to keep an eye on this spring.



This fall the Jackets competed in everything from mental toughness workouts (where they pushed an old shop van and rolled down the auxiliary gym floor on a body scooter), to in-practice competitions (defensive charting/baserunning challenges, late inning pressure situations and even the infamous chicken with its head cut off), to weekend intrasquad games (12 games in all) to help determine the winner of the 2013 Yellow Jacket Cup.

Going into the last day of practice, the standings were all tied up - a BP Scrimmage was slated to break the tie and determine a winner, but mother nature reared her head. As the rain came down at The Rutt, there was only one logical option - a Tennis Ball World Series for all the marbles. At the end of the day, it was SR Aaron Helland and his walk-off [tennis ball] bomb that led the Purple Squad to hoist the Cup and unseat the defending champion, Gold Team.

A big thanks goes out to the Taylor baseball program for being such great hosts on Saturday and more importantly the parents, fans and alumni that were able to make it to our intrasquad weekends! Overall, it was a fantastic fall season and some great things were taken away from these past four weeks - as well as a laundry list of things to work on going into the spring.

Stat Crunch: On the Mound

In the sequel to the Diamond's first installment of its fall ball recap, we turn our focus to the middle of the field - and take a look at how the pitching staff fared during Yellow Jacket Cup play. Keep in mind that these games were played in four inning increments, creating a twelve (12) game series between the two teams. Not only were pitchers charged with the task of keeping runs off the board, as always, they were also given the opportunity to score runs for their team. Using a pitch count bonus system, if a pitcher:

• Threw 10 or less pitches in an inning = 3 runs
• Threw 11-15 pitches in an inning = 2 runs
• Threw 16-18 pitches in an innings = 1 run

I would like to say that this system solved the age-old issue of pitcher only(s) yearning to be able to hit and contribute offensively, but sadly I don't know if anything will ever really solve that.

As I sit here and look over these stats, there are certainly some numbers that jump off the page. Sophomore Chris Douglas, freshmen Nick Ewalt & Drew Weber did not surrender an earned run all fall long. For Ewalt, that accompanies a sub-one WHIP, along with newcomer Dave Blanch who recorded a 0.94. The pitching staff also had five arms who held opposing hitters to below a .200 batting average. The battery mate's were under the microscope too, in terms of earned runs their pitchers gave up while they were behind the plate. It's time to go inside the numbers in this finale of the Diamond's Stat Crunch.

Stat Crunch: At the Plate

It's been just a few days since Yellow Jacket Cup play wrapped up and meanwhile, the Defiance baseball team is in the midst of its final week of practice for the fall - rounded out by a doubleheader scrimmage at Taylor University this Saturday (10/5). Now that the dust has settled a little bit and we have had a chance to regroup for this weekend's games, we have to pass the time somehow right? And by we, I mean me. In the first part of a two part series, we take a look at how the Jackets performed at the plate over the course of the 4-week fall season.

On an individual basis, there were certainly a few players that stood out - including seniors Darin Waterman and Pat Masopust who both posted a .500 batting average, utility man Joel Musser and his .714 on-base percentage, and speedster Aaron Helland leading the team in stolen bases (okay, no surprise there).

YJC - Day 3 (9/28/13)

With a solid crowd on hand including a handful of Defiance baseball alumni - 2013 grad and former DC outfielder, Jonathan Murphy, kicked off Yellow Jacket Cup Day 3 by firing a strike for the ceremonial first pitch. If my memory serves me correctly, he may have done it from a cro-hop. Receiving the pitch was 2012 graduate and former battery, Dave Riley - he was almost persuaded to strap the gear back on, but kindly declined. It  was great to have those guys back at The Rutt, including former pitchers Ryan McLaughlin, Aaron Patterson and Clint Hoskins.

It was a tremendous way to get the YJC finale underway, and the action during the games themselves certainly did not disappoint either. The Purple squad came away with a clean four-game sweep to bring their record to a commanding 8-3-1, leaving Gold in the dust at 3-8-1. This however, does not mean that the Purple People Eaters hoisted the cup over the weekend - the 2013 YJC Champion will not be named until later this week, as the Jackets still have three days of in-practice competition to help determine the rightful winner.

YJC - Day 2 (9/21/13)

Just like anything you do in life, the second time you do it usually goes a bit smoother than the first - although the first time tends to have a little bit more excitement surrounding it than the second does. Part of that was true for Defiance College baseball this past weekend, and it was not the latter.

Day two of Yellow Jacket Cup action was this past Saturday (9/21) and the differences from day one were amazing. The tempo was faster, the energy was better (if that's possible), and the guys played harder with more focus on the task at hand. Unlike week one, which saw Purple win the day by going 2-1-1, a split was had in week two. Bringing Purple's overall record to 4-3-1 and Gold to 3-4-1, respectively.

The theme of the day was also slightly altered from week one to week two. Bonuses for innings won and pitch counts were still awarded, but to try and liven the atmosphere up a bit - the coaching staff put in place a foul ball bonus; every foul ball a player got, his team got a run....needless to say the fans in attendance had to have their heads on a swivel, cause you never knew when a ball, or more importantly - a stampede, was headed their way!

YJC - Day 1 (9/15/13)

The Cup was on display this past Sunday and the Chase was in full effect on the first full day of Yellow Jacket Cup action. To round out the first week of fall practice, the Yellow Jackets kicked off their 3-day intersquad series with a four game set, all of which were 4 innings games:

#YJC GM 1: Purple 18, Gold 9. @Chewalt14 throws 2 scoreless inn. for W while @hellandback69 & @rkohlhofer2 both go 1-2. #FallBall #TheChase
— Cameron Castro (@OnOffTheDiamond) September 16, 2013

#YJC GM 2: Gold 19, Purple 19. @Joe_Fabrizio & @SGT_Roy both go 2-2; Gold SP @TheReal_CDoug tosses two scoreless. #FallBall #TheChase
— Cameron Castro (@OnOffTheDiamond) September 16, 2013

#YJC GM 3: Purple 20, Gold 18. @dwatnoshot scores 2 runs & fellow first baseman @JoeyBrobst notches 3 RBI. #FallBall #TheChase
— Cameron Castro (@OnOffTheDiamond) September 16, 2013

#YJC GM 4: Gold 16, Purple 11. @_npeters10 gets Gold's first W & @doedoe_1 turns in a 1-2 day with 2 runs scored. #FallBall #TheChase
— Cameron Castro (@OnOffTheDiamond) September 16, 2013

The Rutt

If those scores seem a little inflated for 4 inning games, you are right. Those scores include bonus runs awarded on the basis of pitch counts and innings won. Every weekend, the intersquad theme changes slightly - this week; for every inning that a team won, it received a run on the scoreboard.

Next was the pitch count bonus, each pitcher got 20 pitches to get through their particular inning - if they were under that 20 pitch mark, their team got additional runs. If he reached his count before the inning was over, the opposing team received a run for every runner on base and every out that was not recorded. The bonuses were as follows:

Pitch Count Scrimmage

• 10 pitches or less = 3 runs
• 11-18 pitches = 2 runs
• 19-20 pitches = 1 run
• Runners LOB/Outs not record = 1 run per (for opposing team)

The next date in the Yellow Jacket Cup series is this Saturday (9/21) - first pitch is at 12pm at The Rutt. For all score updates and highlights follow the Diamond on Twitter. YJC stats will also be posted later in the fall.

Stay up to date with all things Defiance Baseball at:

www.DefianceAthletics.com/baseball

or

www.DefianceCollegeBaseball.com

 

Follow DC Baseball On and Off the Diamond on Twitter:

@OnOffTheDiamond

Chase for the Cup

The NFL wasn't the only one who recently had to finalize their rosters (wonder if someone will sign Tebow, or his twin brother) - today the team assignments were issued for DC Baseball's fall season and the 2013 Yellow Jacket Cup. Defiance will run a four week fall ball season consisting of sixteen (16) practice days; made up of individual instruction, team practices, mental toughness workouts and of course - a three-day intersquad series (Sept. 15, 21 & 28)! Last year, the standings were deadlocked going into the last day of the fall (and no, the coaching staff did not fudge those numbers). In a winner take all match up, the Gold Team swept the day to win their fourth Yellow Jacket Cup title. This will be the seventh year the two teams have battled for the right to take the cup home - and this year promises to be an exciting one, let the Chase begin!

For continuous Yellow Jacket Cup scores, stats and standings - follow the Diamond's Twitter feed!

 

Stay up to date with all things Defiance Baseball at:

www.DefianceAthletics.com/baseball

or

www.DefianceCollegeBaseball.com

 

Follow DC Baseball On and Off the Diamond on Twitter:

@OnOffTheDiamond