Bobcats achieve near-perfection on the road

The GCSU Bobcats baseball team (14-4, 5-1 PBC) returns home to play Peach Belt Conference (PBC) rival Armstrong Atlantic today and tomorrow after a seven game road trip dating back to Thursday, Feb. 22. The Bobcats went 6-1 on the road trip losing only to No. 6 Columbus State. Out of their past 19 games, only two have been held in Milledgeville.
“It’s a difficult task, to go out and travel as much as we did early on (in the season),” Head Coach Chris Calciano said. “It really develops that cohesive type (of) group that we’re looking for.”
The road stint started in Carrolton against Division One powerhouse West Georgia. The team escaped the Wolves with a late rally for a 6-5 win. Seniors Hans Stancil and Bryan Shaughnessy teamed up for the go-ahead run in the eighth. With one out in the eighth inning, Stancil reached first on a bunt single to third, taking second on a wild throw by the third baseman. One batter later, Shaughnessy ripped a single to left center to plate Stancil for the go ahead run and the win.
The team then swept UNC Pembroke in three games in two days on the strength of strong pitching to pick their first conference wins. In game one, The Bobcats had a combined shutout from Michael Antonini and Andrew Harris while in game two Matt Howard and starter Jayson Bennett combined to allow just one earned run.
The Bobcats ran away in game three with a 10-run third inning. Three Bobcats, Justin Mills, Stancil and Shaughnessy, each scored a pair of runs in the inning, while Stancil also had two hits and two RBIs in the frame.
The team then continued trickling down the coast back towards Milledgeville stopping in Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian College. The Bobcats held off the Blue Hose in a 6-3 win. Once again the heroics of Mills and Stancil saved the day. The two seniors combined for a pair of RBIs in the eighth inning, to put the game out of reach.
Next the Bobcats further south to slug it out with conference rival Columbus State. The Bobcats stole two of three from the Cougars.
The highlight of the trip was a 12-inning marathon in the second game of the series in which the Bobcats slipped away with a 2-1 win. Mills ripped an RBI double in the top of the twelfth to give GCSU the win.
Tired from the road stretch and the 12-inning stunt the day before, the Bobcats lost the final game of the series 7-2, marking their only loss in the trip and their first conference loss.
The last stop of the Bobcats’ journey was Valdosta State. GCSU beat the Blazers 5-2.
After it was all over the team was glad to be home.
“Well, it’s kind of nice to get the road games over with at the beginning of the season,” Stancil said. “At the end of season it’s nice to be able to play at home and sleep in your own bed.”
For many underclassmen on the team, the trip helped them gain experience as a college athlete. Freshman shortstop Chandler Snell, enjoyed playing his first college baseball games on the road.
“It’s been good for me so far because I’ve been able to get my feet under me, get used to the game,” Chandler said. “I’ll feel a lot more comfortable once I’m able to play another home game. It’ll be a lot better for me.”
Junior pitcher Sean Heimpel, however, explained the weekly routine as monotonous.
“Well, we go out it seems like every weekend (and) we pack our bags, (and) we head out on the bus,” Heimpel said. “It’s a long road trip (for) five to seven hours. (We) basically live in a hotel room for two days. I don’t know, it’s just business I guess.”
The Bobcats are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 Poll after winning two games out of three against previously ranked No. 3 Columbus State last weekend.
Armstrong Atlantic will be the first conference opponent that the Bobcats play this year at home.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 9 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry