CLUB BASEBALL

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School days The Lafayette College club baseball team worked out with the Devil Rays on Tuesday morning at Al Lang Field as guests of Maddon, who attended Lafayette to play quarterback but switched to baseball full-time after his freshman season. "Actually one of the kids' mothers went to school when I was there, so I had to be careful with that," Maddon said. "And I knew her. How about that?" Maddon graduated in 1976 and was signed by the Angels as a free agent. He said all four infielders and two pitchers were drafted off that team. - Roger Mooney, Bradenton Herald, March 14, 2006. Baseball Club Shags Balls for Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Baseball Club had the opportunity to shag balls for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the team’s batting practice last week. The students were in Florida for the National Club Baseball Association’s Spring Showcase, where they competed against teams from Indiana, Minnesota State, West Virginia, and Miami of Ohio. Before leaving for the trip, coach Chip Nataro, assistant professor of chemistry, sent a letter to Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon ’76. They arranged for the club to participate in the team’s batting practice and meet some of the professional players, including pitchers Scott Kazmir, Chad Orvella, and Doug Waechter, infielder B.J. Upton, and catcher Mike Rose. Maddon also took some time to talk with team members. The Lafayette players all received hats and shirts from the Devil Rays. “Joe was great. He really loved his time at Lafayette,” says Nataro. “It was evident the moment we met him. He was so excited to have us there, and we could only do it because of him. He essentially told [the students] baseball is a strange sport: In baseball, getting a 30 percent [success rate in batting] is considered good, whereas in college [academics], that usually won’t cut it -- so remember that and go out and have fun. He challenged my guys to not let any balls hit the grass. Joe was amazing. We’re so thankful for his generosity.” The players were impressed with the team’s willingness to interact with them and take time to include them in practice. “Mr. Maddon was extremely friendly and made everyone feel relaxed,” says second baseman Christian Garelli ’09 (Pasadena, Calif.). “You could see his personality rub off on his players because they were all extremely personable and friendly. They all came over and talked to us about baseball and made us feel like one of the guys. It was a good experience because he is another alumnus who had a great time here, and having people speak so fondly of Lafayette is good to hear.” Lafayette went 2-2 during the showcase, defeating West Virginia and Minnesota State. First baseman Joe Branosky ’09 (Woodbury, N.J.), a Marquis Scholar, was named New Penn East Conference Player of the Week; Dan Olivi ’08 (New Freedom, Pa.) was named Pitcher of the Week. “Getting to play competitive games before our actual conference schedule should be a huge benefit,” says Nataro. “We played some excellent teams down there and we know we can compete with them.” Club president and third baseman Dan Weaver ’07 (Cogan Station, Pa.), a civil engineering major, believes the team has improved this year and is capable of winning the league, which includes New York University, Rutgers University, and Lehigh University. “We gained a lot of confidence from the trip,” he says. “In past years, we went into the season looking forward to three wins at best. After seeing how well we played in Tampa, the team is looking for at least ten wins this year and winning the league.” Baseball Club opens its spring season today versus Lehigh. Maddon was named the Devil Rays manager last year. According to the Devil Rays, Maddon will focus on improving pitching and defense, two components the new manager feels should help the team win more games. In addition, unlike many teams that only focus on fundamentals during spring training, Maddon says he will make that a priority throughout the season. He previously worked with the California Angels and several minor league teams. - Lafayette College Web, March 24, 2006. Club baseball goes 7-10 in second season, has high hopes for future While the warm weather is beginning to show itself in Easton, the school year is yet again coming to an end. The same can be said of the spring sports schedule, as teams from lacrosse to softball have wrapped up their respective seasons after months of hard work. Though you may not have been fully aware, Lafayette’s club teams have also been working hard at their respective sports during the spring months. People unknowingly stereotype club teams as having members who were not good enough to play at the varsity level, but in most cases, the members of club teams just want to continue playing their favorite sports without the major time commitment that varsity entails. One of these teams is the Club Baseball Team, which is in only its second year of existence. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Chip Nataro has been serving as the club’s coach, and, as he says, the team only exists today because of the current members. “The team formed last year because a number of guys wanted to play competitive baseball, but for various reasons could not be part of the varsity program here,” Nataro said. “Our president, Tom Marsella ‘06, was the driving force in getting this club established and playing ball. He has done a tremendous job in his two years with the team.” The club consists of about 25 members, which is a major improvement from last season according to both Marsella and Nataro. The team is picked through a try-out process, which takes place in the fall, and any student with experience is welcome to come out for the squad. Marsella is very happy with the club’s success, and says it is in large part due to the constant participation of the other players. “We usually practice once a week in the gym, and play our games on weekends,” he said. “Depending on the opponent, weather, and travel circumstances, we either play double or tripleheaders. Although club sports don’t usually demand a strong commitment, our players show great attendance at all of our games, which is one of the biggest contributing factors to the team’s success.” Lafayette played four games in its inaugural year last season, but did not come out with a win. This year, the Leopards were able to garner their first ever win in a 5-2 victory over New York University. Nataro added that the game was extra special because NYU plays its home games at Richmond County Bank Ballpark, which is home to the Staten Island Yankees, a farm team of the New York Yankees. Jason Napierski ’07 pitched a strong seven innings in the winning effort, only giving up one run in the process. Good offensive performances were turned in by Marsella, Dan Weaver ’07, Brian Jennings ’06, and Adam Lichtenberg-Scanlan ’05. In addition to the win over NYU, the Leopards have beaten Bucknell three times, the University of Pennsylvania once, and NYU two more times. Lafayette has recorded three losses against a tough Penn State team, three against Rutgers, and two each against UPenn and NYU, for a final record of seven wins and ten losses. The Leopards, who play their home games at Bicentennial Ballpark in Allentown (home of the Allentown Ambassadors of the Northern League), expect to have even more success down the road. “The team should only get stronger in the future,” said Marsella. “We started the team during the 2003 season, and joined the National Club Baseball Association in 2004. The NCBA is continuing to expand, which will allow us to play more teams in an organized, structured schedule. We should be one of the better teams in our division next year, and are looking forward to playing such competitive baseball.” Coach Nataro shared similar sentiments. “We are only losing three players to graduation this year, and while those guys will be hard to replace (in particular Joel Seiden ’04, who always kept us laughing and knows the best places to eat), I am confident we can build on this past season,” said Nataro. “Most of our players this year were first year students. I expect that the team will continue to grow and improve. Our league will be changing a little next year, and I think we can compete for the league championship.” - Kerry Kenny, The Lafayette, May 7, 2004