As the season winds down, many of the teams in the Horizon League find themselves with a chance to win a League title. Wright State currently sits atop the standings, but we are not far behind. Only two games separate us at the moment, and as we head into our weekend series with Cleveland State, we are confident in our abilities to make up that ground.
The season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride to say the least. After a slow start though, it seems like we are starting to come together as a team. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, and if we play for each other, Chris and I feel we will like what we’ve done by seasons end. On a team that starts off slow, leaders need to emerge in order to change the dynamic of the season. We have been very impressed with the upperclassmen this year, who are not only helping us win on the field, but are helping develop our younger players into future leaders for this program.
Matt Serna is a redshirt junior who, in his first year at the Division I level, is having a tremendous season. When most of our bats went cold, Matt’s stayed hot, helping us win some key games that have allowed us to stay in the race for a ninth straight Horizon League title. 5th-year senior Chris Rutta has also been key in our offensive prowess this year. With nine home runs, and a ridiculous amount of RBIs, Chris has been a key leader on the field. Every time he is up, he is a threat to score a run.
Ryan Meehan has also been a bright spot for the Flames this season. Always a hard worker, Meehan has battled his way into the lineup, and made a solid contribution to us both offensively and defensively. In recent weeks, Ty Rubio has provided us with a much needed spark. Whether he is getting hits or stealing bases, Ty has been another huge part in our drive to win a title. As a team, we feel we are able to put up runs on anyone, which is why we are confident in our chances to still do great things this season.
On the mound, we have had a true sophomore step up and lead our staff. Michael Heesch sets an example for all pitchers by attacking the zone, and letting his defense do the work for him. In recent weeks, we have been seeing major improvements on the mound. If we continue to see these improvements each week, and our offense stays on track, we believe we can compete with anybody. We will find out very quickly, as next weekend we head down to Georgia to take on the 4th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Right now however, we are focused on this weekend. We need to attack the rest of the season with a game-by-game, pitch-by-pitch mentality. Hopefully next time you see a blog entry from us, we will be writing about a successful weekend.
Tags: Horizon League - Baseball · UIC - Baseball
