Baseball is just getting underway for the Boston Red Sox, but the Suffolk University baseball team’s season has been going strong for weeks now.
The Rams have the fifth-best record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference at 11-8, holding fourth place in the standings with a 2-3 conference record. The team is two wins shy of matching last year’s season total.
With a roster featuring 21 new players, including 14 freshmen, the young team has ebbed and flowed through the first month of the season. The new look squad was projected to finish fifth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference preseason poll.
The Rams are currently on a four game slump after losing back-to-back doubleheaders to Brandeis University and conference-leading Endicott College. They are looking to get back to their early season stretch of winning that included a dominant performance in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, going 7-2.
Junior Harry Painter is confident the group will get back on track soon and knows what is needed to improve.
“The main thing I focus on is getting back to working hard at practice and trying to regroup and re-energize as a team,” said Painter.
Despite Suffolk’s recent rut, the team is still in a place to compete in the CCC. They have found success this season with their small-ball, patient approach rather than mashing their way around the bases. The Rams have the most doubles of any team in the CCC and are third in team walks. They also hold fourth in the CCC in other important offensive categories such as hits, runs and total bases.
There are things left to be desired in other areas of the team though, as Suffolk ranks second to last in fielding percentage and tied for first in fielding errors. The team may be carrying more of a patient approach at the plate this season, but need to get more selective with their swings as they lead the conference in strikeouts.
Despite their defensive ranks in the conference, Painter is confident in the team’s defensive mentality and believes those numbers do not tell the whole picture.
“Our mentality in the field has been good, and we’ve been playing well on defense this year. But we’re always looking for ways to improve and be better on that side of the ball. I think we’ve just got to get back clicking at the plate and we’ll be right back rolling,” said Painter.
The Suffolk roster features some of the most talented players in the conference and it all starts with senior Garret Roberts. Robertsis serving his second season as captain and has been the backbone of the Rams offense for the past two seasons. His .426 batting average, 1.179 on-base plus slugging percentage, 26 hits and 41 total bases all rank within the top eight in the CCC.
Roberts isn’t the only talented player on the Rams roster, as Painter and others are also featured in the CCC’s individual rankings. Painter was a member of last season’s All-CCC second team and is tied for second in doubles and seventh in runs batted in. Senior Jonny Gilbride has also been stellar at the plate as his 23 RBIs and 15 walks both rank fourth in the conference.
The Rams have largely been led by their group of returners, but they’ve also received a nice contribution from one of their rookie players. Freshman Colin Flynn was named CCC Rookie of the Week March 26 after slashing .354/.438/.429 with seven runs scored over a four game stretch. He is one of nine players in the conference with a perfect fielding percentage, and his 11 stolen bases are tied for second in the CCC.
Roberts has been extremely impressed with Flynn’s abilities, recognizing his impact on the entire team has not gone unnoticed.
“Colin has had a great first half for us. He’s a spark plug on both sides of the ball, and his speed on the bases makes him a game changer,” said Roberts.“He doesn’t try to do too much at the plate and is good at shortening his swing, putting the ball in play with two strikes. It’s great to see a freshman with that approach because those things can be contagious for a line up throughout games.”
Roberts is looking forward to the bounceback opportunity against UMass-Dartmouth over the weekend, and is confident all three facets of the team’s game will show up.
“I think we have a good chance to bounce back this weekend. Our pitching has been solid, and we are playing good defense, just need more consistent at bats 1 through 9 and we’ll be able to get back into the swing of things,” said Roberts.
The team ended up splitting the doubleheader, winning the first game 10-7 and losing the second 9-8.
