After closing out its annual Southern road trip with a bang, the baseball team is looking for its fifth win in a row. Problem is, there’s nowhere to play.
After last Wednesday’s game against Marist was postponed to Thursday and shifted from Poughkeepsie to New Haven because of heavy snow forecasts, the game was cancelled in the wake of yesterday’s storm. The Bulldogs’ scheduled home opener against Vermont, originally planned for today, was also cancelled because of weather.
And yesterday, with Yale Field still resembling a Woodstock mud pit, the entire Vermont series was cancelled.
“Playing baseball in the Northeast, you pretty much have to expect bad weather during late March and early April,” catcher Eric Rasmussen ’06 said. “It comes with the territory, and you just have to deal with it. As long as we get our Ivy League games in, it will be okay, but it’s frustrating to go a week without playing.”
Rasmussen added that Yale Field should be ready for baseball by Saturday and that the Elis (6-7) were still hoping to find another team against which to play a doubleheader.
“We’ve called a couple teams, and we’re trying to get someone to come in,” Rasmussen said.
The Catamounts (6-2), who are still in Florida on their own Southern road trip, have extended their stay in the Sunshine State because of this weekend’s projected weather conditions in the Northeast.
Bruce Bosley of the Vermont Athletics Communications Department declined to comment on the matter.
When they do take the field again, the Elis can at least be confident in the man taking the mound. Josh Sowers ’05 was named Ivy League Co-pitcher of the Week after striking out 11 batters in seven shutout innings against Sacred Heart last Friday. Sowers has not allowed a run in his last 14 innings, and he leads the Ivies with 23 strikeouts. His 0.95 ERA is third best among all hurlers in the Ancient Eight.
Sowers has high hopes for the rest of the season.
“I imagine if we pitch well and play defense and get some situational hitting, we will be in every game,” Sowers said.
Sowers or Alec Smith ’06 will most likely start the team’s next game.
The Bulldogs’ next scheduled contest is Wednesday at UConn (12-4).
“With the weather and cancellations I am not sure who will start which games,” Smith said. “I think we have the talent to beat any team if we play well.”