The Vermont State University Castleton baseball team got the jump on most teams and are in the midst of the southern swing, but Middlebury College, Norwich University and Vermont State University Lyndon take to the diamond this weekend.
VTSU Lyndon opens on Friday with a doubleheader against Massachusetts Maritime in Vero Beach, Fla.
The next day, Norwich opens its season with a doubleheader against VTSU Lyndon in Vero Beach.
That matchup of two Vermont teams should give Lyndon coach Cam Curler and first-year Norwich University coach Billy Whaley a good evaluation tool.
Whaley sees the southern trip as a balance between wanting to win the games and as a preparation for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference season.
“The trip will be good competition. We are playing three teams who won 27 games or more last year,” Whaley said.
Tuesday Whaley’s Cadets have a twinbill against Elizabethtown College of Pennsylvania, a team that went 33-14 last year and is highly regarded this year.
“We play 36 to 40 games. There is no need to burn players out in the first week,” Whaley said.
The NU coach has been encouraged by the team’s attitude during fall baseball and the six weeks of spring practice.
“They have all been willing to listen and are trying to improve. We say be the best player on the field for 3 to 5 seconds. When you turn the double play, be the best player for those 3 to 5 seconds. It’s one pitch at a time,” Whaley said.
“The pitchers have worked really hard.”
The past weekend, the Cadets had an indoor scrimmage against Middlebury College at Middlebury.
“There was no scoreboard but it was serious enough,” Whaley said. “It helped to set the tone.”
The Cadets were going against a Middlebury team that set a program record with 32 wins last year and won the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship.
They boast Kyle McCausland who led the Panthers in home run with 12 and RBIs with 50.
The Panthers open the season this weekend with a three-game series against Emory University in Atlanta.
Middlebury and VTSU Lyndon are scheduled to play each other in Middlebury on March 13. That might sound too early but with the Panthers’ gorgeous new fully turfed field, the game has a real chance to be played.
RHS BASEBALL
The week for pitchers and catchers for Vermont high school baseball begins on March 17 and nobody is looking forward to it more than new Rutland High baseball coach John Cacace.
“I’m excited,” he said while watching his daughter Skyla’s Alpine ski meet at Pico.
He said he has been recruiting and believes the team’s numbers will be up.
Rutland’s opener is on April 12 at home against Bellows Falls.
