Ramapo’s baseball team gears up for the Spring season

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics

Football season is finally over and pitchers and catchers have reported to their respective 2018 Spring Training locations which means one thing: baseball fans can rejoice because their beloved sport is officially back. The weather is warming up, the long off-season has come to a close and opening day is in the very near future.

Even more exciting is the prospect of Ramapo’s very own baseball team. The team has earned 25 or more wins for the last six seasons. It’s hard not to wonder just how far the Roadrunners will push the boundaries this year.

“We’re very excited to get the season started,” said junior Austin Unglaub. “We have had lots of success the past two years and we as a team feel that we can continue that success this year.”

It’s an accurate statement considering the Ramapo baseball team has been picked to finish third in the 2018 New Jersey Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll after ending the 2017 season with a 26-16 overall record.

“We are returning a lot of guys and have a lot of experience which will play a huge role this year,” added Unglaub. Unglaub finished the 2017 season with NJAC Second Team All-Conference honors.

He recorded a .325 batting average with 52 hits including a team-high of five triples while batting in 19 and scoring 27 runs. As the only Roadrunner to start every game last season, Unglaub also led the team with 16 sac hits while he posted 61 putouts and 129 assists in the field.

The team will look to their seven returning seniors to lead the team in the 2018 season and hopefully advance to the NJAC Championship as they did last year when they ranked No. 2 in the NJAC Baseball Tournament and played in the final against No. 1 seed TCNJ.

“We are really looking forward to this upcoming year,” Unglaub continued. “Practices have been up tempo which is a good feeling. Our expectations this year are to win the NJAC and get another chance to win a regional. Being in back to back NJAC championship games, we know what it takes to get there and are excited to get things started on March 3.”

The Roadrunners will start the 2018 season against Susquehanna University when they travel to Kean University on Saturday March 3.

 

khueston@ramapo.edu