The men’s baseball team knows the meaning of persistence and hard work.
They are learning from their games and pushing forward even though the season hasn’t even reached its halfway mark.
This past weekend the team was scheduled to have a three game series against North Carolina A&T University, but due to the weather they only played two of those games.
The first game was a victory for the Rattlers with a final score of 8-5, but the Rattlers lost the second 10-2.
Tobi Adeyemi, 21, thinks the reason they lost the second game was because of a poor outlook.
He said the team’s mentality could have been a bit more determined and anxious to score another win.
“We just didn’t come out with a killer instinct,” said the junior psychology student from Chicago. “They were able to carry momentum the second game and we just weren’t able to adjust as a team.”
Adeyemi said they did not help the pitcher as much as they could have. He said they may have gotten a bit comfortable after the initial win and didn’t play as hard as they should of.
Nonetheless, the team is ready to move forward for today’s game against Edward Waters.
The team will travel to Jacksonville to battle it out on the baseball diamond.
A member of the team said they beat Edward Waters before, so moving forward from their recent loss will not be a problem.
“We played them before and won by playing good team ball,” Darryl Evans, 21, a member on the team, said.
The Merrillville native couldn’t recall the specific score, but knows they won by at least 10 points.
“It was an overall good game because we played good defense and hit the ball really well,” the junior pre-physical education student said.
As far as the upcoming game, the team is getting prepared and definitely has high hopes for the rest of the season.
Evans said they have at least 28 games remaining.
Anthony Espin, 19, thinks they will play well as a team as long as they find their focus.
“We need to go out there and do what we know we are capable of doing,” the Tampa native said.
The sophomore electronic engineering student added that their goal is to continue playing good baseball.
“Our whole mindset is do what we have to do,” he said. ” We have to get out there as fast as possible and score runs- that’s what our coaches try to instill in us.”
He believes that as long as the team works cooperatively together and plays good baseball, then they are headed toward a good season.
“We strongly believe in taking care of our business,” Espin said.
And a part of taking care of that business is realizing the mistakes and making sure to constructively learn from them.
The Rattlers’ main focus on defense that needs to be corrected is the number of fielding errors.
Those errors have played a major role in the team’s success this season so far.
He also said that it is very important for every player to do their own part, but the efforts of the team are what create wins.
“Our main focus going into games is not only to win, of course, but to have a game with no errors,” Evans said. “We constantly work toward our goal of winning the championship.”
The team has several upcoming games including double headers against North Carolina Central and Jackson State University.
For both games the team will travel to Raleigh, NC., and Jackson, Miss.
To support the men’s baseball team or for a list of the scheduled games, visit www.famurattlersports.com.