While the weather was a hot and humid 82 degrees in Fort Myers, Fla., the baseball team was even hotter on the diamond going 9-1 over the course of eight days during spring break.
This stretch gave the team a 13-2 overall record which currently ties their best start in program history.
The Cardinals had won 12 games in a row before dropping their last game of the trip to Knox College.
While the season is still very young, the Cardinal’s offense is clicking early.
They have outscored their opponents 135-46 so far this season, compared to the 219 they scored all of last year, the second worse in the OAC.
The Cardinals lead the OAC so far this season in RBIs and home runs, two hitting categories that they struggled in last year.
The pitching staff is also performing well with a team ERA of 2.55 which leads the OAC so far this season.
Senior Wes Meadows is tied for the lead in the conference in strikeouts, and sophomore Taylor Ellis leads the conference in ERA.
Finally, sophomore shortstop Sean Kettering was named OAC hitter of the week yesterday afternoon after hitting 13 for 27 during the trip along with 17 RBIs and eight runs.
But among all the games, there was a lot of down time for the team to enjoy the sights and clear weather of Florida.
One of those sights included Sonny’s BBQ which the team has been going to for the past few years during their annual spring break trip.
The team also spent a day at Fort Myers Beach since they had two days off in the middle of the trip to rest and for a junior varsity game.
This year the team had a special treat from head coach George Powell during their practice on Wednesday.
“My favorite part was when Coach Powell took batting practice dressed in (Scott) Staarmann’s American flag bandana and sunglasses,” said sophomore outfielder and first baseman Billy Harkenrider.
Harkenrider, who entered the trip on an offensive slump, batted seven for 12 with eight runs and two RBIs over the last three games of the spring trip.
The last night in Florida is dedicated to Jungle Golf for the putt-putt golf championship, a part of the trip that many upperclassmen looked forward to.
“My favorite off-the-field thing that we did was putt-putting because it was the icing on the cake after a great week of baseball and a good team bonding experience,” said freshman outfielder Tyler Kent.
Kent, who hit his first collegiate home run over the break, had 14 runs and seven RBIs during the trip.
This year senior pitcher David Cydrus won the golf championship by one stroke over freshman pitcher Adam Collier.
For Cydrus, it was his second win after having won it his sophomore year.
The NCAA basketball tournament was also going on over spring break which kept the players together in the hotel.
At times, there would even be groups of ten players in one room watching certain games to stay up-to-date on all of the madness.
The Cardinals will resume and begin OAC play this Friday, as they go on the road to face the Purple Raiders of Mount Union in a double header.
