Eagles struggle in Arizona, stay above .500 mark
By Billy Cruz
Assistant Sports Editor
After getting out of the gates quickly and soaring to an impressive 8-2 record to open the 2002 campaign, the men’s baseball team has struggled of late, as they have had difficulty staying above the .500 mark. The Eagles are 16-14 on the season and 0-4 in the Arrowhead Conference as of press time.
The Eagles’ frustrations began far from their home field in Oglesby as they headed west to Arizona for their annual Spring Break trip on March 20-28, going just 2-8 against some of the finest Division I schools in the Desert State.
IVCC began their trip on a positive note, splitting a doubleheader with a tough Mesa Community College ball club on March 22.
The following day may have set the tone of the road trip for the Eagles, as they dropped a pair of games to Scottsdale Community College. IVCC dropped the opener with a heart-breaking loss 9 – 8. The Eagles broke a 4-4 tie by scoring three runs in the seventh inning to jump out to a 7-4 lead, before Scottsdale rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to knot the game at seven. IVCC scored one run in the top half of the ninth, but Scottsdale escaped with a triumph as they connected for a game-winning two-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Eagles went on to win just one of their final six games of the trip, defeating only Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Three of their five losses came from Elgin Community College of Illinois, while the other two setbacks came from Chandler Gilbert and Glendale, both of Arizona.
Although his team did not play very well on the Spring Break trip, head coach Bob Koopmann was not upset with his team’s performance.
“Not being able to hold onto the lead late in that ball game (9-8 loss to Scottsdale C.C.) really didn’t help us, but it was just a tough day for us” said Koopmann. “We put forth the effort every game and I was happy with that. We lost some close games. We just have to learn how to win those games.”
The Eagles did bounce back to put together a brief four game winning streak, as they returned home from Arizona to sweep doubleheaders from Joliet and the Valparaiso JV’s on April 4 and 5.
That winning streak came to an abrupt halt as IVCC entered conference play, dropping four consecutive tough games to rival Black Hawk and Kishwaukee.
“We sat down and talked as a team after the losses to Kishwaukee,” remarked Koopmann. “We talked about how the season was half over and what we have to do to succeed in the second half because obviously we have to play a lot better. The team has a few goals they are hoping to achieve as the season progresses.”
On April 11, the Eagles got back on the winning track as they traveled to Madison, Wisconsin and swept a doubleheader from Madison Area Technical College in a big way.
In game one, Brock Keffer (1-1) pitched six solid innings, surrendering just two hits and allowing no runs as the Eagles claimed the lopsided 15-4 decision. The IVCC offense pounded out 13 hits in the contest, including multiple safeties from Doug Richards, Ryan Wagner, Dave Hardman, and Clay Coss.
“This was the first game we were able to hit well,” said Koopmann. “Hopefully this is a sign that we are coming together.”
In the nightcap, the Eagles’ offense came to life again, recording 14 hits before going on to win 10-4. Wagner went 4-4 at the plate to lead IVCC, while Justin Petitt, Brad Dutton, and Richards each added two hits apiece, respectively. The pitching was just as productive for the Eagles, as Nathan Miller (3-3) threw six innings, allowing eight hits, one earned run, and walking no one.
Koopmann is satisfied with his ball club, especially the pitching performances of Billy Terry, Tanner Freeman, Ned Schauff, Danny Malloy, Miller, and Keffer and the strength of his schedule.
“My top six starting pitchers have been pitching very well,” stated the coach. “Our team chemistry is fine. We have just been playing a lot of good teams and the strength of our schedule is going to help us down the stretch.”