Throughout the course of the 2012 season, MVNU junior pitcher Justin Brown will write a weekly blog about what is happening with the baseball team.

"Together" (posted on March 1, 2012)

Well, the MVNU spring baseball season is almost upon us. Months of hard work is about to be put into effect here in a few short weeks. Throughout this season, I will be giving you a small window of what goes on inside the walls of Cougar Baseball. My hope is that I can take you along the journey with us these next few months, that you can share the ups and downs of a college baseball season with us, and that you can feel a part of Cougar Baseball in some way as we share the great enthusiasm and great devotion of being a part of a team.

First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Justin Brown. I am a redshirt junior from Westerville, Ohio. I am a Psychology and Sports Management double major and one of only two left-handed pitchers for the Cougars this season.

One of the best parts about the beginning of the season is that you get the feeling of starting over. The old is gone and the new is here - what a refreshing feeling. There is nothing like a new start. One thing that is common in the world of sports especially at the college level is to gauge the probability of future success on what happened the previous year. The last two years our team has qualified to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, but the core group of guys from those teams have since graduated. Thirteen players from last year's team have moved on with their lives. The sporting world would tell us that means that this year's team is not going to have success. We, as a team, have not bought into such a mentality. One thing that Coach Veale is so good at is to challenge us as players and men to not make excuses for what we bring to the table. This upcoming season has a lot of unknowns for Cougar Baseball. New conference, new players, new traveling distances. The theme of our months of preparation is that whatever challenges we face as a team this upcoming season, we will go through them together. This is our mantra this spring. We are setting out on this journey together, as one group of individuals that day-by-day is trying to glorify God and win baseball games in the process. Our hope is that you join us on this journey.

Throughout this season, I would like to introduce you to some of the individuals that make up this group of Cougar Baseball players. You can find out all about their baseball lives by checking out the roster, so I don't intend to tell you that "Tommy Smith is a right-handed outfielder who is 6'5" and is from Lincoln, Nebraska." This blog will be used to simply brag on these guys. They are my friends, who I have developed relationships with throughout the last few months! This week I want to introduce three freshmen on the roster.

Cameron Juhasz

Cameron and I are the only left-handed pitchers on the roster. So, naturally, we have been paired up for workouts throughout the entire offseason. Cam is a tremendous worker and I would put his work ethic up against anyone. He is constantly seeking to know more about the game and to make himself a better player. I have tremendous respect for this guy and I am really excited to see him excel this spring on the mound.

Clint Spencer

Clint is one of three catchers on the roster. If I had to describe Clint in one word, I would use the word "tough." Like all catchers, Clint sometimes takes a beating behind the plate, but the thing that speaks volume to his attitude and character is that you never hear him complain about it. Ever. He is a player that you want in battle with you. You can see in his eyes that he has a competitive spirit and he is certainly someone that will scrap and claw to help make the team succeed.

Kenny McCambridge

Kenny is a pitcher/middle infielder. He has done a great job playing the balancing act of trying to play multiple positions. Kenny is simply smooth in the field. He's got the looks, and the confidence to succeed as a baseball player. To put it bluntly, "chicks dig" Kenny. That's just a fact, and the great thing about Kenny is that he does not have a big head or arrogant attitude towards life. He is a down-to-earth person who genuinely cares about the people around him.

More to come next week! Be sure to come out for our home opener Saturday, March 3rd at 1 p.m. against Ohio Christian. We would love to have your support and make Cougar Baseball games an awesome environment to play in.

With you on the Journey,

JB

Matthew 11:28 

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