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.

"First Week Jitters" (posted on March 12, 2012)

Well, the first week of the spring baseball season is behind us. I think I speak for all of Cougar Baseball in saying that it has been a blast to get outside and play the game we love. We opened up on March 3rd at home against Ohio Christian. It was an absolutely frigid day at Cougar Field, but we had a great day of ball. It was awesome to see the large amount of support we received from fans even on a day of weather that was as awful as that. We won both games against Ohio Christian 9-5 and 13-1 and the major highlights were the amount of power that our lineup displayed. Last season, we hit ten home runs as a team for the entire year. On March 3rd alone, we hit five homers. Jordan Doherty drilled one to deep left, Jeff Stone pulled one to deep right and Jake Dickerson had two home runs in his first two college games. It was so cool to see Jake succeed like that because last year Jake red-shirted and worked so hard while the team was off doing its thing. I know he was frustrated and determined to make an impact this year, and there is no doubt he will continue to make amazing strides.

Tuesday provided an awesome spring day. The weather was a bit cool, but the sun was out and it was just an enjoyable day on the field. We played Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) at home and it was another awesome turnout from the Cougar fans. The offensive production continued at an amazing rate just like against Ohio Christian, and we won both games 11-1 and 7-6. The second game was such a fun game to be a part of. It was back and forth the entire time. One of the great tests about a team is to see how they respond when another team comes out swinging. The second game on Tuesday showed what our team is made of. Whenever they scored, we came right back at them. The highlight of the game was when Josh Roberts and Seth Eller hit back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches. I have never screamed so loud and I am pretty sure it did not help my sore throat from the flu, but it was one of the coolest things I have seen in my time with Cougar Baseball and it was an amazing environment to be in.

This last weekend we had one of the bigger tests on our schedule. We traveled to play Taylor University at a neutral site in Cincinnati. Taylor is the two-time defending regular season champions of the Mid-Central College Conference. They are currently ranked No. 25 in the NAIA national poll. This was a great opportunity to see where our team lines up with the elite in the conference. We played four games and each game was close. We ended up going 1-3 against them in the four game set, but we left encouraged as we won the final game of the series. Taylor is a great program and you can definitely see why they have had the success they have had in recent years. It was encouraging to see that we can hang with a good team like that, but the general consensus was a feeling of dissatisfaction. We don't set out to "hang" with great teams; we set out to beat great teams. It revealed a lot of things that we need to work on by the end of the year, and we are certainly excited for the challenge. One of the biggest highlights was the pitching of performance of Mike Kochheiser. My goodness did he deal on Saturday. In just his second career start, Mike looked like a seasoned veteran. It was so cool to see him have such success. He is one of my lifting partners in the offseason, and we always try to remind ourselves on the days when you would rather be on the couch that the work is not in vain and it will pay off on another day. Mike's work paid off on Saturday, and I feel that it is just the tip of the iceberg for the things to come in his season.

At this time I would like to introduce three more Cougar baseball players.

Kevin Chaffin

Kevin is another one of our three catchers. Kevin has an amazing quiet confidence. He does not say much, but you can tell that he is confident in his abilities. He is an exceptionally talented catcher who just has a smooth presence behind the plate. He receives the baseball better than anyone I have ever thrown to. He is a great friend and teammate to everyone, and we are really glad that he is a part of our family here.

Ben Hoar

Ben is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, so he will not be joining us on the field this year. Ben has become a great friend of mine in a very short amount of time. He is a tremendously hard worker. Every day, you see him heading to the weight room or doing his rehab exercises. I am very excited to see his talents next season. But, Ben's talents do not define him. He is a dedicated follower of Jesus and he impacts those around him in amazing ways. Ben is someone who you can really sense the Lord's spirit in his life, not just in his work ethic, but in the ways that he points people to Jesus.

Andrew Fila

Andrew is an awesome teammate that I have really been able to get to know more in the last year. Last season, Andrew was recovering from Tommy John surgery as well, so he did not travel with the team. Andrew is without a doubt the nicest person you will ever meet. I know that sounds cliche, but if you ask those around him they will give the same answer. He possesses a positive spirit that is just contagious. He genuinely cares about what is going on in your life, and tries to get past the casual answers about how your day is going and get to the root of things in your life. He is an awesome encourager and we are extremely blessed to have him on this team.

That is all for now. The next time we meet we will be coming to you from FLORIDA. The Cougars leave on Wednesday for a 10-game road trip in central Florida. We thank you for your support and prayers and we hope you continue to carry on with us in the journey this season!

With you on the Journey,

JB

Matthew 11:28 

"Touch 'em All with Justin Brown" Complete Archives