While I was down at Farmingdale State College today, the biggest change I noticed about the reigning Skyline Conference Champs was not the roster but the field they were on.
Having played there during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, then being back each subsequent season I am very familiar with the campus and the stadium. So it was very noticeable when I first saw the brand-new turf on the field. This was “long overdue” in the words of Head Coach Keith Osik.
They made several more upgrades, including each of the bullpens, adding protective fence in front of the dugout, a brand-new scoreboard, batting cages and even brought in the outfield fences.
The notoriously-high fence has been lowered and brought in at Farmingdale State College
Osik joked that “when the score is 3-2 in the ninth inning we’d like our guys to know they can put the ball out”, but added that the field “still plays big” with the deep gaps in the alleys.
The field is not the only reason for the skipper to be excited.
“We are really excited for this team. I thought last year’s team was the best I had. Even with the guys we graduated, I don’t think there will be much of a drop-off. We have really hungry kids. The overall depth is really good. It remains to be seen how much they much in, though.”
During today’s scrimmage against New York Tech, they were defeated 3-2–with both runs scoring on a dropped infield pop up in the fifth inning. By the way, how many college games feature two Head Coaches that combine for 24 years of Major League experience?
Anyway, they had the challenge of facing Bobby Vath and Joe Murphy–two of New York Tech’s top arms.
“We struck out way too much today. We faced two quality arms, probably pitchers we won’t see anything like during the season–but still need to cut down on the strikeouts,” he added.
Today’s results notwithstanding, the Rams enter 2020 with the bullseye on their back having ended their championship drought of four seasons and triumphed over rival SUNY Old Westbury before having their season ended in the regional in a 13-inning marathon against TCNJ.
“It was awesome to get back on top,” said Osik.
“We were really excited how they went about their business. We couldn’t have been happier for them. Winning a championship is always the goal. Losing in the regional was tough. Sometimes you just face a stud pitcher but I couldn’t have been happier in the effort that they gave.”
The Rams erased deficits of 3-0 in the fourth and 6-1 in the fifth. Additionally, they bounced back with a run in the bottom of the 11th after falling behind but ultimately couldn’t come back in the 13th after TCNJ took the lead with a squeeze play.
They graduated ace Matthew Constantine and cleanup hitter Vinny Rice–the heart & soul of the team but they return virtually every other impact player on a team that went 32-9 with a .295 team AVG and 3.09 ERA.
They will open up the 2020 season on March 7 against Keene State at home. The Rams enter the season looking to defend their crown.
