Baseball season begins

Tyler Foy Beacon Staff

Emerson’s baseball team opened its NEWMAC season by splitting a Senior Day doubleheader against Clark University, with the stands of Fraser Field stacked with friends and family.

Before the first pitch was thrown, 10 seniors took turns walking out to home plate with relatives—including the lone team captain of the 44-man roster, infielder Calvin Jacey.

This season is Jacey’s second as captain. He finds the experience to be strange but said he’s been able to carry on the responsibilities since his debut as a Lion.

“I don’t have anybody else to lean on in terms of leadership,” Jacey said. “At the end of the day, [my role is] to make everybody buy into what my program has been trying to do these past four years.”

Head Coach Nicholas Vennochi said Jacey has been an outstanding communicator, motivator, and source of inspiration for other players.

“Everyone looks to Cal,” Vennochi said. “He’s just so consistent and he’s a good guy. I think that dudes look at him and say, ‘Man, if I work as hard as Calvin, good things are gonna happen.’”

Vennochi also said Jacey and his class have been instrumental in establishing a more coherent vision for the program.

“This class just changed the culture,” he said. “The whole program raised the bar and bought in from day one.”

The class of 2022 was stripped of portions of its seasons due to COVID cancellations and statewide shutdowns. Jacey said the Senior Day ceremonies hope to commemorate these limitations.

“This is a celebration of everything my class has been through,” Jacey said. “Having virtually two seasons taken away and just grinding through all the adversity that we have to go through.”

When it came to game time, the ballgame was not only Senior Day, but also a chance to start conference play strong.

Senior right-handed pitcher Johnny Maffei stood on the mound to start game one, which proved to be a pitcher’s duel. Through the first three innings, each team only mustered up one hit apiece.

Maffei found himself in trouble in the fourth inning after walking and hitting a batter. A groundball to Emerson first-year second baseman Briggs Loveland put one runner away, but brought another into scoring position.

A fly ball from the Cougars’ Trevor Ham allowed Zachary Gitschier to score from third for the first run of the ballgame. Maffei’s control started to get loose after hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch, but he bailed himself out of more damage with a strikeout to end the inning.

The Lions had no response for the next couple of innings, and Ham struck again, extending Clark’s lead in the sixth. Maffei escaped another jam later in the inning but the Lions didn’t fire back until the eighth. Senior outfielder Quinton Copeland opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a ground ball. Junior first baseman Chris Ferara laced a single into the outfield, scoring Copeland and closing the deficit to 2-1.

Despite outhitting Clark, the Lions couldn’t capitalize and left eight runners on base in the 2-1 loss. Maffei pitched his second complete game of the year, this time in front of his friends and family.

“I can’t thank coach Vennochi and coach [Rob] Carillo enough for just coming to trust me and giving me the opportunity [to what],” he said. “When I thought of goals for the year I never thought a complete game was in the repertoire, let alone two.”

Vennochi said the choice to let Maffei play through the game was simple.

“Johnny earned it,” Vennochi said. “He’s a big dog. It didn’t look like he was faltering at all and they weren’t really hitting them. So it’s kind of an easy decision.”

The scorecard prior to game two indicated a handful of lineup changes, including the entrance of junior right-handed pitcher AJ Ortega for the Lions. The Cougars set the tone in the opening of the game, scoring one and tacking on another in the top of the third.

Heading into the bottom of the third, down by two, Jacey got to first after being hit by a pitch and moved to scoring position by stealing second. Copeland found outfield grass with a single to score Jacey from second and cut the lead in half.

Three scoreless frames followed and the Lions continued their offense in the fifth inning. Two outs into the inning, senior outfielder Rory Tettemer placed a ball deep enough to show off his speed with an RBI triple. Copeland drove in Tettemer on his second single of the game to secure the Lions’ first lead of the day.

Copeland went on to steal second and third, bringing his career total to 38 and breaking Emerson’s record set by CJ Rogers in 2016.

The Cougars were able to tie the ballgame in the top of the sixth, but the energy would shift in the bottom of the seventh. Jacey sparked the offense again by reaching first on a single. A double struck by junior catcher Matt Nachamie reclaimed the lead, scoring Jacey from first, and a walk put another runner on base. Copeland, who by this point had already driven in two, sent a double into the gap to extend the Lions’ lead by one. Junior infielder Thai Morgan cranked a single into center field to clear the bases Senior Johnny Maffei pitching in Saturday’s game / Courtesy Bryan Simmons-Hayes

putting Emerson up 7-3.

The Lions weren’t done yet. With two runners on, junior infielder Jake Hatch broke the game wide open by a blast to center in the ninth, clearing the fence and extending Emerson’s lead to 10-3.

This would be the nail in the coffin for the Cougars, resulting in the Lions’ first NEWMAC win of the year. Jacey said that, even with the festivities of Senior Day, the difference maker between games was the change in the dugout atmosphere.

“The ceremony went pretty well and then the first game happened and it was nearly dead… Our energy was super low,” Jacey said. “We responded tremendously in the second game which was the best game we played all season. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen the entire senior classes’ parents together, so it was pretty good to get a win.”

Vennochi said the decision to hold Senior Day on the first NEWMAC game of the season was to allow all families to gather together without having difficulties with graduation.

With 18 games left in the season, Jacey said he hopes to finish stress-free and make the most of his final moments as a player.

“As a college athlete, you hear about mental health,” Jacey said. “[Being a student athlete is] stressful, but…I can enjoy myself. There’s no reason not to.”

Maffei looks to stay sharp with his performances and continue the success he’s found so far this season.

“You have to be ready for the big moments and you have to come through,” he said. “These last few weeks I’m just going to take it all in and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

The Lions hope to play in the NEWMAC playoffs this season.

“John Beilein, the old Michigan basketball coach, said, ‘freshmen want to play, sophomores want to start, juniors want to score and seniors want to win,’” Maffei said. “And the fun part about this team is more than just the seniors want to win.”

The Lions went on to lose their following matchup against Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday in a close 11-10 game, and look to bounce back in their weekend doubleheader against Babson College.

tyler_foy@emerson.edu

Cont. from Pg. 1

Athletic Conference make the playoffs. Consequently, the seventh-place Lions knew Saturday’s games would be their last of the season—and for the seniors, of their careers—regardless of the outcome. Head Coach Ben Read said the team planned to treat Senior Day as an opportunity to leave it all on the court for the seniors one last time.

“We knew we didn’t have a shot at the playoffs, but it was a good chance to go ahead and compete and come out with at least one W,” Read said. “[Injuries] changed the landscape of our team quite a bit, but it was nice to see different people step up in different roles.”

Saturday’s first set opened with a kill from middle blocker Ramsis De Los Santos on a set from Elliot. Elliot tallied another assist immediately after, setting the Lions ahead 2-0. The Lions extended the lead to 11-4 with help from a couple of blocks by first-year setter and pin hitter Bayden Slavik.

A scrappy play returned the serve to the Bulldogs, but a kill from first-year pin hitter Jack Meissner brought it back to the Lions’ side of the court. A service run under Slavik put the Lions in winning position up 23-10, and another kill from De Los Santos put Emerson at match point. The Lions took set one 25-12.

The Lions jumped ahead early in the second set, securing a three-point lead, but Dean tied the score at seven after a series of hard-fought plays. The teams exchanged points and wound up tied again at 17. A kill from Dobbins put Emerson ahead 18-17, but Dean fought back with a kill and a block to go up 19-18.

Gordon responded with a block of his own, tying the score at 19. De Los Santos tallied another block and Meissner drove a kill down the line, putting Emerson ahead 21-20. The Lions won the set 2522 on a kill from Dobbins.

Meissner opened set three with a kill on a set from Elliot, and the Lions capitalized on Bulldog errors to string together a 10-4 lead. After a series of back-and-forth points, the Lions made another run and went up 15-8.

A Bulldog kill, an ace, and back-toback attacking errors from Emerson put Dean within two, but Emerson pulled ahead 21-17. A kill from Gordon and a series of diving saves advanced the Lions to match point. The Lions won 25-20, sweeping their third GNAC win of the season.

After a three-hour break, Emerson returned to the court for the second game of their Senior Day doubleheader, facing the 14-14 Elms College.

The Lions opened the second game trailing, but a dump from Slavik and an ace from Meissner evened the score early. A Dobbins stuff put the Lions ahead 7-6, but a tip kill from the Blazers knotted the score again at seven.

Slavik tallied a handful of blocks, but a strong Blazers offense sent Elms ahead 16-12. After an Emerson timeout, the Blazers tallied two more points before a kill from first-year pin hitter Bryson Beck stopped the bleeding. Elms regained momentum following several Emerson errors, and the Blazers took the first set 25-17.

The trend of Emerson errors continued into the second set, but a powerful double block from Meissner and De Los Santos brought a bit of energy back to the gym. The Blazers strung together a series of kills to send the Lions down 5-3. The Blazers extended their lead to six, pulling ahead 12-6.

Emerson couldn’t seem to outrun its errors, trailing 19-10 during Elms’ largest lead of the game. A series of Elms net violations put the Lions back in the game—though still trailing 21-15—but the Blazers strung together the last few points to win 25-15.

Despite going down 0-2, the Lions entered the third set fighting. A stuff from Dobbins put the Lions ahead for the first time since the beginning of the second set, but Elms quickly tied the score at three.

A Blazers error and another block by Dobbins brought Emerson ahead 5-3, but Elms answered with a quick kill from the middle. The teams exchanged points and Emerson extended its lead, capitalizing on a lack of blocks from the Blazers. A long rally ended in Elms’ favor, bringing the score to 11-10 Emerson.

Emerson met each attack with scrappy defense, but Elms went ahead 13-12 and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. While the Lions tallied a few points down the stretch, the Blazers secured the final plays to complete the sweep over Emerson, 25-18. Emerson men’s volleyball team setting up an attack. / Kayla Buck

By the end of the day, Emerson’s seniors had rounded out their stats. In 77 sets of play over the course of his college career, Elliot racked up 432 assists, 233 digs, 107 kills, and 51 aces; Dobbins tallied 89 kills and 48 digs over 84 sets; Gordon contributed 18 aces and 13 digs in his 58 sets.

Though the split record wasn’t the ideal Senior Day finish, the Lions’ soonto-be graduates said it was enough to play with their team one last time.

“We all knew we’re not making the playoffs,” Dobbins said after the game. “This is our last game and we’re going off with a bang. I have to give props to all the underclassmen—they played for the seniors, they really did.”

Read said he was happy about the team’s performance, crediting the Lions’ sustained hustle to the team’s love for its seniors.

“I’m just happy that we showed up and fought well today,” he said. “I think that’s because [our seniors] are meaningful to the team.”

The class of 2023 missed roughly a year and a half of playing time due to COVID. Elliot reflected on his shortened career after the game, adding that he hopes to continue playing in graduate school overseas.

“It feels weird, like it just started,” Elliot said. “It’s a little strange for it to wrap up now… but I’m surprisingly content.”

In the offseason, Read plans to give the team a short break before working to grow the roster and get back in the gym.

“Depending on what happens with [recruiting] and tying people together in the summer, we’ll start goal-setting,” he said. “For right now, let’s enjoy what we had this season, relax for a week or two, and start working hard in the weight room and getting touches this summer.”