Baseball season tickets are available for sale and you know what that means — it’s almost baseball season.
“I’m looking forward to coming off a strong past year and winning the Big South Championship this year,” Ryan Watson, a junior and catcher on the baseball team, said.
The Eagles faced a couple of injuries last year and as they move forward into the new season, the team hopes to remain healthy. Sophomore pitcher Cody Whitten is one of the players who suffered an injury last season. He has his hope for his teammates this season.
“Since I’m not playing because I had Tommy John surgery last year I’m really excited to see the boys go out and compete and just have fun with the game,” Whitten said.
Tommy John surgery, or ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a surgical procedure that repairs an injured elbow ligament, according to WebMD. This surgery is named after former Major League Baseball pitcher, Tommy John, and is most commonly done on college and pro athletes, particularly baseball pitchers.
Both Watson and Whitten first got into the sport at a pretty young age and ever since then fell in love with the game.
“My dad played baseball his whole life and in college and I just fell in love with the game at a young age,” Whitten said.
As for Watson, “I first started baseball at a very young age playing Little League with friends and stayed in the sport and started playing competitively and traveling when I was in middle school and eventually got the opportunity to play at the college level,” he said.
The quid pro quo with athletes who start at a pretty young age, is that they usually always bring something great to the team, adding to its other assets.
“I think I’ve brought a lot of leadership this year as an upperclassman and catcher on the team,” Watson said.
Although Whitten is redshirted, he still gets excited for the game and is doing great things to keep the team venturing forward.
“I think with being out I’ve gotten to watch some of the younger guys a lot more and help them grow,” Whitten said.
How do they emanate such great things and prepare for the battle on the field?
“My pregame rituals are pretty simple; listen to some music, stay hydrated,” Whitten said.
“Before the game I always get there early and do some stretching and pre-work before we get started with team stuff. I try to do some[thing] calm and relaxing to get myself into the right state of mind by listening to music and focusing on my breathing,” Watson said.
Be sure to catch the season opener, a triple feature, against the University of Maine Black Bears Feb. 14 at 4 p.m., Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. and Feb. 16 at 1 p.m., at the Winthrop Ballpark.
Graphic: Maggie Claytor/ The Johnsonian
