Jaspers celebrate at game against Fairfield in MAAC Championship.
GOJASPERS/ COURTESY
By Anna Segota, Staff Writer
The Manhattan College Baseball team is gearing up for their spring season, having played their first game against Alabama on Feb. 16. Alabama beat the Jaspers with a final score of 4-0.
Last season’s team was notable for many reasons, including breaking several school records, which included getting their first postseason win since 2019 before losing by only a single run to Canisius during the MAAC baseball championships. This was done under the direction of head coach David Miller in his first year.
The team is heading into this season, still feeding off of the energy of getting a win in the MAAC championships. The Jaspers are using that drive to cultivate an environment to better the team as a whole and make this year another one for the books.
“I’m hoping the team feeds off of seeing what it was like to get into the postseason last year, the MAAC tournament was kind of like our College World Series,” Miller said. “As the veterans are coming back and the new kids are coming in, we want to build off it, take it one step further.”
The team has remained hard at work, training and playing in scrimmages at the Naval Academy in the fall. The men have been focusing on separating themselves from the competition and maintaining a competitive mindset, even in the off-season.
“It’s not just putting in your three hours every day, it’s on and off the field, during practice and after practice and everything you do,” infielder Trevor Hansen said. “The guys have done a good job of cultivating that mentality in themselves. It goes a long way when people see you doing that.”
The team is starting the season off with three games against the University of Alabama. While competing against a school like Alabama may seem daunting to some, the Jaspers are confident in their preparation and abilities.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s just another game, we’ve been trying to get that into the new guys, and to even the older guys’ minds,” outfielder Frankie Marinelli said. “Of my four years here, this is probably the most that the team has ever been prepped with the coaches giving us everything that we could really ask for.”
Marinelli has had an eventful preseason as he was brought onto the All-MAAC Preseason Team as a utility player. This off-season was eventful for the Jaspers preseason team, where former players Tom Cosgrove and Joe Jacques joined the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox respectively.
New York City’s cultural interest in baseball, having two major league teams based within the five boroughs, creates a unique environment for college baseball and gives the team opportunities to garner a large fan base, as opposed to anywhere else.
“It’s a privilege being in such a big city and so much going on, and that we get to play baseball here,” Marinelli said. “The more we’re the more successful we are, the more we’re heard of around this city.”
The men’s team is ready and willing to tackle the new season and this year’s MAAC championship head-on. After the three-game series at the University of Alabama, the Jaspers will head to Virginia to face off against Norfolk University.