By JOHN GOLDFARB
MAHWAH – Even though the winter is still around, that doesn’t stop the Ramapo Roadrunners Baseball team this semester from getting ready for their upcoming season.
Despite finishing in fifth place last year, the Roadrunners look to avenge that by trying to make the playoffs, which will eventually lead them toward the Division III College World Series.
Baseball players like Junior Jared Ensmenger feels confident about having an excellent season with the Roadrunners.
“I say I’m pretty excited,” he said. “Looking good, we got a lot of potential. Picked to finish fifth in the conference so hopefully we finish a little higher than that and do our thing.”
Ensmenger’s teammate, Cosmo Iacobellis also has high expectations for the upcoming season.
“Being new, it’s kind of tough to predict, but having us coming in fifth is kind of upsetting,” Iacobellis said. “I think we have a good program with hardworking guys and that we should be higher than fifth place preseason.”
Longtime Ramapo baseball coach, Rich Martin, also expressed his confidence in the upcoming season despite the other New Jersey Athletic Conference coaches predicting the Roadrunners will finish in fifth place.
“Well we’re excited about the season,” Martin said. “The fifth place finish was voted on by the NJAC coaches. So they have some expertise, but in reality it’s really a crap shoot. You don’t know who’s going to do what.”
“We’re excited because we got players that are coming off injuries that we feel are going to be important to us,” he added. “We have some new freshman who we’re very excited about.”
As for postseason college baseball, Iacobellis mentioned there is a College World Series for Division III baseball and the basics for the playoffs.
“There is a College World Series,” he said. “It’s just you have to win playoffs here, then you got to get in to win. It’s like a bracket. So the more you win the higher you go and you have a better chance of winning.”
Coach Martin also discussed going to the Regionals as well as having hopes for the team on making it to the College World Series despite last years rocky season.
“Before last season, we went to the Regionals three years in a row,” Martin said. “Last year we were loaded with injuries and loaded with some misfortune. This year, I think we’re going to do a lot better; we’re very excited and I don’t pay too much attention to fifth place vote. As far as I’m concerned, our goal is to make it to the NJAC Championships and then go on to the Regionals and hopefully the World Series.”
Ramapo College did not make the tournament last year and will look to compete hard this season despite opposing coaches predicting that the Roadrunners finishing in fifth place this season.
As for the first game of the baseball season, Ensmenger said that the team will face off four teams while visiting North Carolina.
The first game will be Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. against the University of Pittsburgh of Greensburg in JP Riddle Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C. This and the rest of the games can be found on the Roadrunners’ baseball schedule.
“We’re playing four games in three days so we play some tough competition down there, and I’m looking forward to it,” Ensmenger said.
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