Strong Start to MATC 2021 Baseball Season

The MATC baseball team started their first game of the 2021 season on February 27th with a win, and they kept winning. The Stormers continued their win streak to 6-0 over the course of two weeks, the first time the MATC baseball team has been undefeated and had a winning streak with that many games.

In past seasons, MATC has not been ranked in the NJCAA Division III rankings, but this season the team has high hopes for being ranked within the Top 10 because of how strong they started the 2021 season. 

During their 2020 season, the team started with two losses and ended up with a 6-4 record before COVID-19 cancelled the rest of their season after the team was on a three-game winning streak. 

https://matcstormers.com/sports/baseball/schedule/2020

Attributions to Undefeated Start to Season

Dan Trivett, an assistant coach for the undefeated MATC baseball team, weighed in on what differentiates this year’s team compared to previous years. 

“I think the level of competition that we played had a lot to do with it, but I do think we come out of the gate and we played two of the three facets very well so I think that I can contribute the preparation combined with the talent and competition to the 6-0 start.” 

Traveling to play has been one of the biggest challenges for the team because of the pandemic. They are unable to stay overnight in hotels due to COVID protocol, so early morning bus rides is the answer. 

“Long bus rides equal long naps so I can get the extra hours of sleep from the night before,” said Austin Perry, a transfer sophomore at MATC. “I think it is kind of ridiculous that the whole team can ride on a bus together, but we can’t stay in a hotel room together, even after we play the other team.” 

The early mornings do not seem to have a major effect on the players considering their 6-0 record. 

This past weekend the team traveled to Ullin, Illinois, a seven-hour bus ride that resulted in leaving the MATC Oak Creek campus at 3 am. 

“The bus ride wasn’t terrible because we were fortunate enough to have a charter bus with big, comfortable seats that reclined and it also had TVs,” said Michael Perry, a freshman at MATC. “The only bad part about the ride was that the scenery was boring. All it was was fields and cows, which made the drive seem like it was a lot longer than it actually was.” 

Importance of Hard Work

Off-season hard work is one of the main contributors to the Stormers offense and defense. Without the dedications of pitchers and players putting in work within the off season, the team would not be in the position they are today. 

Pitching is one of the main aspects in winning for the Stormers. Being able to go deep within the game for one pitcher is the goal for the starting pitcher. They want to be able to command the strike zone and off-speed pitches as well as throw as little pitches as possible while getting through each inning. 

“If you pitch and play good defense you are going to be in every game and as a coach you just hope you get some offense, so that’s a winning formula that’s went on for years and continues throughout baseball” said Trivett. 

Many of the position players, such as third base and second base, are utilized as pitchers and position players. Having that ability and flexibilty is important for the Stormers because they do have pitchers who have become injured within the early weeks of the season. 

Hopes for the Trophy

The MATC undefeated baseball team have hopes in aligning all of their factors that need to be present in order to qualify for the Juco World Series despite a few obstacles. Injuries and grades for players have affected the roster for the team. 

“You gotta be good and you have to pitch well, be a well-rounded team, have experience, have good players and know how to travel so there’s a lot of ingredients to be a national champion” said Trivett. 

This past weekend the Stormers suffered their first losses of the season against Vincennes University, a Junior College in Indiana. The team lost their first game 0-5 and their second game 4-14.