Spring is quickly approaching, and along with the promise of warm weather comes the start of a new baseball season. The Tufts baseball team will kick off its season at Lynchburg on March 18, and this year the Jumbos will look to extend the record of success they've achieved under the guidance of veteran coach John Casey.
Casey surpassed the 350-career victory mark last spring, bringing his record to a 359-246-3 over his 21 seasons. He now sits in the top 40 on the all-time NCAA Div. III coaching victories list. According to Casey, a Tufts alum, the goals for each season remain consistent.
"Our goals are to get to the playoffs," he said. "Those are our goals every year. We haven't adjusted them any lower. Last year, I thought we performed pretty well given the circumstances, playing the young guys that we played. So this year, we'll expect a little bit more out of them."
Last season, the Jumbos finished with a winning overall record of 18-14, but did not break .500 in conference games, going 6-6 against their NESCAC opponents. The team ended the season tied for third place with Bates in the East NESCAC Division, following Bowdoin in second and Trinity in the top spot.
Amherst finished second in the West Division in the regular season, behind Williams, and won the 2004 NESCAC tournament. The previous year, Trinity was the NESCAC champion, and in 2002, Tufts brought home the honor. Over the past 10 years, the Jumbos have earned two NCAA tournament berths, won three ECAC championships, and notched 229 wins.
"Everyone's personal goal is just to make the team better," senior captain Bob Kenny said. "To be able to work as a team is pretty much the goal this year, all-around. [Also we want] to improve in the NESCAC; we finished third last year and didn't make the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Our goal is to just play hard every game."
One challenge this season will be filling the shoes of the 2004 graduated seniors. The presence of 2004 senior co-captain Randy Newsom, a righty who led the Jumbos' pitching staff and signed with the Boston Red Sox upon graduation, will be missed. Newsom's co-captain, third baseman Adam Kacamburas, will return to his alma mater as an assistant coach this season.
"Baseball is a game of experience," Casey said. "There's nothing you can predict, so you just learn by being out there. So that's a pretty tough thing to replace, but this year's group of seniors has been outstanding so far."
Despite the loss of those two key players, the underclassmen last year showed tremendous potential and the 2005 Jumbos expect role-players to emerge this year. There are 16 returning lettermen, and several freshmen and sophomores played key roles for the Jumbos in all aspects of the game last year. According to Casey, the returning sophomores may find that their opponents are more prepared to face them now.
"I think it's a little bit harder because people know [the sophomores] now," Casey said of last year's freshman class. "They'll get pitched to a little harder, but we'll look to them to step up."
The underclassmen have plenty of role models this season. Kenny, in his fourth season as catcher, will lead the team on and off the field. His classmates, pitcher and outfielder Jeff Volinski and pitcher Jeremy Davis, will also play leadership roles for the underclassmen.
"I feel that me being [the catcher] was a big part of me becoming captain," Kenny said, referring to the leadership and presence required of a catcher on the field in calling pitches and plays. "I try to help [the underclassmen] in any way that I can. I'm here for them, and they all have my number."
Although Casey holds high expectations for the entire team, he will depend on the upperclassmen's experience to lead the Jumbos.
"I expect [the whole team] to step up, but as [the players] get older, they get a little more perspective," Casey said. "We'll go as far as the upperclassmen go, and we've had great leadership with Bob Kenny and Jeff Volinksi and Jeremy Davis."
"It's the best part of my day to go out and coach them," he added. "We're working hard, and we just try to do the right thing by each other. No one's better than anyone else on this team."
