Heading into last weekend’s series against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the Boston University baseball club team had a trip to Williamsport, Penn. on their minds.
It was not because the team had thoughts of joining thousands of spectators at the Little League World Series later this summer, but because they wanted to put themselves in position to take part in the Eastern Regionals Championships of the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) held there in May.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, UMass was too much competition, as they swept BU in the three-game series in Amherst. The Minutemen won 1-0 and 5-4 on Saturday and completed the sweep with an 8-3 victory Sunday.
BU lost its shot to play in Williamsport, as they needed to at least take two games from the Minutemen and then win at least two of three games against last-place Union College this weekend. According to junior co-captain and pitcher Mike Conway, winning the Empire East Division in its first year in the NCBA would have been a great feat for the squad.
“This was the biggest weekend BU baseball has ever had,” Conway said. “Winning the division in our first year in a new league would have made a statement to the university and put us on the map as a recognizable club.”
The Terriers’ efforts to gain that recognition began in Game One on Saturday in a pitchers’ duel. Sophomore Randy Forrester threw six shutout innings for the Terriers in the seven-inning game, and was matched by UMass’s Daniel Lambrecht, who allowed no hits and walks while striking out six in seven innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, first-year BU coach Brian Spabafino removed Forrester from the game because he developed a blister on his pitching hand, opting to bring in Matt Langford from the bullpen.
With a runner on second, the Terriers allowed the winning run to advance from second base to home after two wild pitches during an intentional-walk attempt.
“Unfortunately things like that happen in baseball sometimes, but you never want to lose that way,” Spabafino said. “I take responsibility for it, because [the intentional walk] was something we didn’t work on in practice.”
In Conway’s start in Game Two, the Minutemen were able to take an early lead against him. The Minutemen were aided by a shaky Terrier defense that committed a handful of errors. With junior Brandon Simes pitching in relief, the Terriers were able to battle back but could not plate the tying run.
“We played well and battled all game, but we just didn’t capitalize on a lot of scoring opportunities, and we made too many mistakes in the field,” Spabafino said.
On Sunday, BU failed to score any more runs after jumping out to an early 3-1 lead and getting a strong six-inning performance from freshman pitcher Don Evans. The Minutemen eventually took control of the game and cruised to an 8-3 win in nine innings.
“The losses on the first day really took a lot out of our sails for Sunday’s game,” Conway said.
Entering the series against UMass, BU knew that a series win would have all but wrapped up a trip to Williamsport.
The Terriers began the series with the Minutemen, 11-2 on the season and 4-0 on the spring, with the spring victories all coming by a wide margin. According to Conway, BU’s relatively easy schedule failed to adequately prepare the Terriers for the close games against UMass.
“This was the first set of games where we really had strong competition in a long time,” Conway said. “We weren’t used to be playing a team that was as good as we were.”
Despite the setbacks, the Terriers have still had a successful season in their transition from the New England Club Baseball Association to the NCBA. BU has led its division until this weekend and garnered its first-ever national ranking (No. 20), which they held for three weeks in the spring after a 7-2 mark in the fall.
“Overall, it was a very successful season,” Conway said. “We put ourselves in position to win the division in our first year, which shows that were prepared to make the jump to the NCBA.”
BU’s other co-captain, senior center fielder Peter Lawn, was a major part of the Terriers’ success, as he led the club’s offense. Infielder Chris McIsaac also performed well at the plate.
“Lawn was outstanding for us and the person we relied on the most,” Spabafino said. “Lawn also won the UNH series for us, and McIsaac was very solid as well.”
Conway is already excited about the prospects for next year’s team and believes the squad can use the losses to UMass as motivation.
“Getting so close but not winning the league will only fuel the fire for next season,” Conway said.
Senior catcher Kevin Scheitrum won’t get to play another season for the Terriers, but he believes the program has made many strides since its inception.
“The program has come a long way since its roots six years ago, and this team has a very good outlook for the future,” Scheitrum said.
Editor’s note: Kevin Scheitrum was a Daily Free Press sports editor in fall 2005.