By Shane Ostroski
Sports Editor
When a new coach is named to any program, it often changes the identity of a team. A new coach brings a new attitude, and a new style of play that often makes for a long transition period. Luckily for the Marywood Baseball team that transition is pretty much obsolete. Jerry Davis, who served as an assistant coach for 13 years, took the helm when Joe Ross resigned to pursue other professional opportunities.
In an interview with The Wood Word, Davis described the transition ” I have made a seamless transition as head coach. I am familiar with the players and they are familiar with me.” The fact that almost everything has remained the same has made life much easier for the Pacers. ” I went through a coaching change back in high school and it took a while for the players to get comfortable with the new coach. This particular coaching change has been easier because we already had a relationship with coach Davis and we know what he expects from us on and off the field,” said the sophomore pitcher Stefano Curto.
As for style of play the Pacers are the same scrappy bunch they have always been. ” We are not a team that is going to hit the ball out of the park, we try to use our speed to put pressure on the defense and manufacture runs,” said sophomore infielder Justin Magistro.The Pacers have stolen 22 bases, and have only been caught stealing 3 times. The Pacers are also sporting an impressive .315 team batting average. The team’s achilles heel has been the pitchers’ earned run average (ERA) which is a high 7.28, but hopefully that number will decrease in the second half of the season.
The pacers who are currently 6-12, beat nationally ranked Alvernia 4-3. “That win shows just how good our team is, we let a couple of games slip away from us but our potential is endless. We are definitely a better team than our record reflects,” said Davis. The pacers will have plenty of games to prove they are better than their record. The Pacers have 15 games left on their schedule with 13 of them in conference. The Pacers are working hard and still have their eyes on the prize explained Davis. ” We have a great amount of work ahead of us, but I am confident and the team is confident , we will make a run to be CSAC champions.”