By Grace Malec, Sports Editor
AQ baseball takes the win over WHAC opponent, Lourdes – Photo by Aquinas College Athletics
After a delayed start to their season and difficulty in finding the team chemistry to begin the season, the Aquinas Baseball team is finding success in their season as they look to continue climbing in conference rankings and find new ground.
Fresh off of a four-game winning streak with big victories against University of Michigan-Dearborn and Concordia University Ann-Arbor, the team is finding new success as their season progresses.
Senior Ethan Pequette notes the team’s perseverance as they worked to find their team chemistry and make strides against conference opponents. “We started off a little bit slow for what we would have liked,” Pequette said. “I think losing 13 seniors from last year made us have to learn how to play with each other.”
During the team’s Florida trip, they had difficulties before finding success against the New College of Florida, winning 6-5 and 7-6. Coming off of the Florida trip, the team played with a new level of confidence and took big wins over WHAC opponents. The Saints dominated in their games against Siena Heights, winning 29-4 and 10-1 and also found big wins as they played Grace Christian University, winning 19-1 and 7-1.
With the season progressing and the end of the semester approaching, the team’s sights are set on the conference tournament. “Once we started conference play we hit our stride and started playing our best baseball,” Pequette said. “Now the goal is to get in and win the conference tournament.”
The Saints are currently ranked fourth in the WHAC, trailing behind Indiana Tech, Concordia and University of Northwestern Ohio. With a rocky start to the season with non-WHAC opponents, it was crucial for the team to find footing in the WHAC.
Junior Calvin Tkaczyk notes how the team managed to shake off a tough start to the season to find success within these crucial opponents. “We have been a very solid team and are in the top four of the WHAC,” Tkaczyk said. “We started off the season playing good competition and were able to compete in every game that we’ve played in. We had some tough losses early on, but this prepared us for conference play.”
With nine games remaining on the schedule for the team, the focus remains on the conference tournament slated for April 30. The Saints are set to face familiar opponents such as University of Michigan-Dearborn and new opponents such as Defiance College, Calvin University, Rochester Christian University and Indiana Tech University as they look to wrap up their season and find success in the conference tournament.
The team plays at home at Meijer Sports Complex on Friday, April 18 at both 1 PM and 3 PM before heading to Defiance on Saturday, April 19 to play the Yellowjackets.
The Saint 