Captains motivate team
As a new season starts, a change of leadership for the University of South Dakota club baseball team also begins. The Coyotes baseball team is having a successful start to their season — going 12-3 in the first 15 games has brought along a new ideal of a solid pitching staff.
In large part, the success has to deal with the four captains on the team — seniors Trevor Freudenthal, Justin Palmer and Allan Scherschligt and junior Elliot Smith.
Freudenthal is the team’s only returning captain as he enters his second season as a captain and his third season with the club. Getting off to a quick start like the team has done this season has made it easier on some of those captain duties, he said.
“It helps a lot to know that what we put out on the field is working,” Freudenthal said. “We don’t have a lot of decisions to make because we have been winning. This start definitely doesn’t contradict our decisions.”
The senior center fielder has powered the offense of USD, leading the team in batting average, RBI’s, home runs, doubles and steals. Freudenthal was also a mainstay in the bullpen last season and has only made one appearance this season, which was a rough outing throwing one inning and allowing three runs, two of them earned. He also walked three batters and struck out one. Freudenthal’s biggest game so far this season was in the first game against Mount Marty College where he went 2-4 with two home runs and eight RBI’s. The two home runs he belted were almost identical as they both were in the same location ending in the same result — a trip around the bases.
“I’m not really sure why the pitcher threw me the exact same pitch again,” Freudenthal said. “But I liked it.”
Smith is entering his third season as a member of the USD baseball team and this is his first season as a captain.
“I took it as a positive that (Adam Gale, USD head coach) wanted me to be one of the leaders of the team,” Smith said. “I put it to myself to be a leader on a field and a leader off the field during practice. I just wanted to get that chemistry going.”
The junior pitcher and infielder leads the pitching staff in starts, wins, innings and strikeouts. Smith also ranks second among starters in earned run average of 2.67.
“In baseball, pitching is always the key,” Smith said. “This year we knew that we were going to come in with a great rotation and have a lot help in the bullpen.”
As an infielder, he owns a .276 average along with two doubles, one home run and five RBI’s.
“Being an infielder plays a big role,” he said. “You don’t get that chemistry by sitting on the bench. Even though I do pitch, I want to play an active role on field.”
Palmer has the longest tenure as a player of all the captains as enters his fourth season as a player, but is starting his first season as a captain. The shortstop currently has a .263 batting average with six RBI’s and three stolen bases.
“I’ve put a lot time into this team and to be able to have the responsibility that (Gale) gave me means a lot,” Palmer said.
He is also listed as a relief pitcher, but with so many pitchers on the USD staff, he has yet to make an appearance out of the bullpen. As one of the centerpieces for the infield, Palmer knows what it’s like to have an error, but he said those are things that have to be short in memory.
“One of the main things is that we (captains) have to keep everyone level headed,” Palmer said. “Everyone makes mistakes, it’s going to happen. When something goes wrong we have to turn the page and forget about it.”
The final captain of the team is Scherschligt, who was named as captain by the rest of the players on the team and he takes a lot of pride in knowing that he has the trust of his teammates.
“Getting voted in (as a captain) by the rest of my teammates gives me a lot of respect,” he said. “Seeing that my teammates chose me to be a leader on the team.”
He not only mans a majority of the catching responsibilities, but takes his time on the mound.
Scherschligt believes that being a catcher/pitcher combination helps take some of the pressure off the pitching staff.
“It definitely helps out a lot since I know where our pitchers are coming from,” Scherschligt said. “It definitely makes thing easier. They never shake me off and they feel like I’m right there with them.”
In two starts, Scherschligt has thrown two complete games compiling 12 innings, allowing one earned run for a .58 ERA and striking out five batters. As a hitter, he has a .187 average with two doubles, one triple and four RBIs.
“From last year, we lost our two, three, four, five and six hitters,” Scherschligt said. “We lost the heart of our order. To come back and rebuild that to put up five to six runs a game is huge.”
One thing that all the captains are happy about is they don’t have to travel on the road for the next six games. This includes the parents/alumni four-game weekend against division rivals Iowa on Saturday and Sunday.
“Iowa is our toughest opponent. They have won the conference the last couple of years,” Scherschligt said. “All of our games have been away so far this year and all we can do is reach out for fans’ support this weekend.”
The games will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the second. Sunday the games will begin at 11 a.m.
Reach reporter Royal McGregor at [email protected].
