The Captain's Log: Take Advantage of Opportunity
April 17, 2012
It takes something special for any team to get to Omaha. One of the team’s co-captains, and the longest-tenured player on the Hurricanes roster, knows exactly what it takes. Each week, Eric Erickson will be checking in on the team’s progress to get back to college baseball’s promised land.
I think this past weekend is a true testament to how mental the game of baseball really is. When you look at the 2012 Hurricanes, you see a bunch of very talented baseball players through the entire pitching staff and through the entire lineup. However, as we know the most talented team doesn’t always win (remember the ’08 Canes?). The big question that I’m trying to figure out the answer to is what are the key ingredients to succeeding throughout the rest of this season? I wish I had a recipe, but I think I may be on to something.
Two weeks ago the #3 North Carolina Tar Heels come to Miami and we sweep them. Why? Well, I think that the biggest factor that led to our overall performance was the excitement we had going into the weekend, knowing that it was going to be a challenge and we approached those games aggressively and with a bit of a chip on our shoulders. That weekend against UNC we played the game with pride, both for ourselves and for the team, and we had fun playing the game this way.
This past weekend against Virginia Tech there wasn’t quite the same atmosphere in the dugout. The excitement wasn’t there, and I didn’t see the same pride or aggressiveness as the weekend before. The opportunity that we faced to sweep Virginia Tech didn’t seem like as great of an accomplishment or as exciting as sweeping #3 ranked UNC, and we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity like we should have. Talent never was, and never will be an issue on this team; the maturity level and the approach we bring to each individual game is the issue.
With that being said, we’re heading to my hometown of Tallahassee to play the #2 Seminoles this weekend. The excitement will be there, the pride will be there, and the talent is always there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we do something really special this weekend.
-Easy E
