Rosemary Chesney, asst. sports editor
After a record-breaking season last year, the Berry baseball team launches into the 2022 season expecting another great year for baseball. The team officially began their season practices on Sunday, Jan. 23, and anticipates a strong start for their first game against Emory University on Feb. 8.
The team finished last season with a record of 32-9, according to Head Coach David Beasley. They had several seniors graduate, including a couple of key leaders for the team such as Ben Coker and Tyler Calvert. Junior pitcher Charles Stephenson said that he expects the freshman class to play a major part this year.
“I think the guys we lost last year raised the standard for us,” Stephenson said. “We want to build on that and keep raising the bar. Some of us were disappointed that we didn’t make it to regionals last year, so hopefully we have the chance to win it all this year.”
According to Beasley, this year’s team contains 12 new freshmen athletes. This season will be Beasley’s 27th year coaching at Berry, and 24th year as the head coach.
“My whole point is that I like my guys and think they’re talented,” Beasley said. “You never know how well guys will play together. I’m waiting to see how close they get and how good we can become.”
Last October and November, the team spent four weeks of fall practicing preparing for the 2022 season. These weeks not only included practices and inter-team games, but also included a team bonding trip to Baseball Country, a high-end baseball facility in Ralph, Alabama.
“We are closer as a team this year because of the trip to Baseball Country,” Stephenson said. “I think [our goal] team wise is to hold each other accountable and improve our skills. Winning it all has been our main goal ever since my first year here.”
This season has brought new members to the baseball coaching staff as well. According to fifth-year senior third baseman Spence Johns, Ben Coker (20C) is the new assistant baseball coach while Dylan Beasley is volunteering as an assistant coach as well. Both new coaches are Berry alumni and played on Berry’s baseball team during their time as students.
“The [new coaches] are doing a really great job,” Johns said. “It’s really good that they played here recently because they can understand and relate to the guys.”
After the fall season, the team worked out on their own before starting official practices Sunday Jan. 23. They usually practice six or seven days a week for about three hours at a time, according to Johns. The first away game against Emory University is on Feb. 8 with the final regular conference game being April 23-24.
“I’m looking forward to the little things this season, like the comradery of just being with everyone and the teamwork,” Johns said. “I’m super excited and think we’ll have a really good team this year. I want people to come out and watch.”
Last year, the team won the conference tournament and just fell short of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. According to Stephenson, the team wants to make it farther this season and win the NCAA tournament. Head Coach David Beasley said that the ultimate goal is just to improve every day.
“We want to go out there every day and compete, and that is what we will do,” David Beasley said. “The goal is to get better every day, learn from experiences and move forward so that the best game we play is at the end of the year.”