After concluding a three-game series with the Centenary College of Louisiana, Occidental’s baseball team is gearing up to face teams within the SCIAC conference. According to head coach Luke Wetmore, playing preseason non-conference games typically involves experimenting with a broader pool of players to determine the starting lineup for the season.
“In preseason non-conference, there’s a lot more opportunities,” Wetmore said. “More guys play and we’re trying to get a look at pitchers, trying to see who’s going to be the starting nine and what the roles are going to look like.”
Wetmore said once the team starts playing within the conference, the bulk of the opportunities are going to be concentrated on a smaller group of players.
According to co-captain and first baseman Garrett Palme (senior), the team’s preparation remains primarily the same as they transition from playing non-conference teams to conference teams.
“Sometimes when we play [other teams], we have refreshments on our bunt defense and some of the little specific things that we do in terms of how we’re going to cover each team,” Palme said. “Other than that, it’s largely the same process that we have. We take that process from day one and we use it through the end of the season.”
Coach Wetmore said the way he coaches his team to adapt to the small differences in opposing teams’ strategies is to focus on improving fundamental skills among all his players.
“The game of baseball, although there are subtle differences team-to-team, opponent-to-opponent, conference-to-non-conference, the game doesn’t change a whole lot,” Wetmore said. “You really, as a program, focus on fundamental skills [like] bunt coverages, cuts, relays and communication.”
Co-captains Ryan Cacatian (junior) and Declan Sklut (senior) said the team has young talent and is focused on honing their individual skills as they progress through the season.
For infielder/pitcher Jackson Short (first year) and pitcher/first-baseman Sean Elsee (first year), the transition to collegiate baseball has made them adjust to playing at a higher level with higher stakes.
“The game is faster. Many teams have people who have had four years to grow into their adult body and as a freshman, high school baseball was much slower. When it gets too fast, that’s when people overthink and do too much [beyond] just their role,” Short said.
Elsee said the biggest difference transitioning to playing at a higher level has been understanding how opposing teams can pick up and take advantage of minute changes.
“Based on how you hold a pitch in your glove when you’re on the mound or how little of a change you make, other teams can pick up and tell what pitches you’re throwing,” Elsee said.
Both Elsee and Short said much of the team’s work in the fall was on establishing their identity as a team and clarifying their roles. As they play more games, the primary emphasis has shifted towards developing their skills and competitive mindset on the field.
“We’re making our practices as game-like as possible,” Elsee said. “We try to mimic game situations in practice, so games seem more comfortable.”
Short said the team has emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong mental state to optimize their performance in crucial moments of the game.
“Our team has talked a lot about reflection — thinking about the good you did during the game and what you were thinking about when you did those good actions,” Short said. “When you think about when you had a good swing, when you fielded a ground ball correctly, or when you executed a pitch, you reflect about what you were thinking on attacking that pitch or hitting that pitch. You’re trying to find a mental zone where you can focus, play your best and stay present.”
Palme said he is optimistic for the team’s season as they start playing teams within the SCIAC.
“I think it’s going to come down to our ability to pay attention to the details and do the little things right,” Palme said. “Regardless of what the scoreboard says or what the standings say, we’re going to do the same thing every week and compete to the highest ability that we can.”
Contact Trisha Bhima at bhima@oxy.edu
