Pitcher Dan Jarrell, a junior, is having a stellar season on the mound.CHESTERTOWN, MD— Perhaps one of the truest axioms in all of sports is that baseball is a game of inches; every little thing can make a big difference in the outcome. For the Washington College baseball team, those inches have added up quickly and surprisingly.

Playing under a first-year head coach and with their best player from last season out all year with an injury, the Shoremen were picked to finish dead last in the Centennial Conference in a poll of the league’s head coaches. In mid April, in the thick of conference play, they were defying those low expectations and sitting atop the Centennial standings with a conference record of 8-3 and an overall 17-7 season.  

Things looked especially bleak at the start of the Conference when senior outfielder Scott Matthews, a first-team All-Centennial Conference outfielder last spring, was knocked out of the line-up due to an injury. In addition, Head Coach Matt Reynolds had been with the Shoremen for only a few months after being hired this summer. But the changed team chemistry has obviously not been a deterrent. Besides Coach Reynolds, other successful newcomers — now fixtures in the lineup — include freshmen Ryan Donnelly, Wes Robertson and Joe Lozupone, and sophomore transfer Evan Hirschbaum.   

Another boost has been one of the team’s strongest pitching seasons ever, led by Junior Dan Jarrell, sophomore Billy Griffin, and freshman Brian Kasey.  

“The team has done a great job this year,” says Coach Reynolds.  “We really try to focus on the process of getting better day to day. Each time we take the field for a game or practice it is an opportunity to improve. That is what this season has been built on. If we want to get into the playoffs and beyond we need to stay focused on this process of improvement. That being said, it has been a fun ride. We have a great group of guys and I’m extremely proud of what they have accomplished so far.”