As winter comes to an end, the baseball world has begun to open its closets and find their gloves, bats, and helmets. For Head Varsity Coach Chad Carroll and the Eagles baseball program, a multitude of new aspects to the game will be on his mind heading into this spring than any other season.
Players will have to play in masks and follow social distancing protocols in the dugout alongside the other WCAC teams participating in the 15-game season. Not only does Carroll have to think about keeping his players accountable for COVID-19 precautions, but he also has to account for the fact that there will not be a freshman team this year. In previous years, Carroll has carried three teams: JV-white, JV-purple, and varsity.
Although it will be a lot different with only two teams, Carroll will now only have to schedule two teams’ practices and give a ton of attention to the varsity and sole JV squad. As the season progresses, Carroll will not only watch the improvements of varsity veterans but will be able to see the growth younger players have been able to have during the quarantine that has kept players inside for so long.
“This program is on the rise,” Carroll said. “Without that extra team in place, it will be much harder for players to get opportunities and see the field, which takes away from the development of younger players we see potential in.”
Obviously, Gonzaga athletes come in all shapes and sizes; some play varsity as underclassmen, and some need time to mature into varsity level players. Regardless of the level a Gonzaga baseball player sits, Carroll insists that they all strive to be varsity contributors and bring championships back to Eye Street.
Moving to two teams solely, Varsity and JV will give the Eagles’ roster a different aura in the realm of numbers; it also means that baseball at Gonzaga will be more competitive than ever.
“This year will be extra special because all of the players have been staring at their screens since last March,” he said. “Now we can all get out on the field and compete within the Gonzaga brotherhood we all know and love.”
On top of being confident that the team will come out strong, Carroll believes that the team this year is loaded with talent, both young and old.
“The fact that we have veteran players committed to play at the next level meshing with young extremely talented players is going to be exhilarating,” Carroll said. “I’m extremely excited to see how far the guys have come physically since they have all been cooped up inside working their tails off.”
With that being said, the Eagles baseball squad has serious potential on the horizon, considering that there is such a surplus of different talent being led by a young, passionate and knowledgeable coach in Carroll; the only thing that’s keeping the Eagles from dominating on the diamond is time.