Small steps for Coppin State baseball
By Keith Henry

Though the Coppin State Eagles baseball team is struggling on the field, these young men feel they’re still progressing in small ways that will get them back in contention someday.

Under new head coach Mike Scolinos, he won’t have it any other way. The players are really getting into it thus far. “Each of them is progressing at different individual paces. But they’re beginning to understand some of the concepts like hitting the line drive the same level as the pitch. On how when you’re pitching, when you put the ball on the black, we’re going to get outs. When you leave it on the white with good Division 1 ballplayers, we’re going to be in trouble. So they’re getting the concepts. Fundamentally, we’ve been doing a lot of good adjustments as a ballclub with correcting swings, a lot of different things. So things are going well there. We just have a long ways still to go.”

Even though the Eagles are 0-11, 0-3 in the MEAC thus far, Scolinos isn’t concerned about the win-loss record this year. He wants his young men to improve and get better in the ways of baseball.

The offense has been solid at making contact with the baseball, but a lot of that contact has found opposing players’ gloves thus far. But most of those hits have been finding grass as the season goes on. Sophomore Jonathan Reynolds said about the offense, “We spend a lot of time in the cages. A lot of time at practice working on seeing velocity, off-speed. I really think that a bunch of guys came and they brought it to the field. In baseball, when you’re 30% successful, you’re still a failure. So I really think as time goes on, those balls will start to drop and we’ll start getting more base hits. We’ll win some games.”

As for what Scolinos is teaching his Eagles, it’s really sinking into some heads right now.

Senior and team captain Harry Williams said, “(Coach Scolinos) teaches a number of things to us as far as baseball wise and life wise in general. From the baseball aspect, he is always pulling us up and giving us new hints and information. The small things in baseball he brings to our attention on numerous occasions to help us so that we can have any advantage or play better baseball any which way possible. (Scolinos) is very in tune to the small things. He is always willing to come up and tell us whatever it is that needs to be said (that relates) to situations going on in the game.”

Reynolds said, “What’s happening is we’re spending more time in the bullpen. We’re spending more time working on the pitching mechanics. Baseball is a game of repetition. The more you practice, the more you get better. I will say that we are spending our most practice hours working on getting better. Every guy from our freshmen to our upperclassmen and our team captain Harry. Pitching is not our first craft, but we’re buying into the system that this team at this time, we got to do bullpen. That’s the way it works out. Unfortunately, we don’t have a six to eight man pitching roster. So guys do what they can. A bunch of guys stepped up, like Kallen Fletcher. He stepped up very well for us as a freshman.”

The only issue separating the Eagles from some wins this year is the big inning syndrome. And that is when opponents put up 6+ run innings that take a team out of the game. Take out those types of innings, and Coppin could’ve won two out of three games this past weekend at UMES.

Norfolk State comes to Joe Cannon this weekend for a three game series and another chance for the Eagles to get into the playoff race.

Reynolds says, “Come (MEAC) play, I think guys will have enough reps. They’ll see enough batters. They’ll see enough big competition to get to the MEAC, we’ll be solid.”

But most of these guys are still learning the small things a baseball player should do in every facet of the game. Reynolds said, “I’ve learned mental toughness. I’ve learned not to let outside (issues) effect my game. Baseball is a team sport. But as an individual, if the ball is hit to you, only you can make the play. I learned from my coach that being in the box, it’s you and the pitcher. There is nothing else that affects you hitting except you. You have to swing the bat; you have to put the ball in play. Being mentally tough and prepared to play is really what I learned.”