By Mitch Glasser

Over Spring Break, the Macalester baseball team travelled to Arizona to take on some of the top DIII teams from around the country. Going 5-5 on the trip, the team was led offensively by catcher Garrett Salzman ’12 (.406, 8 RBI), outfielder Graham Brown ’12 (.379, 2 stolen bases), and 2nd baseman Mitch Glasser ’12 (.353, 8 RBI). The team had a number of strong pitching performances and appears to have a solid core of five pitchers consisting of Eric Robinson ’11 (1.29 ERA, 2-0, 11 K), Elliot Yodh ’11 (2.00 ERA, 1-1, 8 K), Alex Ingram ’11 (2.81 ERA, 2-0, 12 K), Chase Khan ’14 (3.00 ERA, 8 K), and Nick Meerson ’12 (3.75 ERA, 8 K). The team returns to action this weekend in Wisconsin and has a flurry of 30 games in the next six weeks. Mitch Glasser, a true triple-threat (gentleman, scholar, athlete) was kind enough to keep a journal during the team’s spring break trip.

March 11

We all had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch our flight. Louie Mondale ’12 sleeps over. Wants to sleep in my bed. I tell him no- it’s a twin. He doesn’t care. I kick him out of my room. We got to the airport on time and had a nice plane ride.

Slept the whole way on ace Alex Ingram’s ’11 big shoulder. Luckily, it was his left shoulder because he’d need his right later in the day.

Going against Concordia (Chicago), Al threw seven beautiful innings. Looked like a real veteran.

I hit the ball hard right at guys, but didn’t let an 0-4 day get in the way of a BIG W to start the season the right way against a real good team.

Find out I’m rooming with Lou and Anders Gardiner ’14 when we get to the hotel (Howard Johnson Mesa Inn).Hot tub doesn’t work. Bummer.

March 12

E-rob (Eric Robinson ’11) on the bump. Pitched seven strong.

Got my first hit of the year. Feeling good at the plate. Still hitting the ball hard right at people. Feel balanced, so I’m not worried with slow start as long as the team keeps winning.

Coach brought me in from 2nd to pitch in the 9th with 2-0 count and bases loaded and the tying run on 1st after Lou struggled to find strike zone. Not the first time in my life I’ve had to clean up Louie’s mess. I’ve only been his roommate for three straight years. I threw two quick strikes with fastballs. Catcher Robert (Bert) Williams ’12 calls a splitty (split-finger). I hadn’t really warmed up, so I had no clue how it was working. Got a groundout to third and a double play shortly after wins the game. 2-0. Winning feels good.

March 13

Double-header against Springfield. Split with them last year. Came in with lots of confidence, but it turned into the worst baseball day of my life.

Sun was blistering, making it difficult to focus. Mentally exhausting game. Nick Meerson ’12 pitched great, but we couldn’t give him any run support. I hit into two double plays to start the day and had the first error of the year. Hit a triple later in the game. This game was the wake-up call that we didn’t get until conference last year, so hopefully it turns into a learning experience.

March 14

Big day, coming off of a terrible day. Elliott Yodh ’11 pitches remarkably. Like a real veteran pitching backwards the whole game. Robert Williams calls a brilliant game. Watched him put his fingers down from 2nd base with awe. Loved the way our battery was working. Our team finally brings out the bats winning 9-1. Garrett Salzman ’12- so hot right now. My dad showed up, hit a triple for him to break the game open. Felt really good, happy with my approach. Nice to see the team come back after a loss.

March 15

Day off. We went to the ASU game. Fun to see the best DI guys play.

March 16

Roberto Capriotti ’13 yacks pregame in IHOP parking lot- got food poisoning from Boston Market meat loaf.

Alex Ingram pitches like a stud again. Very efficient. Nine innings with only 91 pitches. Robert Williams has breakout day offensively with two big doubles. We’re going to need that.

We scored three runs in the last two innings to come back, winning 4-3. The kind of game we couldn’t have won the last two years. We are proving to be a different kind of team. Playing well together- showing lots of fight and chemistry.

Howard Johnson finally fixes hot tub.about time.

March 17

Excited to play in Padres spring training complex. BEAUTIFUL fields. Second double-header of the trip. Really need to be mentally tough through both games unlike Springfield DH. Spraying lots of cold water on my face and neck throughout the game worked like a charm. However, we got our asses handed to us in the first game, 13-1. Really needed to come back in game two and split- going to have to do this in conference. Team responds: win 16-3.

March 18th

Last games vs. Pomona-Pitzer (#7 in D3). They throw an All-American game one. He throws hard, but his off speed isn’t too impressive. We strike out too much on his fastball. Lose 5-0.

We lose 5-0 in game two as well. They seem to play a lot like St. Thomas. Putting pressure on their opponent all the time. We were in both games but just couldn’t get anything going offensively.

All in all, good trip. 5-5. Although not the best record, I feel like the team is as ready for conference as we’ve been the last three years.