By Jared Watson
The Delaware Technical Community College baseball team is gearing up for the 2020 season, as they look to make the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 19 Division II Playoff Tournament for the third straight year.
Last season, the Roadrunners finished the year with a 21-15-1 record earning a spot in the postseason. The team lost back-to-back games against Rowan College at Burlington County in the first round to officially eliminate them in the tournament.
Head coach Stu Madden said the team is ready to compete in 2020.
“We have a lot of talent in this group,” said Madden. “We have been working really hard through the fall, and the guys really hit it hard through winter workouts."
Coach Madden said the biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s is the amount of depth at each position.
“Last year, we did not have a ton of depth, and that really ended up hurting us towards the end of the year,” said Madden. “We got tired and had some injuries that we didn’t have anybody to fill in.”
Samuel Muniz Jr., a shortstop and criminal justice student at Delaware Tech, is excited for the start of the 2020 season, his first at the collegiate level.
“We have a bunch of great guys who are talented and have great work ethic, and we all have the same common goal, which is to try to win a championship,” said Muniz Jr. “The mindset has always been to win something greater than what Del Tech has seen, a National Championship.”
Jordan Haddaway, a pitcher and radiology student at Delaware Tech, said Coach Madden is always prepared.
“He has new guys coming in all the time,” said Haddaway. “He’s always working heavily with us at practice.”
Coach Madden said the team just needs to get better and stronger throughout the season.
“It’s a long season,” said Madden. “As long as we are continuing to have the mindset of one game at a time and getting better every time we step on the field, we will be fine.”
The players and coaches agree that the biggest difference between the Delaware Tech baseball team and other teams is that it’s not just a team; it’s a family.
“We always have each other’s backs,” said Muniz Jr. “At the end of the day, we’re all fighting on the field.”
“We do everything together,” said Coach Madden. “We’re going to pick each other up when needed, and that’s going to turn into success on and off the field. You know, a lot of these guys feel like they were undervalued in terms of their talent. So a lot of guys have something to prove.”
The 2020 Delaware Tech Baseball season kicked off Feb. 15 against Cecil College. Click here for the full schedule.
Comments