Baseball to launch season in Florida with nine back-to-back games

After two years of limited travel due to COVID restrictions, Calvin’s baseball team will open the 2022 spring season with a spring break trip to compete against NCAA Division III teams from across the country at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Orlando.

The trip has been a couple of years in the planning, according to head coach Kevin Van Duyn. “It’s a lot of planning but at the same time it’s just a really great opportunity for us just to be around each other and have baseball,” he said.

The tournament’s matchups are based on the previous year’s records. With a strong 2021 season, Calvin will be facing some tough competition. Their first game is against Widener University on Feb. 26, followed by Moravian University on Feb. 28, Grove City College on March 1 and March 4, Waynesburg University on March 3 and Thomas College on March 5.

“Starting off the season with nine games is going to be physically daunting, but my teammates and I are ready to play,” said sophomore infielder Nathanial Mason.

Getting beyond Michigan

“This trip adds a whole different level of excitement for the team,” according to junior outfielder Carson Warners. “We are used to playing our first few games in sub-40-degree temperatures with high winds and a chance of snow. This trip gives us an opportunity to start playing games without weather being a huge factor.”

Going south to play means competing against teams who have already had several weeks of training outside. Calvin won’t have that luxury. “Baseball in the north, you have to be really, really creative,” said Van Duyn. The team has been practicing indoors at Calvin’s Tennis and Track Center three days a week, as well as at Diamonds Sports Training Academy and Elite Baseball and Softball Training Center, both in Wyoming.

“Our whole team has been grinding all fall and winter to prepare for the long season in the spring,” senior infielder Andrew Hung told Chimes. He gave credit to the team’s strength coach, Aric Ramos, and the six-day-a-week practices that have prepared the team for Florida.

“Our coaching staff has done a very good job at preparing us for this experience and getting us mentally and physically prepared,” said junior catcher Dylan Williams.

Traveling, which has been severely limited for the last two years, will give the team a chance to see how they hold up against teams from outside their conference. “Sometimes it gets kind of ‘boring’ facing the same teams every year, so facing new teams that we have never seen is an exciting challenge,” said Hung.

A team effort

Coach Van Duyn told Chimes he seeks to encourage a “genuine happiness for others’ success” in his players. The Florida trip is a chance to spread the success around, as the fast pace and density of the tournament will mean each of the 36 team members gets a chance to contribute. “When you play nine games in nine days, you need every single player,” Van Duyn said.