FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2024
NHTI LYNX BASEBALL SPRING TRAINING ROUNDUP
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Lynx baseball team wrapped up their spring training with a record of 1-3. While this may not sound like much, each game was against an out-of-conference opponent considered one, or two levels above NHTI. The goal of the trip was for the Lynx to ready themselves against tougher competition than they would normally see within the Yankee Small College Conference. Although it took a couple games to shake the rust off—especially on the offensive side—the Lynx began to deliver quality at-bats against some talented pitchers.
When it clicked
Everything came together for the Lynx in their third game of the week. Playing against Clark Summit University—an NCAA Division-3 university—the Lynx bats finally lit up. Winning 11-10 against the CSU Defenders, the nine-inning game was full of suspense, and plenty of offense on both sides. Captain, Matt Fortier hit his sixth homerun of the season in the bottom of the first. The blast injected life into the Lynx who were downtrodden after losing their first two games of the trip.
Being a nine-inning game, and their third game in as many days, the depth of both teams was tested. Matt Drewes pitched nearly flawlessly his first two times through the Defenders batting order. He carried the Lynx into the 5^th inning holding a now 10-2 lead. Drewes also helped himself out with his bat, knocking in a team-leading four RBIs and coming around to score himself after hitting a double and a triple. On the mound in his final inning, he ran into some fatigue-related control troubles in the 5^th. Understandable for his first outing on the mound in many months.
A Defender grand slam called for Lynx captain, Richie Thibeault to come on and relieve Drewes. Thibeault got the Lynx out of the inning, and would hand the ball over the lefty, Matthew "Waz" Waszeciak.
Waz pitched an excellent in relief for 11 outs, only allowing one earned run, and striking out three. An error in the field lead to some free offense for the Defenders, and in the top of the 9^th they chiseled their way back into the game, trailing only 11-10.
In comes Matt Fortier, trusted with the game's final out. Fortier is an electric player who seems built for pressure-filled moments. He started the game with fire in his bat, and he ended it with fire on the mound. In a 2-2 count with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first, Fortier ramped up a heater and buzzed it into catcher, Kyle Slate's mitt.
After the game, Lynx coaches Tim Duval and Craig Lavigne's message to the team was succinct. When the Lynx play a full game with energy, great things happen. The next Lynx baseball game is an exhibition Wednesday, March 20 against Colby Sawyer College, and the first in-conference game of the spring will be on March 30^th against Quincy College. Both will be played at home in Concord, fans are encouraged to attend.