After the 2011 season ended just one game short of making the state finals, the 2012 Cosumnes River College baseball team will face an unusual obstacle in getting back to that point this season.
With construction underway at CRC, the baseball field was demolished and will not be rebuilt until next season, meaning the Hawks will play all of its games away from CRC this year.
Hawks’ head coach Tony Bloomfield said being away from home won’t have an impact on his team.
“We’re not even talking about it. It has no relevancy on what our season ends up to be like,” Bloomfield said. “Our kids will be mentally tougher for it. They’ll learn to play on the road. We’re going to be the road warriors.”
In lieu of a home field, Bloomfield said the Hawks’ players have spent a limited time practicing at nearby Sheldon High School and have spent the rest of their time in the weight room and in CRC’s indoor batting cage.
Bloomfield said he is strict on his players in practice and believes that disciplined practices allow the team to play more freely during games.
“It’s a different program than some of the other programs,” said Bloomfield. “Our kids are more accountable.”
Bloomfield said experience may help the Hawks this season, as the Hawks have one of the oldest teams age-wise that he’s ever put on the field. However, the Hawks also have the least amount of players of any team in the Big 8 this year with 24 players on its roster.
But Bloomfield said fewer players might give the Hawks an advantage.
“We think our guys have better team chemistry. We think we get along better. They buy in,” Bloomfield said. “We think we can beat anybody. If you walk through the gate everyday with that mentality then you got a chance.”
The Hawks have lost a lot of players from last year, as only nine players have carried over to this season.
One of the returning players is sophomore catcher Shawn Wheeler, who Bloomfield said led the team in hitting last season and is one of the team’s best players.
And while his plans are to win the Big 8 championship for the fourth time in what will be his 14th year coaching at CRC, Bloomfield doesn’t have a win/loss prediction because his team has been focused on the present.
“We’re thinking about the next pitch, the next inning. We don’t think in advance at all,” Bloomfield said. “We’re a one-pitch group. This is one inning, one game at a time.”
Despite having fewer players on the roster, only nine returning players and no games at CRC, Bloomfield said the Hawks don’t plan on letting anything get in their way of winning.
“No excuses. We’ll be fine,” he said.