Hitting Their Stride — Baseball finds themselves in promising position as season closes

The Albion College Baseball team is right where they want to be.  Going into the final three weeks of the season, the Britons sit tied for third in the MIAA with a 6-6 record.

At the beginning of the season, the team’s number one goal was to win the MIAA championship.  Nothing has changed.

“I expect our team to have a strong finish to the end of the regular season and for our strong play to carry over into the MIAA tournament, with all eyes set on a conference championship,” said Chuck DeClark, Holt senior.

With the season series being over with Adrian College, the first-place team in the MIAA, Albion expects to move up in the MIAA rankings over these next three weeks.  The Britons were able to take one of four games against the Bulldogs, who are three games ahead of second-place Olivet College.

The Britons can take control of second place in the MIAA with a series sweep against second place Olivet this Saturday and Sunday.

The team’s success this year is not due solely to the upperclassmen on the team, but also from a couple of underclassmen.  Ben Gould, Alpena first-year, and Davin Montgomery, Novi sophomore, have stepped up big for the Britons this season.

Gould leads the team in batting average with a .344 average, and he is also leading the team in homeruns with two.  Montgomery is a close second behind Gould batting .339 on the year with 11 RBI’s.

“Being a freshman put in a starting position is an honor to me,” Gould said.  “Ever since I was a little guy I have always aspired to play college baseball. At the end of the day, I don’t care what my stats look like.  I’m just happy that I get to play baseball with some of my best friends.”

Gould’s attitude towards his personal performance seems to be contagious with all of the other Britons.  DeClark declined comment when asked about personal accomplishments, but he was more than willing to respond to questions about the team.

The chemistry the Britons have and the hard work they continue to put in everyday is all in an effort to achieve their final goal: an MIAA championship.

“Every day we strive to get better offensively and defensively,” Gould said.  “The team as a whole picks each other up when somebody gets down. We all have terrific chemistry and love to win.”