Ohio University Baseball Adapts After Graduating 12 Seniors
By: Abbey Kay
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After losing 12 valuable seniors to graduation, Ohio University left-handed pitcher Derek Carr said his team had to make some major adjustments.
Despite winning the MAC Championship title last year, the team is currently sitting with an overall record of 17-17 and 5-7 in the MAC. Carr has high expectations for his team in the rest of the season.
Carr said the main difference between this season and last, would be the maturity level of the team – something that will develop with time.
“We brought in a lot of younger guys that are not used to this high tempo,” he said. “It’s kind of a learning curve for them, but then it’s also our job as upperclassmen to now take in the roles of those twelve guys that graduated.”
Although Carr’s family is important to him, he said he is also thankful to have a second family – his team. Carr calls his teammates his brothers. They may tease each other, but he said they all really care about each other.
Carr said he had to grow a lot as a player and a teacher after losing the seniors. As a sophomore, Carr is now one of the starting pitchers for the Bobcats but has had to work hard to get that position over the course of one year. Last year, he played a total of only four innings in three games as a relief pitcher. This season, he has already pitched in nine games, several of which he started.
Mental prepping the night before helps his performance on game day. When the Bobcats played Eastern Michigan this past weekend, Carr sat out Friday’s game and the first game of Saturday’s double header, but he started the second game. He reviewed the film Friday night until he knew what improvements to make.
To get a feel for the field, his pre-game ritual involves standing on the mound and going through the motions of a fake pitch without even having a ball in his hand.
The Bobcats play again Tuesday at Marshall at 3:00 p.m.