So What!

This morning the Millersville baseball team will jump on a bus and travel to Johnstown, PA to prepare for their first PSAC playoff game since the 2008 season. The Marauders are having one of the best seasons in school history and come into the playoffs on a 9 game winning streak. Yet, by the time the Marauders jog onto the field Wednesday night at 6:30 they would have had 11 days off. On top of that the games now switch from 7 inning double headers to 9 inning solo games. This poses the question, how will the long layoff affect these Marauders? … The answer … It won’t.

One of the main goals for this Marauder baseball team coming into the season was changing the mental attitude that had factored in the two previous seasons when Millersville found themselves just on the outside looking in on the PSAC playoffs. Coach Shehan introduced and infused a “so what… next pitch” mentality into his players and they have responded.

Throughout the course of the season individuals of the Marauder baseball team have broken school records, hit for career bests, had break out seasons and compiled the most wins as a team (37) since the 2001 squad won 30 ball games. If you ask them about these impressive performances, in unison they would respond… so what, next pitch.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there have been points when this team has struggled or hit slumps that seem difficult to break out of. Yet, each time this team has faltered it did not last very long.

Many players find themselves in long slumps or streaks throughout the length of a baseball season. For that reason it is extremely important to keep a strong and positive head on your shoulders throughout. Any ball player will tell you that it is difficult to do that in the midst of the ups and downs of the season. But coach Shehan has generated an entire team that is only focused on one thing… the next pitch.

So what… Millersville has not played in 11 days? Who cares that the games are now switched to 9 inning marathons? So what there has only been one Division Champion since 1999 that has gone on to win the PSAC tournament? As long a Millersville continues to apply that So What Next Pitch attitude they will hoist their first conference championship trophy since 1998, because they are not just the best team, they are the team with the most mental toughness.

-DP

(Domenic Panza: MSBN)