Erick Herrmann is a senior outfielder/first basemen and is expected to be an impact player for the upcoming season. He is expected to hold down the middle of the lineup and flash the leather over at first base

What inspired you to play baseball as a young boy?

My role model growing up was Ken Griffey, Jr. because of how hard he played the game and how much fun he had while he was out on the field. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up… then I realized I am slow and not as athletic as Ken Griffey.

What is the best part about playing baseball?

The best part of playing baseball is all the friends I have made and getting to spend time with them out on the field. Also, winning games because you get satisfaction from knowing all your hard work in the off-season and at practice has paid off.

What is your most memorable moment as a Tiger?

My most memorable moment was sweeping Macon my freshman year because we were underdogs heading into the match-up. We ended up pulling off the upset and dog piling on the field after the game.

In one word describe your Hampden Sydney College Experience.

Amazing.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself as a successful lobbyist living in Washington D.C. and driving a Lexus. 

How has baseball prepared you to be a better man?

Baseball has prepared me for life because you do not succeed as many times as you want, so it teaches the lesson of how to deal with failure. Baseball also teaches you to expect the unexpected because you can never anticipate how the game will unfold.

What do you do in your spare time?

I enjoy playing basketball, FIFA, and a leisurely round of 18 holes on the links.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas break right around the corner, we are making the transition from fall practice into the off-season training mode. The off-season is a time for relaxation, recuperation, and a period to refocus our determination for the spring season. After fall practice ends, we do not spend as much time on baseball related activities. However, we continue to lift and run at least three times a week. Also, if we are not busy with schoolwork, we try to squeeze in a few rounds in the cage to keep our swings in a groove. All winter we are continuously reminded that the off-season and weight room is where championship teams are built. Although there is truth to the clichés, I think it is equally important to have a good time off the field in order to wind down from the stressful student-athlete atmosphere.I think as a team we do our best to keep things as loose as possible. In the locker room and on the weekends there is never a shortage of laughs, pranks, or funny stories. This past week there has been a buzz about the recent release of the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. The release of the game was highly anticipated, and a few guys from the team were spotted waiting in line to be the first to receive their copy at midnight. I think no one on the team was more excited about the game than our senior pitcher/DH Nick Caporale. It is has been said that there are only three things that make “Cap” happy; his girlfriend, his dog, and Call of Duty. Honestly, what else does a college student really need? I wish I could have taken part in the video game festivities, however I realized I was a mere 14 dollars short of the 60-dollar price tag. We all like to have fun and waste plenty of hours on the virtual battlefield, but it is important to finish the fall semester strong because baseball season is only two months away.

Last week we wrapped up our official fall season with the highly anticipated Black and Maroon World Series. It was an intense best of three series with a lot at stake. The winners would have full advantage of choosing the flavor of chicken wings from Buffalo Wild Wings for our team dinner, and bragging rights of course.

The teams were selected by the means of a fantasy draft by Assistant Coach Matt Brown (Black Squad) and Assistant Coach Billy Catron (Maroon Squad). I wound up on the black team, and on paper, we expected nothing less than a World Series sweep. I thought both teams were evenly matched, but we felt the depth of our pitching staff would be the X-Factor. We also felt our veteran line-up had the upper hand on the young buck pitching staff of the Maroon Squad.

Our emotions were high heading into game one of the series. However, our bats and our mouths were silenced by the solid performance of the Maroon team’s rookie pitcher, Luke Brunot. But we bounced back in game two with the series on the line, as our offense came alive and our defense and pitching held strong to force a game deciding game three. Game three conditions were much less than ideal. It was cold, rainy, and there were a few controversial plays that helped shift the momentum in the Black squad’s favor. In the end the Black squad’s pitching ended up making the difference, and we won the series two games to one.

The World Series was a great culmination of all the hard work we put into the fall season. There were some great at bats, a lot of hard hit balls, great defense, and solid pitching performances. It was a great opportunity to put everything together and play as a team in a rivalry against one another. If we can continue to put all four of these components together in the spring, then our team goals are definitely within our grasps.

Of course, after the series we gathered as a team for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. The anticipation leading up to the endless amount of chicken wings was a close second to the actual World Series itself. As soon as the waitresses placed the wings and ribs on the table, the feeding frenzy began. I would compare the team eating chicken wings to a pack of great white sharks hunting prey on shark week. Within a matter of seconds, there were no wings to be found. The one thing to take away from the team dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings was be on time because the wings aren’t waiting for you.

Ned Belliveau is from Lexington, VA, and is a sophomore on the Cross Country team. He will be blogging throughout the year for the team

On October 29^th, the cross country team ran at the ODAC championship meet in Bedford, VA. We had to put all our season’s work into this one race because there is no way to qualify for the postseason unless you do well at the conference championship meet. The race was supposed to be sloppy because of all the rain in the area. To make matters worse, the day before the race, there were reports of snow in the area. Luckily for us, the weather cleared and the sun came out about an hour and a half before the race began.

We started to warm up and our run was a little quieter than usual, we all knew what the day meant. We finished the warmup and prepared for the start. A lot of people don’t realize that the atmosphere at a cross country race is really good. There is a buzz in the crowd that psyches you up. The other runners are just as nervous as you are, and this builds a frenzy of anxiety at the starting line. However, once the starter fires the gun off, all that anxiety is refocused into running as hard as you possibly can.

The course is not as difficult as some courses we’ve run this season (most notably Southern Virginia’s course which claimed to be a 5K but was closer to 6K, this course also had a downed tree blocking the trail at the top of the hill), but it was difficult in the sense that you had to reserve your energy for the right moments and capitalize on the rolling hills that are throughout the course. There were also a lot of turns that were completely soaked with mud. I saw several runners struggle through these patches and I myself almost got a face full of mud thanks to a misstep. The course also has a downhill stretch that starts at about the 4 ¼ mile mark on the course and goes about half a mile. You had to run the first four miles hard and then you could use the long downhill to recover before busting it to the finish.

The team finished 8^th out of 10, besting Randolph College and Emory & Henry. Sophomore Andrew Stoddard finished 32^nd with a time of 27:51, his second best on the year and our captain, junior Andrew Craver, also ran his best time of the year (28:39) and finished 40^th. Both Stoddard and Craver are headed to Texas on November 12^th to run in the South/Southeast Region Meet and they’ll both represent the team well.

Next season we hope to do much better then 8^th. We aren’t losing any members to graduation and look to have a strong recruiting class coming in. Our team goal is to finish in the top five of the conference, which probably would also put us in the top 25 in the region. It’s a lofty goal, but we have the talent to do it.

Being on the golf team at Hampden-Sydney College means a lot to the college and a lot to each individual on the team, especially this year so far.  As a small, private, all-male college near Farmville, VA, Hampden-Sydney has its unique traits that many can’t help but love and talk about. This school is based on brother hood and friendships that will be made and remain for years.

The golf team is one of the smallest on the campus, but I feel like it may have the best team camaraderie.  Having a small team allows us to know each other really well. I have personally made friendships with team mates on and off the course and will always remember my golf career here and those friendships.  

I had similar friendships like this in high school, and I still have them and I believe it is because of the sport of golf that I kept them for so long.  Golf is a sport that can be played at any age and skill level and still be enjoyed.  Golf is an individual game where one battles the course and his or her mind, yet golf here at Hampden-Sydney is a team sport. 

Before tournaments we get reminded to just have fun and play as a team because we know that we have four other teammates that are playing their best as an individual and a team.  We never put anyone down if a bad round is made because we have other scores to help the team, yet we encourage to just keep playing.

I do believe that out of the ODAC we are the team to have the most fun at golf tournaments on and off the course.  Going out to dinner, hanging out as a team and watching tv in the hotel, and even just hanging out as a five-man team on the trips really brings us together, as well as when we come back to see the rest of the teammates.  We carry the fun and seriousness out on to the course better than any other team and this helps us relieve pressure.

I am glad I am a Hampden-Sydney golfer for the past three years.  For those that will visit, I believe you will see that we can compete greatly, and this year we have had a great starting season.  Also we have the most fun and team relationship on and off the golf course, which makes me enjoy playing for this school and competing every tournament.

As a Hampden-Sydney Tiger, I also want to promote this week in November, which by all Hampden-Sydney students, athletes, and family members is know as “Macon Week”.  This is the week where we as a community get fired up to beat our rival Macon.  Watch the video below to join the craze of the week.  BEAT MACON!

Beat Macon Night from hampdensydneycollege on Vimeo.

Barrett Polan, from Greenwich, CT, is a senior of the Tennis team and will be blogging throughout the year for the Tennis team.

Hampden-Sydney Tiger Tennis has enjoyed unprecedented success in the last four years with four consecutive ODAC Finals appearances, five consecutive ODAC player of the year awards and an ODAC championship crown. Tennis’ tradition of quiet success often comes as a surprise to the sports community. However, we have become a consistent ODAC powerhouse over this period. Over the last two years, the tennis team graduated one of the winningest teams in Hampden-Sydney history in any sport.

With the graduation of four-time ODAC Player of the Year award winner Will Moss in 2010 and then multi-year starters Rich Pugh, Shad Harrell, Tal Covington and Zack Pack graduating in 2011, the team is the youngest and least experienced it has been in many years. This year, Co-Captain Kevin Calhoun ’12, and Ian Sammler ’12 return as the only starters; however Zack King ’15, has shown extraordinary talent early with a tremendous showing at the ITA Regional Tournament earlier this fall. Co-Captain Barrett Polan ’12, Ryan Davis ’12 and Franklin Bowers’ 13 round out the starting spots.

While 4 of the 6 starters are seniors, only two are returning starters so it will be a challenge to create a match intensity environment in practice on a consistent basis to help some of the less experienced starters become familiar with the pressure of match play and the rigors of the short but busy tennis season.

The captains, Barrett Polan and Kevin Calhoun, have brought a new intensity to practice, particularly in the off season. In years past, the off season for tennis was a very lax period with workouts occurring independently; however, this year, there has been an outdoor practice and conditioning program organized by the captains while the weather allows. As the team moves indoors, the team will be engaging in a variety of workouts focusing on conditioning, tennis style cardio, functional weight work and core strength. Barrett and Kevin hope that some of the teams’ inexperience can be augmented by the bringing the team into the season in better physical shape than previous years and instilling confidence in the team by knowing that they will be the last men standing in any match.

The Tigers are looking forward to the 2011-2012 campaign after a productive fall season with hopes of returning to the ODAC championship for a sixth consecutive year. In their way this season are a number of revamped ODAC foes including a greatly improved Randolph-Macon, Guilford, Bridgewater and perennial powerhouse Washington and Lee. The Tigers look forward to your support in the upcoming season.

Go Tigers!

Patrick Kuhns is a junior catcher from Stafford, VA. Patrick will be blogging throughout the year for the Baseball team.

As the Fall Classic and the MLB season came to a close this past weekend, we all watched the Cardinals claw back to win after the clock was ready to strike midnight on their Cinderella story.

After I watched the Cards rush the field in celebration, it served as a reminder as to why we play America’s pastime. Our passion for baseball is fueled by the competition, the camaraderie, and the satisfaction of getting rewarded for all the time we have dedicated to become a successful team.

It is refreshing to see grown men jump around and act like children to celebrate their team and individual accomplishments. It shows us that it doesn’t matter whether we are competing for an ACC championship, an ODAC championship, or a trip to the College World Series that we all play the game for the same reasons. In my mind baseball has always symbolized more than just a game.

I am now entering my second year as a Tiger, and camaraderie is the most important characteristic of our team. I think it is an aspect that most teams overlook simply because it is an intangible that cannot be measured by results. It has been awhile since I have been apart of a team where we all want to win more for each other than anything else. In order to attain our goals for the season we need to carry the same mentality into the spring.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Dan Nicoll

Year: Junior
Position: Pitcher
Favorite Athlete: Steven Strasburg
Interests: Golf, Basketball, Running Big Loops
Weaknesses: Sensitive Hands

Dan was one of our weekend starters last year and returns the most innings on the mound. In order for us to achieve greatness, it is imperative that Daniel builds on last year’s consistent performance. Dan was key down the stretch in the ODAC Tournament, shutting down the high-powered Guilford Quaker offense for six solid innings and picking up the victory while battling through tonsillitis. When Dan is not on the mound mowing down opponents, he enjoys hitting the links for a nice round of 18 (plays a monster slice) or a friendly game of basketball.