Baseball Seniors Revitalize Program and Plant the Seeds for a Successful Future
By Nick Williams, Athletics Communication Director, Office of Athletics
It was a sunny day in early September 2005 and seven anxious freshmen were about to take part in their first collegiate baseball practice as members of the Roger Williams University baseball team. Eager to impress their new coach, the young men decided to arrive 15 minutes early for the 10 a.m. practice at Paolino Field – the first of countless sessions to come.
Third baseman Kevin Simpson recalls the fateful day: “We thought, we’ll get there at 9:45 a.m. and have time to put on our cleats and get ready,” says Simpson, a member of the recently graduated Class of 2009. “By the time we walked up to the field, our teammates were already on the field taking fungos and soft toss. We got a quick scolding, with coach telling us to hurry up because we were late!”
Not exactly the best way to start their careers as RWU Hawks.
Four years later (and plenty of prompt practice arrivals in the rear-view), Simpson, Tim Atwood, Jamie Dahill, Brian Hurld, Bill Lambert, James Lydon and Alex Perry have progressed from tardy newcomers to the most successful class in Roger Williams baseball history, accumulating 98 wins over that span and shattering numerous school records along the way.
“They’ve elevated the program tremendously in their four years,” Head Coach Derek Carlson says. “Without these seven guys, this program wouldn’t be where it is today.” In their first year as Hawks, the team concluded the 2006 season with a 21-25 win/loss record – 13-7 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) – earning the No. 4 seed and a trip to the TCCC tournament championship game. While they didn’t clinch the title, the players understood immediately their potential for future success.
“It was probably our biggest moment because we all came in freshman year, and a lot of us played as freshmen,” says southpaw co-captain Brian Hurld, the Hawks’ career leader in innings pitched at 219. “Once we got there, we realized we could compete at this level.”
Co-captain and centerfielder Jamie Dahill – RWU’s all-time hits leader at 214 – also recalls the thrill of the big game: “Being in the conference championship freshman year is definitely a memory that stands out the most. It gave us that confidence boost to strive for the championship every year.”
Two years later – during the group’s junior-year campaign – that motivation resulted in one of the best years in the baseball program’s history. The team set a school record with 34 wins and won the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship.
“When we won the ECACs, it was another great accomplishment for us,” Simpson says. “Even though we didn’t win the conference tournament and ended the year on a sour note, it was good to come back and win the last couple of games of the ECAC Tournament and take home a championship.”
With an ECAC championship serving as a consolation prize to the team’s noteworthy performance throughout the season, the Hawks entered 2009 with unfinished business to tend to: “We came into our senior season with the mindset that nothing less than winning the conference championship is acceptable,” Hurld says.
The road to a 2009 TCCC title, however, proved more difficult than in years past. Despite rolling through the conference in 2008 with a school-record mark of 20-2 (including a regular season title), the 2009 squad struggled by comparison, entering the conference tournament just 12-9-1. Yet if there is something that the seniors say they’ve learned in their four years, it is perseverance and resolve while trying to take it all in stride.
“We try to keep each other happy on and off the field,” says Bill Lambert, the team’s second baseman. “You can’t be down in between games. It’s a long season.”
Keeping each other motivated and focused has been key to maintaining the team’s morale, whether it’s a timely pat on the back after a rough outing or a pointer in correcting a teammate’s swing. “The key to any criticism is positive criticism,” says first baseman and pitcher Alex Perry, whose 134 career RBI is the best total RWU has ever seen. “Giving them a compliment first and then telling them how to improve is the best approach – they’ll take that into account.”
James Lydon, RWU’s winningest pitcher with 22 victories, agrees: “We’re always there to tell each other that you’re good enough to accomplish
what you want to accomplish,” he says. “You have to take your ups and downs the same way.”
Now that they’ve set the bar significantly higher, the departing seniors have worked to ensure that their standard will carry on to future Hawk squads. They have coached the underclassmen and done their best to impart their collective experience to those future stars.
“We try to lead by example,” says Tim Atwood, co-captain and outfielder. “I know all of us try to work as hard as possible, on the field, in the gym – especially indoors during January, February and March, which is the toughest time of the year. We try to show them that baseball isn’t just a sport where you can just show up and perform – it’s something that you have to work hard at.”
With senior year completed and their RWU careers relegated to the NCAA record books, all seven in the cohort say they’ll reminisce on their Hawks days for years to come: “I’ll remember the time spent with these guys,” Lambert says. “I’m not going to remember specific games, but I’ll remember the relationships I’ve developed with them over the past four years.”
Simpson, affectionately described as the team’s emotional leader, echoes that same sentiment with a sense of perspective on the precedent the group has set: “Looking back 20 years from now, we’ll be able to say that we helped turn the program around – that we were a part of something special.”
