“The opportunity to bond with my teammates was far more exciting than I expected”

On March 11th to 6-4 after a win against the Wilmington Quakers at Randal Sadler Stadium. Earlham’s day was far from over as we quickly transitioned from the field to the bus. Only two hours after our victory, the 56-passenger bus left for Port St. Lucie, Florida. We understood the ride to Florida was not going to be easy. Scheduled to take 20 hours, the drive would be punishingly long. Excited to kill time, we began the annual freshman karaoke tournament. Outfielder Carter Vilevac brought home the trophy after singing, “Hey There, Delilah”, winning against reigning champion Dillion Bandi. After a grueling drive, we arrived at Lawnwood Park for our first practice before the game on Monday evening. During the practice, the other players and I struggled to feel comfortable moving our bodies after a night of sleep on the bus. Game one was slated to feature Earlham College and Washington College but was delayed four times and eventually postponed due to lightning. I had the opportunity to claim a victory against Washington in a team-sponsored rock-paper-scissors match. Following a tie in the first round, my paper defeated his rock in the next two rounds to get a 2-0 victory. We later defeated Mt St. Vincent University and Franciscan University twice later in the week to give us three official wins and a fourth win unaccepted by the NCAA. On Tuesday, we went to a spring training game where the NY Mets faced the Washington Nationals. Bonding also happened far outside the field. Following victories each night, the team would head to the beach to play spikeball and take on massive waves. The trip was capped off with a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, where we were immersed in the worlds of Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Transformers, the Simpsons, and more. The great part about spring break isn’t just competition, but the opportunity to build team chemistry. The opportunity to bond with my teammates was far more exciting than I expected. Nothing could have brought us together better than spending time on the beach after our victories. Thank you to all my teammates and friends who gave me one of the best weeks of my Earlham career. Earlham quickly begins conference play, so come out and support the team at Randal Sadler Stadium