Nov. 12, 2004
The UD baseball team recently completed its fall off-season workout period at its newly named Time Warner Cable Stadium beside UD Arena. Head Coach Tony Vittorio feels that the fall is important for three reasons.
"Every year our goals for the fall are to implement our program to the newcomers, prepare for the spring season and to evaluate our talent," Vittorio said. "We accomplished these goals this Fall by practicing three days a week and playing inter squad games another three days. We got a lot accomplished this Fall because of the outstanding weather and great facility we have to play on.
Last season, the Flyers moved from Stuart Field to its new home Time Warner Cable Stadium. UD won 11 games at its new field last season, which has recently seen the addition of a press box and a seating area behind home plate as well as new locker rooms and a hitting/pitching facility.
"The new field is very humbling in our preparation," Vittorio said. "The playing surface has really settled in and it was great to be out there this fall as our players were able to see something new added to the stadium each day. It really gave them a sense of pride that this will be there home for years to come."
Dayton's returning players are looking to regain the form that earned them a berth in the Atlantic 10 Championships in 2002. Vittorio feels that a few years of experience could pay dividends this spring.
"The last two years our team was young and a bit inexperienced. This is not the case any more," Vittorio said. "These players have received a plenty of playing time at a young age. They have also played in the best summer leagues available to make themselves better. Our returnees showed great leadership and maturity this fall."
Vittorio also feels that his newcomers have the ability to make an impact in 2005 if they can become adjusted to demands of being a college athlete.
"From a baseball standpoint after the first couple of weeks the newcomers did a pretty good job of getting adjusted to our program," Vittorio said. "If they can handle the workload of being a college student and an athlete, they have the ability to help our team."
After seeing his team play this fall Vittorio feels the outlook is bright for the 2005 season, especially in the areas of pitching and defense.
"I thought our pitchers did a great job with their rhythm and tempo and out defense is going to be fun to watch," Vittorio said. "We named Craig Stammen, Luke Trubee, Joe McSoley and Mike Massa as our captains as they did an outstanding job leading us this Fall."
Now the Flyers focus their efforts toward the winter season and focusing on skill work and conditioning. Vittorio hopes that the players take each day as an opportunity to make themselves better before the season opener on Feb 12 at Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C.
"We start writing our own book from now until the beginning of the season," Vittorio said. "Each day is a page and each month a chapter. If our players can write a page today, that means they got better today. The development of our players from a physical and mental standpoint will be worked upon on a daily basis. It is time to write our own book."
