Being in a slump is like swimming against the tide. The harder you struggle, the less effective you become. You lose all sense of bearing and become increasingly frustrated as you head in an unintended direction.
Going into their weekend series against Delaware, Tribe baseball was in a slump. Losers of six straight games, the Tribe had suddenly stopped doing the things that had made them so effective earlier in the season. Pitchers started the ball up in the zone, resulting in multiple-run innings for the opposition early in the game. Hitters were now swinging at tough pitches early in the count, resulting in fewer balls hit hard and fewer runs scored.
Head coach Frank Leoni recognized the team’s negative direction and decided to make a change, inserting Paul Juliano and Derrick Osteen in the lineup and giving Jeremy Neustifter his first start of the season on Saturday. The change worked as the Tribe took the final two games in their weekend series against Delaware and will next face Liberty University, a team with a current two game winning streak.
“You just try to see who’s doing the right things and who seems to be in a good rhythm; maybe somebody needs to take a step back and slow the game down again,” Leoni said.
“There’s no exact science to it and I think I struggle with it time to time.”
Whatever formula Leoni used in his decision certainly worked, as Juliano provided a catalyst for the Tribe’s success at the top of the lineup. In the game Saturday, which the Tribe won 6-2, Juliano went two for three with a walk, reaching base three times.
Overall, Juliano reached base safely eight times in nine attempts on the weekend.
“I’m just trying to see a lot of pitches” said Juliano. “I’m trying to have long at- bats, make the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. I’m trying to just put the barrel of the bat on something after that any chance I get.”
In the Tribe’s 9-4 victory on Sunday, Juliano put the barrel on the ball in a big way. With the Tribe leading 5-4, Juliano deposited a 2-2 fastball from Delaware pitcher David Slovak over the right field fence to give the Tribe a five run lead. It was Juliano’s first home run of the season and only his second of his career.
Juliano came into the season with ninety career starts; however, with the emergence of juniors Jeff Jones and Robbie Nickle, Juliano has often found himself the odd man out in the outfield rotation. Juliano has ten starts in twenty-eight games, hitting .285 in thirty-five at-bats.
“I can’t say enough about [Juliano], in my opinion that’s what leadership is all about right there” said Leoni. “He could’ve pouted, he could have packed it…or worse, not been ready to play when he actually did get a chance to play. I made that point after the game today, don’t let that go unnoticed. That’s what it means to be mature and a leader.”
What Jeremy Neustifter lacks in experience at the college level, he makes up for with his starting experience at the junior college level. Neustifter made his first start of the season on Saturday after previously coming out of the bullpen. He held the Blue Hens to four hit and two runs in five and one third innings pitched, lowering his ERA to 7.06 in fourteen appearances.
“We needed a win real bad and this is my first start…I started in junior college so I’m used to it,” Neustifer said. “So I just prepared myself the way I did the last two years. I was pretty pleased I was able to get through at least five. I knew we had Pat and Grieve in the pen [and] we were in good shape if I got through five.”
“To be honest with you, I was hoping to just get five out of him,” Leoni said. “Jeremy’s a good pitcher. Jeremy’s numbers do not reflect that kind of guy he is. Coach Prachniak was the one who said maybe the starting role would be more appropriate for him because he’s the kind of guy that’s going to pitch in and out of trouble.”
Sunday’s starter Tim Norton was one of the two impressive performances by Tribe freshmen on the weekend. Norton held the Blue Hens to three runs on six hits in five and one third innings. He was helped by the offensive output of Tim Park, three for five with one run scored, and the defensive help of fellow freshman Derrick Osteen. Osteen made several nice defensive plays at second base to go along with his one for two performance at the plate. Park also paced the Tribe Saturday night, going 1 for two with two RBI and one run scored.
The Tribe now head to Liberty University for a 7 pm game on Tuesday, then to Georgia State for a three game weekend series. The College is 18-10 for the season and 9-6 in the CAA.
“We know that both teams are very good. Liberty is very tough, they’re always a very good team…Georgia State came up here last year when we were riding high and they came in here and knocked us around and swept us,” Leoni said. “It’ll be really tough.”