Written by Monique Jacques
Determined to play Saturday’s game, Harding’s baseball team went up against the odds to clear a little less than 90,000 square feet of snow-covered field on their snow day Thursday, Feb. 10.”We knew the only way we would be able to play would be to shovel it all off,” senior hitter Jason Nappi said.The 45 players arrived to 7 inches of snow covering Jerry Moore Field at 11 a.m. Thursday with only shovels, trashcans and two John Deere Gators.”I usually don’t buy into that kind of stuff being indicative of what a group of people is able to accomplish, but when you get here at 11 and leave at 5, look around and all the snow is gone on the field and there are 7 inches everywhere else, you say to yourself, ‘Wow, this could be a special year,'” senior pitcher Donny Stephens said.After six hours of shoveling snow and assembly lines of snow-filled 30-gallon trashcans, plus the occasional snowball grenade, Nappi said the team, all with sunburnt faces, looked at the day as a bonding experience and a group accomplishment.”I’ve never had a bunch work that hard,” head coach Dr. Patrick McGaha said. “Usually after two hours they’re tired and ready to go. What I thought was really amazing was after three hours I gave them an option of going home, but every one of them stayed. They volunteered the last three hours.”The team’s hard work paid off that Saturday with a winning score of 10-0 over the Maryville University Saints of St. Louis, Mo.”This team’s chemistry is really good,” McGaha said. “I think that day is just a test of how true that is. They had a good attitude and some fun, and they got it done.”With the introduction of composite bats, which McGaha said made the game more similar to a professional one, the team has faced a few challenges this season already. They have overcome with a win- loss record of 4-1 and 45 games remaining. McGaha said the goal each season is to win the conference, and with the talent and determination the players have already displayed, he has high hopes.But even with their hopes, the players said they lack the cheering crowd. What the team requests more than anything is fan support.”The baseball team encourages all of the Rhodes Rowdies to come out and support us at Jerry Moore field,” McGaha said. “They can become the Moore Maniacs for the spring.”The student body’s next opportunity to become that cheering crowd here at Jerry Moore Stadium will be tomorrow, Feb. 26, at noon and Sunday, Feb. 27, at 1 p.m. against Lambuth University.
