Spring 2022 is upon us. With it is a new UMPI baseball season with a bunch of familiar faces and some new ones, as well. The team went 1-17 in the coronavirus infected season of 2021. The team won the final game of the season against Farmington 7-3. In fall 2021, UMPI beat Central Maine Community College twice. UMPI in that sense is on a three game winning streak. It is looking to carry that over to the spring.
The 2022 team roster has added 11 new faces. The rest are returners from last season or a couple of seasons ago. Among those 11 new faces are Jake Neddeau and Ricky Goupille. Jake is a freshman from Connecticut. Ricky is a sophomore from Presque Isle, Maine, but in his first year as an UMPI Owls baseball player.
Ricky is more excited than he’s ever been to start a baseball season since this will be his first experience playing at the college level. Ricky said, “I’m ecstatic because I really feel like this team can do some damage. I haven’t been here the last couple of years. But the team chemistry seems to be there, and I think that is the recipe for winning.”
Jake hopes to better himself and as a result better the team. He wants to focus on getting better at hitting. According to Jake, “With the tools we have, I think I will be able to become much better at the plate. But overall, I just hope to become a better ball player.” For Jake, playing at the college level has always been a dream. Making it to UMPI shows him that all of his hard work and dedication has paid off. He is also pumped to get going. Jake said, “I have never been on a team that has as much camaraderie and team spirit before. I can’t wait to get on the road with the team and have some fun. I’m excited to get the season started!”
Both Jake and Ricky think that the team is ready for the season and that they are ready to compete. According to Ricky, “I think we are shaping up very well. We had a hard few weeks of conditioning and just getting back into baseball shape. Our trainer, Brian Morrison, has done a phenomenal job with that and keeping us motivated to work on the non-baseball-specific stuff. I really think we are ready to get rolling and start competing. That’s what it’s all about is competition. This team is itching to do that when we start games in the coming weeks.”
The baseball season begins March 5 against Colby. The Owls have a doubleheader that afternoon. Let’s keep the wins coming this spring, UMPI Baseball!
