The Husson University baseball team knows what is at stake this weekend when it travels to Vermont to take on Castleton State College for doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.
The Eagles must win three of the four games to host the four-team, double-elimination North Atlantic Conference tournament in two weekends.
If not, the Spartans will host and Husson will make its third weekend trip to Vermont in a month.
“We know what we need to do. If we go out and do it, we get the home-field advantage and that’s a big advantage,” said Husson junior shortstop Ethan Guerette.
Castleton State is 12-0 in the conference and Husson is 10-2. The Spartans took an overall record of 23-10 into Thursday’s game against Colby-Sawyer (N.H.), while Husson is 19-15.
“It would be big for the program and for the school to host the tournament,” said Husson ace junior lefthander Ryan Arsenault. “It would be special for coach [Jason] Harvey.”
Both teams have been on tears.
Ted Shipley’s Castleton State club had won 18 of its last 20 entering the Colby-Sawyer game while Husson had won four in a row and eight of 10.
Husson picked up two impressive midweek wins, a rare victory over the University of Southern Maine (12-1) and a 6-2 triumph over a 20-win Bowdoin College team.
Those wins have given the Eagles confidence.
“Those were really big wins,” said Husson junior first baseman Chris Maguire. “All of our hitters are starting to get hot and our pitchers are starting to locate their pitches well and get their curves and change-ups going early in games.
“We’re all starting to peak right now and that’s exactly what we need,” he said.
“It’s good to see everybody starting to hit the ball,” said Guerette. “Even when we made outs, we hit the ball hard.”
Husson collected 22 hits in the two wins although Bowdoin used eight pitchers and USM used six since they were non-conference games.
“We had great pitching, good defense and timely hitting,” said Harvey. “If we can put it all together this weekend, we’ll put ourselves in good position to be successful.”
Husson went 2-1 against Castleton State in winning the NAC tourney title a year ago after being the runnerup for six straight years.
The Eagles respect the Spartans.
“They’re a scrappy team. They’re a lot like us. They have good hitting and good pitching. It should be a real good series,” said Maguire.
Husson has been led offensively by Cody Haverly-Johndro (.406-0 homers-14 RBIs), Guerette (.350-1-23, 23 stolen bases), Maguire (.350-1-25) and Tom Crews (.310-3-30, 11 steals). Nate Adams (5-2, 2.57 earned run average), Chris Morris (4-1, 4.07), Arsenault (5-2, 2.82) and Kyle Leeman (2-1, 6.26) will get the mound starts.
Castleton State features Ryan Zielinski (.415-5-41), David Brandt (.412-0-21, 20 steals) and Lyman’s Garrett Bissonnette (.379-3-20) and the Spartans’ starting pitchers will be Matt Greene (4-0, 1.74), Brandon Fay (5-1, 3.52), Ken Cook (6-3, 3.79) and Billy Sisko (3-2, 4.83).
“They put the ball in play. They scrap. They have two or three good arms,” said Harvey. “The last three or four years, our games with Castleton have always been battles.”
Karcanes new Husson XC coach
Maj. James Karcanes will be the first head coach for the Husson University women’s cross country team, which will debut next fall.
Karcanes is a former New York state cross country champion and All-Metro Conference selection at the University of South Carolina.
He currently serves as the ROTC battalion executive officer at the University of Maine and is an assistant professor of military science at both Maine and Husson.
He served two tours in Iraq and is responsible for designing and implementing high intensity physical fitness programs for the cadets.
“Jim Karcanes brings a different perspective to coaching cross country and has accomplished much as a runner and as a leader in designing programs helping individuals be successful,” said Husson athletic director Cindy Connelley in a press release. “He is familiar with our campus, is a proven recruiter and will implement strong cross country training techniques and strategies for our newest team.”
Barcanes has a masters of arts in national security from the Naval War College and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Houghton College (N.Y.). He is working on a master’s degree in physical education from Maine.