After traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, to compete in the Rhodes Classics, the Blugold baseball team earned their first win of the season against the Augustana Vikings on Sunday, Feb. 19. 

Head coach Charles Bolden said he hoped to go 3-0 competing in the Rhodes Classic, but overall, the team grew and got some nerves out while competing in Tennessee.

According to Blugold Athletics, the UW-Eau Claire baseball team fell short in the season-opener game against Rhodes College on Friday, Feb. 17, final score of 4-6. 

The Blugolds competed in their second game of the Rhodes Classic on Saturday, Feb. 18, where they faced Wabash. The team fell to the Wabash Little Giants, 6-11, according to Blugold Athletics. 

According to Bolden, winning against Augustana made the 30 hours of travel to the Rhodes classic mean a lot more to the team.

One thing they will be working on between now and the Blugolds’ next competition is getting the team’s defense in order and focusing on the structure of routine plays. 

The Blugold baseball roster is primarily underclassmen, with seventeen freshmen adding to the team this spring. 

Third-year elementary education student Matt Moore said that he tries to lead by example as an upper-classmen pitcher on the young team. 

Moore pitched four innings in relief against the Augustana Vikings, and held the Vikings to 2 runs while striking out 4.

According to Moore, there is much to take away from the weekend competing in the Rhodes Classic, but he feels excited and motivated to be locked in after closing the weekend with a win against Augustana. 

“I know it’s early, there’s a lot of kinks we have to work out, but a lot of younger guys on the team, especially freshmen, they didn’t look really overmatched. They didn’t look too nervous or scared, they seemed confident,” Moore said. 

First-year athlete Edgar Barba was one new team member who competed in Tennessee. Barba pitched a scoreless ninth-inning against the Augustana Vikings. 

Bolden said that the freshmen who played during the team’s time in Tennessee performed really well and remained composed. 

One thing the team will be focusing on between now and March 18, when the team will compete in Auburndale, Fl, is the defensive and routine play of the team, according to Bolden. 

“Even being such a young group, they have the ability, they got the baseball smarts, we just gotta make things simple, make the simple things simple. We do that, and we can be a scary team,” Bolden said. 

According to Moore, focusing on playing a complete game of baseball will be a priority for the next month, with focus on the defensive aspects of the game. 

“I’m just hoping that we can go out there and see results in the win column, especially with all of these early morning practices and workouts and time that we’re putting into this,“ Moore said. 

The Blugold Baseball team will host their first game in Carson Park against UW-Stout on Saturday, April 1. 

“Just come out and support the games we play at Carson. The more support we have, the better,“ Bolden said. 

Schoenemann can be reached at [email protected].