May 30, 2010

DOUBT US NO MORE
By: Scott Day

(Editor's Note: There is so much that could be written about the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association baseball champions. You could talk about Joe Van Meter’s heroics or Seth Cuter-Voltz’s gutty performance or Jonathan Watson’s grit out of the bullpen and on and on. However, it only felt right to write about this group as a whole.)

As children grow up, the message of “There’s no I in team” is relayed to them over and over again. The 2010 VCU Baseball embodies that message.

The Rams were doubted at every stage of the 2010 season, but at every stage, they hung together and battled as a team.

Prior to the year, they were picked seventh in the CAA Coaches’ Poll (doubt #1). After losing seven straight and holding a 9-10 record, no one thought the Rams would have a chance in conference play (doubt #2). Then came the 11-1 start in the CAA, but they couldn’t keep that up, that’s what people said (doubt #3).

After making the tournament as the third seed, they faced one of the nation’s top offenses and a team that has beaten them nine straight times in Georgia State (doubt #4). Enter Seth Cutler-Voltz and the Rams moved on. Regular-season champion James Madison would surely knock them into loser’s bracket, right? (doubt #5) Wrong.

Then there was yesterday, a Saturday afternoon that will live in VCU history.

The Rams would have to be beaten twice by the hometown Seahawks of UNC Wilmington. After taking a 10-0 loss in game one, things looked bleak as the hostile crowd got even louder after two errors led to four UNCW runs in the first inning of the second game (doubt #6).

Just as they had done all year, they battled and battled hard, getting back within one run in the fifth and eventually capitalizing on a Seahawks error in the eighth to tie the game. UNCW loaded the bases in the ninth, surely the Rams had no chance (doubt #7). But Jonathan Watson had other ideas and got out of it unscathed. Again in the 10th they loaded the bases, surely the Seahawks would score this time, right? (doubt #8) Enter Robbie Andrews, who recorded the final out of the inning and kept the Rams hopes alive.

That set the stage for Joe Van Meter’s dramatic two-run bomb gave Andrews just the cushion he needed to record the final out and bring the CAA trophy back to Richmond after a two-year hiatus.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this team,” Van Meter said. “The character that this team showed is unbelievable. We were doubted so much this year and to be able accomplish what we did, I’m really at a loss for words.”

In sports, there are a lot of teams that win championships, but only some are truly memorable. This team is exactly that and no one will ever doubt this group of guys again.