COMPILED AND CAPTIONED BY RYAN HATHAWAY // MAY 6, 2016 //
Traditionally I write a formal and objective introduction to these slideshows, but I’m going to allow for candidness here. In my time at Curry and experience with the journalism program, I’ve learned that one of the most important skills a young professional can bring with them into the working world is a technological aptitude.
Fortunately, that technological aptitude often translates into simply knowing how to use the devices that have become implanted to our palms and fingertips, anyway. In journalism, one of the most essential tools a reporter can bring into the field today is their iPhone.
Shooting photos has become an integral part of journalism, and in recognition of this Curry offered students an unlisted Photojournalism class this spring. I was not able to take the class myself, but in working with Professor Nina Hofman and seeing the work her students completed, I cannot recommend the course highly enough.
Whether you are trying to earn a career in journalism (like I am), another career in communication, or looking to finally learn the full potential of a digital camera, this course will put you in the driver seat. Students were sent into the city and other locations on assignment, and advised to take pictures over their spring break, a clear indicator of how this course will provide you with the real-world, experiential learning opportunities that are so critical.
So if you get the chance to, be sure to check out the Photojournalism course for yourself. Professor Hofman is a bright educator and will give you the chance to learn more about photography, the world around you, and yourself. This will be the last photo gallery of this school year, and thus my last gallery to publish, but I would be remiss had I not taken the opportunity to advocate this opportunity to anyone who may be reading this.
The Curry baseball team hosted Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent Gordon College for a doubleheader, hoping to collect a pair of victories to propel them to the playoffs.
The day started off well, with freshman Matt Fogarty yielding only one base runner in the top half of the inning to send senior co-captain John Arens to the plate to get the bats going in the home half of the opening inning.
Arens ripped a single through the right side, and moved up to second base after classmate and co-captain Kyle Connors supplied a sacrifice bunt up the first base line. Junior Alex McLean followed with a clean single, and advanced when a play at the plate resulted in Arens scoring the first run of the game.
Two innings later, Arens and Connors went back to work at the plate with Arens starting things with a one-out double to right field. However, this time, Connors advanced Arens on a single to center field, deep enough to allow the speedy Arens to come around and touch home plate to put the Colonels up 2-0 early.
Connors tried scoring on a single to left by junior Nick Crivello, but was cut down at the plate to end the threat.
The Colonels wouldn’t really need the insurance run because they already held a two-run advantage, but the Fighting Scots finally threatened a few innings later.
The first two Gordon batters in the top of the sixth inning reached on a walk and an error, respectively, and freshman Chris Leavitt supplied a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. A ground out would be enough to score sophomore Addison Tarr, and the Curry lead was cut to only one as Curry returned to bat.
The Colonels wasted no time in formulating a response, however. Crivello stroked a single to left, and got all the way to third following a passed ball and wild pitch in the same at-bat to sophomore Will de la Cruz, who eventually earned a free pass to first. Freshman Ben Lary came to the plate with runners on the corners.
Lary delivered an RBI single to left field and de la Cruz was able to “cruise” all the way to third to provide sophomore Anthony Sciaudone with the same opportunity as Lary. Sciaudone got the job done and scored de la Cruz with a fielders choice, and Arens followed with an RBI single through the middle to score Lary.
Freshman Brandon Bercovitz came into the final inning in a non-save situation with a four-run lead and produced a 1-2-3 inning to send the 5-1 score final, keeping the playoff dream alive for the Colonels.
Fogarty earned the win in game one, setting up Bercowitz by throwing a one-hitter across six innings. The freshman’s record improved to 5-2 on the season after he finished with a team second-best 46.2 innings pitched and amassed 39 strikeouts over nine games, seven as a starter.
Game Two: Gordon 3, Curry 2
After securing a victory in game one, the Colonels looked to another top starter, sophomore Dave Griffin to end the day with a sweep to send Curry into the playoffs.
The second game was another tight score, this time, however, Gordon jumped out to an early lead by opening the scoring in the second inning.
Tarr got things going for the Fighting Scots by placing a single to right field that Arens misplayed, allowing Leavitt to score. The throw into the infield got past all of the defenders in the infield and freshman Christian Hodge came around to score on the second error – putting Gordon up by a pair of runs early.
Again, Curry responded quickly, loading the bases after Crivello reached on an error and classmates Fogarty and Tyler Jenkins drew walks. De la Cruz followed, supplying an RBI single through the left side to keep the bases loaded for Lary. Lary put a charge into one, hitting it deep enough to score Crivello to tie the game up at two apiece.
After that second inning, both pitchers dug in and went to work. Griffin gave up five hits in the next five innings, while Gordon’s starter Caleb Bae and reliever Matt Amore yielded only four hits over the course of regulation play. Because of that, the audience at Jack Vallely Diamond got the treat of free playoff-caliber baseball.
The top of the eighth started with two quick outs for Griffin, but freshman Christian Hodge extended the inning with a hit. Classmate Alec Willey laced a ball to the fence that was deep enough to score Hodge and give the Fighting Scots the lead. Bercovitz came on in relief again and only needed one pitch this time to induce a fly out to send Curry to the plate with the playoffs on the line.
Unfortunately, the Colonels weren’t able to get anything done and the 3-2 final score sent them just out of the playoff picture at the time. With a sweep, Curry would have leap-frogged Gordon to take the final sixth seed but the split didn’t provide the movement necessary.
However, Roger Williams, who was previously above the Colonels in the standings, split with Salve Regina and were swept by Nichols this weekend, which took the Hawks out of the last spot. With the other games final, the Colonels were able to hang around long enough to maneuver their way to a playoff berth.
After suffering a sweep at the hands of Western New England in the regular-season finale on Saturday, the Colonels finished their CCC schedule with a 6-10 record, good enough to earn the right to fight another day.
Curry will be paired with the three seed, Salve Regina, who finished 10-4 in the conference when the playoffs open on Thursday, May 5.
The Curry Colonels (10-7 overall; 3-5 CCC) were hoping to enter the playoffs with a clean, even slate, but the Roger Williams University Hawks (13-3; 8-0) wanted to drag them through the mud first and preserve their undefeated record within the Commonwealth Coast Conference, in what became a Colonels 19-4 downfall.
Before Tuesday night’s season finale there was a light rain-shower that made the air colder, yet Roger Williams stayed hot every time they touched the ball. Despite how close the scoreboard started off, it was their game to lose.
The Hawks were controlling the ball on both sides of the field, and the Colonels only acted in short spurts of offense. For more than half the game, the Colonels were stalled at three goals while their defensive strategies were put through the wringer for virtually the entire game, and they failed at almost every challenge.
The scoring was started by Curry junior Kelly Parker (Branford, Conn.), and instead of sparking something for the Colonels offense, it opened the flood gates for Roger Williams. Hawks’ junior McKenna Everding (Fayetteville, N.Y.) responded almost immediately to Parker’s goal, and with Everding’s other six goals and one assist, she led the Hawks as they capped off their undefeated CCC record.
Curry head coach Caitlin Roberts was only interested in speaking about the upcoming playoffs rather than what happened throughout the regular season or in the finale, repeating after the game, “tomorrow we are zero-zero.”
Curry starts the playoffs as the 6th seed in the CCC, and their conference quarterfinals begin on Saturday, April 30th at noon against the University of New England (10-6) (6-2 CCC). As Curry’s players were walking back to the locker room, Roberts was still on the field, going to individual players and giving them advice or an upbeat thought.
“We are excited,” she reiterated. “Tomorrow it’s zero-zero. Clean Slate. Brand new season. I’m very happy about the way our season went this year and we are looking forward to a championship,” she added with conviction.
It’s that type of determination and optimism that gives Curry an extra push in their new start. Playing UNE for the second time, having lost to the Nor’easters earlier in the season, isn’t deterring Roberts’ confidence toward achieving Curry’s goal: “We are excited to play them again. We want that win back.”
If the Colonels advance to the second round, they play Endicott College (7-9) (6-2 CCC) who enters the playoffs as the second seed.
EDITED AND COMPILED BY RYAN HATHAWAY // APRIL 26, 2016 //
Spring weekend. We all needed it.
Whether you enjoyed a nice beverage, sat outside in the sunshine, or just binged Netflix alone in your room with the shades drawn, this was the weekend to enjoy.
Because now we’re all buckling in for finals. Staying up well past the end of Game of Thrones to crank out those last few pages, waking up to a strong cup of coffee and cramming, and tension headaches will define this semester’s last few weeks (bottle of aspirin in the backpack is a PRO move).
But before we dive into all of that fun, let’s take one last breather (breathing is key guys, kind of an important thing), and enjoy what was an amazing way to kick off spring. Here’s hoping summer comes quick, I know I’m still dreaming of a day at the beach.
In a rematch of last year’s Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, the Curry Colonels split a doubleheader with visiting Roger Williams University Sunday afternoon on Jack Valley Diamond at the D. Forbes Will field complex.
The Hawks took the first game 6-0, but Curry bounced back and took the nightcap by a score of 5-1 to move to 8-18 on the season (3-7 conference). Roger Williams moves to 11-14-1 overall, and 1-6 in the CCC.
Coming into this past weekend sitting at 1-5 in the conference, the Colonels hoped to sweep both doubleheaders (one at Nichols on Saturday and Sunday’s with RWU) to bolster their playoff chances.
After splitting Saturday’s doubleheader, the team arrived at the field hungry for the playoffs Sunday.
Curry’s head coach Dave Perdios knew his boys wanted it. “We were in the gym this morning at quarter of nine hitting,” he said, and added he didn’t even mandate it.
Beautiful Sunday afternoon at Jack Valley Field // Photo by Cole McNanna
Curry starter and junior captain Brian Burke started his day with two consecutive one-two-three innings, but things didn’t continue as smoothly.
The first Roger Williams batter, Liam Smith, reached on an error by sophomore shortstop Will de la Cruz. A hit and run was called for the next batter, Eli Camner, taking de la Cruz out of position and allowing both runners to be safe at first and second. After another single from Chris Bosco loaded the bases, the floodgates cracked.
Matt Moskal drove in the first run of the game for the Hawks with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Smith and leaving runners on the corners. A stolen base put both of them in scoring position, and both runners would score (one unearned) before Burke escaped the inning, down 3-0.
Burke knows RWU well enough to have anticipated the offense.
“I know they can hit so I wanted to have them put the ball in play and that’s what I did so I’m happy,” said the junior. “The way it came out obviously wasn’t what I wanted but I knew my game plan was to go out there and throw strikes and sometimes we make plays and sometimes they make a play, that’s just what happens.”
The right-hander allowed his defense to make plays the rest of the day, scattering six hits, while also taking matters into his own hands with nine punch-outs and only three earned runs (three unearned) in a complete game.
Junior righty Brian Burke took the mound for the Colonels in Game 1 // Photo by Cole McNanna
After the third, the bats were quiet on both sides until top of the sixth when the Hawks started things again with a double and a bunt to put runners on the corners. One swing of the bat from Shawn Cariglio made it a 6-0 game.
Burke responded by retiring the next three batters to turn the show over to the bats for the Colonels to no avail. Curry registered only one more hit and two base runners over the final two innings before the 6-0 score went final.
Alex McLean took the ball for game two, in need of a W // Photo by Cole McNanna
Game Two
Junior Alex McLean got the nod for the Colonels in game two.
He cruised through the Roger Williams lineup the first time through and sat down all nine – two by way of the K – before the second inning was over, to bring up the other half of his battery, and classmate, Nick Crivello.
After fouling off a few and seeing two balls, Crivello swung and seemingly tipped the ball back to the catcher where it hit his glove and popped out; a play normally ruled a foul ball. However, the home plate umpire neither saw nor heard any contact, making it a swing-and-miss and dropped third strike which allowed Bosco to tag Crivello out.
He did not like the call and threw his helmet into the dugout and was swiftly ejected from the game. After much pressure from Coach Perdios the umpire conferred with his field counterpart. They eventually agreed that it was a foul tip and Crivello was reinstated in the game with a 2-2 count still on him.
Crivello saw two more balls and was given a pass to walk to first base by the same umpire who had ejected him some five minutes prior.
Since Crivello was still in the game, he had to return to his spot behind the plate to catch for McLean, right in front of his favorite umpire. “Oh I have great relationships with all the umpires,” Crivello said with a chuckle generating snickers from nearby teammates Burke and McLean.
“I talk to all of them, I never shut up…I like to have a good conversation; make them laugh, see where they’re from see what they like to do, that type of stuff.” [Editor’s Note: I dare anyone reading that quote to not hear shades of Ham from The Sandlot]
Crivello was eventually stranded at first base and the Curry bats were quiet until the fourth inning.
Freshman Jack Kallinich got things started (unconventionally) when he was drilled with a pitch in the arm to put the first runner on. Classmate Ben Lary capitalized on another Hawk mistake, reaching on an error to put two runners on for senior captain Tim Lathrop. In just his 11th at bat of the season, Lathrop stroked a single through the left side to plate Kallinich and start a two-out rally.
Classmate and co-captain John Arens followed suit, delivering an RBI single of his own through the left side to bring in Lary. Both seniors advanced on a pass ball but wouldn’t need the free base as the other senior co-captain, Kyle Connors, cleared the bases with a triple to the fence in right-center field.
McLean saw all the fun they were having and, wanting to get in on the action, produced an RBI single to left to help his own cause. Once the Hawks finally got the third out of the inning, the Colonels had put up five runs.
McLean was getting it done at the plate and entered the fifth with a no-no intact.
“I just looked to keep batters off balance, mix up pitches, make sure we’re throwing outs and letting our defense work,” the soft-spoken McLean said.
He was able to do just that until the second batter of the fifth inning muscled a flare to center field to record the first hit of the game. It would prove costly, as he was the runner who came around as the lone RWU run.
The Colonels offense left two runners on base in their final at bats, but wouldn’t need the runs to score due to McLean’s effort at the end of his outing. After letting up a leadoff double, he stranded the runner on third base and got three straight outs to keep Curry in the playoff hunt.
McLean finished the game having let up only three hits and one earned run while striking out six. After the game he said, “This is huge because if we got swept today we would have dug ourselves an even bigger hole to come out of than what we have already.” He added the win was a “huge morale booster.”
Perdios backed up his pitcher’s thoughts and said, “The second game was huge, we played some defense and we hit the ball when we needed to and the pitching was excellent. The formula is simple; these guys have worked very hard with the hitting.”
He also acknowledged that this game could have saved their playoff hopes because, “if we had lost that second game today, our season probably would have been over as far as playoffs are concerned.” Perdios added that, “We’re still in the hunt and we control our own destiny now.”
The Quest Continues: The Colonels will take their next step in controlling their own destiny with a 4 p.m. non-conference matchup with Amherst College on Wednesday afternoon.
Reward and Risk? After Connor’s bases-clearing triple, he was removed from the game and spent time getting treatment from trainers on his ankle and foot area. After the game he was in good spirits and had ice taped to his lower ankle and will most likely not miss any serious time.
Standing Shuffle: The Colonels were picked to finish fourth according to the Coach’s Pre-Season Poll released earlier in March. They currently sit in sixth place and look to get closer to that fourth spot and possibly further past it.
