Weathering It All: IC Baseball Deals with CNY Weather

Around 10 games have been cancelled for the Ithaca College Baseball team so far this season.
A game was called off a few weeks ago due to poor field conditions at Freeman Field at Ithaca College.
Despite the weather and field issues, the Bombers have pushed through it.

A Soaked Season

Anyone in residing in Central New York knows the weather can vary between sunshine, rain and snow in one day.

So far this season, the Bomber Baseball program has had around 10 games cancelled or moved due to weather or unplayable field conditions, both on the road and at Freeman Field, the Bombers’ home stadium.

Baseball head coach George Valesente, who’s been in charge of the program since 1979, said the geographical region Ithaca is in makes Spring a difficult season to play in.

“Every spring is a challenge in the Northeast, this spring being challenging the most,” Valesente said. “It’s a difficult thing on the players because the schedule changes so often.”

Senior Dominic Boresta called weather in Ithaca “frustrating,” but emphasized a need to push through it.

“It definitely gets in the way of our normal practice routine,” Boresta said. “It’s get very muddy out there, there are puddles, but you just got to do what you can.”

Junior Garrett Snyder also expressed dissatisfaction.

“It’s pretty frustrating to get all hyped up for a game and then get it cancelled and then rescheduled for later in the week.”

Working with the Weather

Along with Boresta, Snyder also plays in the outfield of Freeman Field.

Before this season, Snyder had never encountered snow during a game.

“It’s tough to see that ball. It’s all about getting under the ball and judging it as best as possible.”

Before each game, Snyder says he takes time to make sure he understands the field’s situation.

“I’m assessing the field conditions in the infield and the outfield, seeing how the ball’s going to bounce,” Snyder said. “That obviously plays into a large portion of my game. Bad bounces and stuff you can’t really account for.”

Snyder said that while the field can get rough, a soggy outfield can actually be beneficial in some ways.

“It’s more the bounces. It actually helps you sometimes with fly balls because you can go after them harder. If you dive and miss it, it’s just going to plug [baseball term for ball deadening in a wet field].”

Effect on Student-Athletes

The postponement of games during the season have come later on in the semester when work for student-athletes builds up.

Boresta said life as student-athlete can get very hectic with multiple games getting pushed in to one week.

“With eight games in six days, things can pile up very quickly. This season has been pretty crazy with that.”

However, Boresta praised Valesente and the Bomber coaching staff with keeping spirit high despite all the changes.

“The coaches are very on top of it, and keeping a positivity about the negative news.”

Flexibility

With the weather being so unpredictable, the Bombers have had to be on their toes come game day.

A few weeks ago, the South Hill squad actually had game cancelled for poor conditions on the field despite the nice weather.

Boresta said while the team tried to fix the field, there was no game in the end.

“The frustration was more on the decision-making end,” Boresta said. “It had been tough taking care of the field. We used a whole pallet of kitty litter trying to soak up the water on the field. It was frustrating to come out, work on the field and not have anything to show for it.”

Despite curve ball that is the weather, the Bombers have maintained a winning record at 19-13 this season.

Snyder said he attributes the success this season due to Valesente taking charge of making sure his team ready no matter what.

“Coach Val really preaches flexibility to us, and we have to be ready for each game, whether that’s rain, shine, or snow.”

In fact, a few weeks ago, Valesente said continuous small snow showers forced the team in and out of the tunnel for the first two hours of a game.

But Valesente said he had his team mentally ready to play ball.

“It didn’t matter when, where or how we were playing. I’m always preaching to them, ‘You’ve got to be ready for sudden change and anything that might happen,'” Valesente said. “You have to be ready to weather that storm. You have to keep yourself mentally ready to play.”