Jennifer Hoffer – Sports Editor
After coming off a win against their rivals, University of New Haven, last week, the Owls took to the field to battle Saint Anselm this weekend.
Although the team has struggled so far, being 7-9-1, Joe Breen said that he likes what he sees in this team.
“The season is still young,” Breen said. “I have really liked the way the team has become a family. On every good team I have been on, the camaraderie and chemistry has always been extremely good.”
Over the course of the games that the team has had already, Breen said he knows there is room for improvement.
“There are many aspects that we can improve on,” Breen said. “Most of which I believe will happen as the season wears on. The one that really sticks in my mind is our two-strike hitting approach.”
Not only has the team struggled, but Breen said that he has been working on his hitting over the past few games.
“Personally, I have struggled chasing pitches outside of the strike zone,” Breen said. “So I am really trying to be more patient at the plate.”
Breen has been playing baseball since he was six years old, and has been playing ever since.
Breen said that his high school experience at Nashua North in New Hampshire, was an awesome time of his baseball career.
“High school baseball was, overall, incredible for me,” Breen said.
“We always had a competitive team and capped it off by winning the New Hampshire Class L state championship my senior year.
Breen said that transitioning from high school baseball to college baseball was a challenging one, but Southern made it an easy choice for him when he was choosing where he wanted to play.
“I wanted to get away from home, but at the same time stay within the driving distance,” Breen said. “Also, the guys on the team during my recruiting visit made me already feel like a part of the team.”
Breen said the one thing he enjoys about this team is not only that they are extremely talented, but also the team camaraderie is one of a kind.
“I love how great the team is,” Breen said. “I can’t imagine any other team being as much of a family as we are.”
Over the course of the three years that Breen has been playing here at Southern, he said that he has seen improvements in the team and his individual playing.
“As a team we’ve worked really hard in the conditioning aspect and the team is in the best physical shape since I’ve been here,” Breen said.
Individually, Breen said that he has been working incredibly hard at becoming more athletic.
“That is something I take great pride in,” Breen said. “The baseball improvements just seemed to follow.”
Breen said because the team is so close and so talented, choosing a favorite game and thrilling moment is a hard decision for him.
But he said that one that sticks out to him the most was hitting back-to-back homeruns with teammate T.J. Shea.
“It was the first time either of us had done that,” Breen said. “So that was awesome, and probably the reason why I’ll always remember that moment.”
Not only has the game been a challenge for Breen, but he said adjusting to the schedule and managing time for schoolwork has taken him some time to get used to.
“Playing baseball is like having a full time job, and then some, on top of schoolwork,” Breen said. “It’s hard to balance it all out. But I have always had a busy schedule so I learned from early on how to manage my time wisely.”
Overall Breen said that playing baseball is just a rewarding thing for him.
“It makes me forget everything else that is going on in my life and in the world,” Breen said. “And it’s a good way to fuel my competitive spirit.”
He said it’s the most rewarding when you work so hard all year, and see the team improve because it makes it all worthwhile.
“Working hard all year with the same group of guys and then finally seeing the improvements that individual players, and the team, have made during the season,” Breen said.
As for the rest of the season, Breen said the goal is to get to the post-season, just like every year, keep working hard and improving on all aspects of the game.
Yasiel Puig, a player of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is someone that Breen looks up to, not only because of his talent, but because of his attitude towards the game too.
“He just seems to have so much fun while playing the game,” Breen said. “When the game gets too serious, it’s hard to have fun and a lot of players forget that it is a GAME and it is supposed to be fun over anything else.”
