Ben Brown has been instrumental in the baseball team’s success so far this season. He has only given up five runs all season and his pitching is continuing to improve. Ben is a right handed pitcher and a junior on the team. With a team record of 22-5, the season is proving to be very promising with such a strong team and an even stronger coaching staff behind them.
“Coach Militello helped me with a few things in my mechanics which has helped a lot this year,” Brown said.
He also says that Coach Militello’s help really improved his slider, which has ended up being a really big pitch in Brown’s arsenal. Brown doesn’t take all the credit, explaining that the top notch defense the team has also has contributed to the success of the team and of his pitching game.
When Brown was about 5 or 6 years old he started playing baseball in Winter Haven, FL. Being a Florida native has its benefits; training in the heat and all the hard work a players body endures in the sun is nothing new to Brown.
“A lot of my good friends played with me and that made it a lot of fun,” Brown said of his baseball career at home. Brown also said that his father had a lot to do with his start in baseball.
He agrees that his dad’s interest in the sport helped to fuel an interest of his own, and he never stopped playing.
When asked about the recent Florida Tech losses, Brown agreed that they were difficult. “Every loss is hard to swallow, but these were pretty tough since they were conference games. We just need to focus on the next game and not dwell on the losses too much,” Brown said.
The team is still 5-4 in its conference play despite the downfalls they had against Florida Tech.
In six of the games that Brown has been the starting pitcher, the team has only lost once; a 5-1 record for Brown with a lot of play left in the conference and the season.
The leadership on the team from the older players is really helpful for some of the newer guys.
Brown thinks that the coaches really put together a strong team with a good mix of returners and new players. He feels that with all the talent on the team and the strong leadership they have a great season ahead of them.
“If we play to our full potential I think we can win the whole thing,” Brown said.
The team certainly has great potential with all the players on the roster and such a deep pitching bench.
The team has a three-game conference series against Rollins this coming weekend and is looking to pull out all three wins to add to their conference ranking.
Brown will undoubtedly be pitching this weekend and hopefully with his improved slider and solid record, will help the team achieve a sweep against Rollins.
Rebecca Casey can be reached at rcasey@spartans.ut.edu.