Matthew Reichert ’28
Staff Writer
Holy Cross won the 2025 Patriot League title and it seems it should be an extended resurgence: Patriot League Player of the Year CJ Erie (OF) is back; Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Jaden Wywoda is back; All-Patriot League players Gianni Royer (OF) and John LaFleur (OF) are back. The best players on the best team are returning, and with them it seems another championship should follow.
In many sports this logic would make sense but, in baseball, it cannot be relied upon. Leonardo DiCaprio as William Costigan in The Departed quotes Nathaniel Hawthorne: “Families are always rising and falling in America.” If this is accurate, then baseball is truly the American game; in no other sport is success so sudden and so transient.
In 1991, Cal Ripken Jr. was MVP; the next year he hit .251. In 2022, the Rangers lost 94 games; in 2023, they won the World Series. Army won six consecutive Patriot League titles, then they were swept by a team that hadn’t made a championship in seven years. In baseball, the sun can set quickly on any empire and, just as quickly, it can be morning again.
It is morning again in Worcester and this season we’ll find out if the dawn has just broken or if, in the words of Yogi Berra, it’s going to be “getting late early out here.”
I don’t expect it to get late too early, though. The northeastern teams typically spend the early part of their season on a southern swing to avoid February baseball in New England.
Last year, Holy Cross opened this tour with a three-game series against #21 Auburn. This year, to the victor goes the spoils and the Crusaders get to enjoy the privilege of warming up against VCU (17-37 last year) for the first four games and FIU (sixth place in CUSA) for the next four.
For all intents and purposes, the Holy Cross baseball season begins March 13th, which marks the beginning of Patriot League play. Holy Cross’ first series will feature the combined champions of the past eight Patriot League Tournaments when the Crusaders head to West Point and I do not know who will show up.
Literally speaking, I can deduce that the Army will probably be there. The Holy Cross baseball team is probably going to be there too, along with some relatives and at least 2 ½ fans who want to see Patriot League baseball in New York state while it’s still winter.
But, I don’t know which version of the Crusaders will show up. Last year, there were the champions and then there was the other team.
There were the champions that beat Army 12-1 in the final series and there was the team that gave up 23 runs in one inning. There were champions that allowed two runs to Auburn and there was the team that gave up 16 runs in back to back games to VMI and Binghamton.
The players were the same, the coach was the same, but week-to-week and even day-to-day the team could not be more different. Continuously, they rose and they fell. But, they ended up on top.
Will they stay there? I really have no idea. I have reasons to be hopeful, but I have reasons to be worried. And, every reason I have to be worried (the departure of players like Jimmy King, Connor Peek, and Chris Baillargeon or last year’s inconsistency) are reasons for some other team to be hopeful.
Earl Weaver once said that baseball is the greatest game in the world because “you’ve got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance.”
I think it’s the greatest game because every year, every player, and every team really
does have a chance. Last year, Holy Cross made good with theirs. I am excited for this year because until someone throws the ball over the plate, I won’t know if they can again.
Feature image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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