Spring is in the air. Despite snowdrifts, late-night sled runs down Memorial Hill and class cancellations, winter is over, at least as far as sports are concerned, and it's time to start thinking baseball. Baseball is not a game that is usually played in the snow. The world would be a lot different had Brooklyn Dodger great Willie Mays run into a snowdrift while tracking down Vic Wertz's blast in the 1956 World Series. So, to avoid the snow and to get out of the gym, the baseball team will be taking its annual trip down to Ft. Myers, Fla., this spring break. Down south, the Jeffs will play 10 games before returning to Amherst to begin what promises to be a strong 2001 campaign.

The Jeffs have a long history of both team and individual success. Aside from winning the first intercollegiate baseball game by a 73-32 score over Williams College in 1859, since 1966 Amherst has won 611 games and posted close to a 70 percent winning percentage. Two Amherst players, Rich Thompson '80 and John Cerutti '82, played in the major leagues, and last year third baseman Hugh Quattlebaum '00 was drafted by the Detroit Tigers.

After finishing the 2000 season 19-10, this year's squad goals includes reaching the NCAA Tournament. The Jeffs enter the season having lost three top hitters in Quattlebaum (.422), Tim Kepner '00 (.371), and Jim Hochrein '01 (.367), who is out for the season due to illness. Despite the loss of these key offensive forces from last season, Head Coach Bill Thurston is confident that his team will be "competitive."

The Jeffs are led by senior Co-captains left fielder Dave Siegle '01 and pitcher Kevin Downes '01, and by seniors Ryan Whitmarsh, who will take the hot spot at third for the Jeffs, and veteran shortstop Jordan Krall. All four seniors will play key roles in determining the success of the Jeffs this season.

These seniors will also have the fortunate task of directing a roster of 30 players, including nine freshmen. Downes sees the size of the team as adding strength to a lot of talent. Both Downes and Thurston noted rookie pitchers Andy Kerns '04 and Duncan Webb '04 as players who will make an immediate impact on the team.

Pitching has traditionally been a strong point for the Jeffs and will continue to be so this year. Downes returns as the number-one starter following a phenomenal junior season, in which he went 9-1 with a jaw-dropping ERA of 1.36 with 85 strikeouts in 72 innings. He also won honors as a Second Team All-American, as well as being named a member of the NESCAC First Team.

Unfortunately, Downes has suffered from shoulder problems recently and did not play in the team's last scrimmage against the University of Massachusetts.

"Any time you lose a number one it's a big loss for the team. The number two, three and four then all have to step up," said Thurston.

Going into Ft. Myers, that expectation includes hurlers Dave Krauser '02, Jonah Ansell '03 and Kerns, as well as Jeff Leduc '02 and Webb. Downes is confident that, no matter what his situation, the depth and strength of Amherst's pitching will continue to be the team's primary asset.

In the outfield Siegle, who provided a strong bat for the Jeffs last season-hitting .371 while knocking in 23 runs in 105 at bats-will be accompanied by Jarrett Solomon '03 and Devin Haran '03, who returns to the Jeffs after missing most of last year due to injury. Solomon, who had three runs and three RBI while hitting .214 in 14 at bats last year, will be called on to play a much more prominent role to begin the spring, replacing John Schneider '03, who played all 30 games in center field last year, and who recently suffered a bad ankle sprain.

Krall, an excellent shortstop who drove in 22 runs while hitting .333, will be the key to an Amherst defense that should win some games for the club this season. Whitmarsh, who led the team in home runs (four) and RBI (26) while hitting .341, will join Krall on the left side of the infield. John Brody '02, a dangerous weapon on the base paths and an agile defenseman, will play second base for the Jeffs. Sophomores Joe Katuska, Brett Nicol and Josh Sadlier will vie for time at first to replace Miles and Hochrein, and catcher J.R. Drabick '02, who hit .305 last season with eight RBI and 21 runs scored, will return behind the plate to backstop the Jeff defense.

Offensively, Amherst will look to put men on base and manufacture runs. Brody will likely lead off for the Jeffs, "a catalyst," as Thurston calls him, for an offense lacking power. Siegle and Whitmarsh should be the two big guns for Amherst, and although the Jeffs are not a power-hitting team, Thurston will look to Whitmarsh to drive in runs.

Defensively, the Jeffs will be led by Krall and a strong team up the middle. The strength of the middle infield, combined with Drabick behind the plate and a strong pitching staff, should lead the Jeffs to victory.

Not a single fly ball has been hit, but the Jeffs are already heading into the spring season. In three scrimmages with Division I UMass, the Jeffs have fared well, and they plan to make a good showing in Florida before returning north. When the Jeffs arrive back in Amherst, along with the rest of the campus after break, red clay and freshly trimmed grass will hopefully await them as their season promises to be a strong campaign in the tradition of Amherst baseball.