JOHNSTOWN – The Raiders baseball team is ready for Opening Day. The 2014 season is set to open with a four-game series this coming weekend in Maryland.
The FM Nine has been practicing intensely in the main gym and in the Fitness Center. Now they are ready to take their game outdoors and play ball. They are ready to head to Maryland for their first weekend of play, and then they will travel to Virginia and North Carolina for a week of games during FM's spring break.
Photo: Head Coach Dave Hennessey addressing the team in a recent practice session
The Raiders' opponent this weekend will be the Division-II Seahawks of Cecil College. Cecil College is located in the town of North East, Maryland, which is about halfway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Fulton-Montgomery is a Division-III school, but it's always a good challenge to play teams from a higher division. FM's "southern schedule" includes eight games with D-II opponents.
The "northern schedule" is slated to begin on March 29 and 30, with a weekend series with conference foe Clinton CC. Eight teams are competing in the Mountain Valley Conference this season: Adirondack, Clinton, Columbia-Greene, FM, Herkimer, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, and Schenectady.
FM's schedule also includes some non-conference games. The postseason schedule features sub-regional games followed by the Region 3 tournament on the third weekend of May. The Raiders' clear goal is to qualify for the regional tourney. The regional champion will go on to the national final-eight tournament in Texas.
Photos: Raiders working on their batting skills
This website will post game reports on as many of the games as possible. Fans who choose to travel to away games will see an interesting variety of stadiums. Columbia-Greene, Herkimer, and Hudson Valley have good ball diamonds on their campuses. Adirondack, non-conference foe Jefferson, and Mohawk Valley play their games in ballyards formerly used by minor league teams. Adirondack plays at East Field in Glens Falls, Jefferson calls nearby Duffy Fairgrounds home, and Mohawk Valley hosts their games at Utica's Murnane Field.
Raiders fans will also, of course, enjoy the home games. FM's field has full, professional-size dimensions, but it also has more spacious foul territory than most fields. That extra area gives infielders more chances to make plays.
The 2014 Raiders' roster has a good blend of first- and second-year players. At least a dozen of those players can step onto the mound, which is good because the schedule demands a fairly large pitching corps. The only categorical shortage is left-handed batters. One of the two non-pitchers who bat from the left side is sophomore Gregory Ruddy, who bats left but throws right and is expected to see a lot of playing time at shortstop.
There is still plenty of snow on the FM ballyard, but FM fans are hoping for a timely melt and a chance to see the Blue & White play their first home game on Sunday, March 30.
C.J. Bonny, website writer
