After missing the last two seasons because of the COVID-19 pandemic, four Dartmouth College baseball players are back in regular action in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer.
Big Green junior pitcher Trystan Sarcone is playing for the Danbury Westerners. Sophomore infielder Max Zajec is with the North Shore Navigators. Senior pitcher Cole Roland plays for the Vermont Mountaineers, and senior pitcher Justin Murray is with the Winnipesaukee Muskrats.
With all the time they had away from the field, simply being out there on the diamond every day is a victory.
“The best part is just being able to play competitive baseball again on a regular basis,” Murray said. “Obviously, it’s been forever since we — Ivy League athletes — have gotten to play competitively, so I think that’s the best part.
“It took a little bit of an adjustment period to get used to being in competitive situations on the field. But it’s just great to be back out there playing on an everyday basis again.”
Murray has thrown 13⅔ innings in six games for Winnipesaukee. He’s pitched to a 4.61 ERA on 13 hits and three walks with 14 strikeouts.
He said one of his primary goals for this summer is just building up innings on the mound. He’s also working on improving his velocity and fine-tuning his pitch arsenal.
Sarcone has made four appearances so far for the Westerners. In five innings, he’s given up seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Zajec, who has not yet suited up for Dartmouth, has recorded only 13 at-bats for the Navigators thus far. He’s put up one hit and three walks.
Roland has also never played a game for the Big Green — he missed his freshman season with an injury, and he didn’t get into a game in 2020 before the season was called off. He’s having a solid season so far for the Mountaineers, however. In his 11⅓ innings of work during eight appearances, he’s surrendered just one earned run on six hits and seven walks with 22 strikeouts. He’s also earned a pair of saves and was named the NECBL’s pitcher of the week in mid-June.
Like Murray, Roland is focused on getting experience. He called it unbelievable to once again be playing ball regularly.
“It’s honestly like a dream come true, with all of the hard work that we all put in and not been able to show it on the field the past few years, like everyone in the Ivy League,” Roland said. “I have two Harvard kids and then a Penn kid on my team. So just all of us not being able to play, it’s just awesome for all of us to show all the work we’ve actually put in.”
Roland, Zajec and Murray all play in the NECBL’s Northern Division, so their teams square off regularly. Sarcone, in the Southern Division, won’t play his Dartmouth teammates this summer.
Murray said it’s fun getting to see his Big Green peers in the opposing dugout. He’s enjoyed going up against Roland, his Dartmouth classmate as well as teammate, and one of his good friends.
“It’s fun to see him,” Murray said. “You get to chat him up before the game, like during batting practice. So it’s pretty relaxed, and kind of like a minor league feel, almost, where I can go hang out in the outfield, have conversations with him or Max Zajec. So yeah, it’s really cool to play against them.”
All four players are in their first seasons in the NECBL. Sarcone did play for North Shore in 2019, but the Navigators were in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League that season.
Murray has enjoyed the higher level of competition in the NECBL compared with the summer leagues he’s competed in previously. He said he’s liked going up against players from different colleges across the country and picking things up from them.
Roland echoed the latter sentiment. But with his first and last season playing for Dartmouth on the horizon, just getting regular game action at all is the biggest thing for him.
“I’ve loved the opportunity to be out here just because it’s been three years since I’ve really pitched in a game,” Roland said. “So I’m really happy to be able to do this.”
Seth Tow can be contacted at stow@vnews.com.