With many of last season's top starters returning, Colby's baseball team has a strong nucleus to prepare for the 2005 campaign. The Mules were competitive in 2004 and have talented players ready to step up to the challenge in 2005.

Colby will be led by co-captains Rodney Ames '06, who was second on the team last year in batting average and RBI, and Tyler Hales '06, who will return to lead the pitching staff after battling arm problems most of 2004. Team Rookie of the Year Tom Salemy '07 led the team in many offensive categories last season and along with classmates Brian Liberty '07 and Andy Carr '07 returns after a solid first season with the Mules.

>Catching duties fall to Dan Lynch '05 and Steve Sandak '07 after the team lost Eric Roy '04, a two-time All-NESCAC selection, to graduation. The catchers will handle a pitching staff that features last year's starters Robert Rosenbaum '07 and Jordan Henry '07.. John Peet '07 and Robert Brady '07 combined for 28 appearances in relief last year, and Robert Jacobs '06 and John Michael Beitia '06 totaled another 17 appearances. Last season's pitching staff was young, and the experience and maturity it gained should lower the staff earned run average in 2005.

The Class of 2008 will bring increased depth and competitiveness to the team, with several top prospects added to the roster. The NESCAC, one of the strongest Division III baseball conferences in the East, will be as strong as ever as Colby vies for one of two playoff berths in the East Division. Colby opens the season with 10 games in Florida and then returns north for 12 league games and 10 non-conference contests.

Program Overview
Established in 1867, the Colby baseball program is one of the College's oldest varsity programs. Jack Coombs, a member of the Class of 1906, was Colby's first major league player and went on to a fine career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Coombs Field was completely renovated in 2001 and now possesses an in-ground sprinkler system, drainage, new bleachers, and dugouts. The composition of the field ensures the earliest possible opportunity to play.

The team is composed of approximately 25 players. Pre-season starts February 15, with players practicing in the spacious indoor field house until late March when the team takes its annual trip to Florida to compete in 10 games over spring break. Colby competes in the Eastern Division of the NESCAC and plays three-game series with Bates, Bowdoin, Trinity, and Tufts. The top two teams from the East Division play the top two teams from the West Division for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The Mules also play non-conference games against state rivals University of Maine and Southern Maine. League games are played on Fridays and Saturdays, and most weekday games are in state to ensure as little missed class time as possible.

Colby has had many outstanding players recognized with NESCAC All-Conference honors in recent years. Nick Spillane '08 was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year after hitting above .400 in his first year with the Mules. Second baseman Andrew Tripp '01, outfielder Jon Lord '02, and catcher Eric Roy '04 all were two-time selections, and Tripp and Lord each earned All-New England honors. Kevin Brunelle '02 was All-NESCAC, and Kristopher Keelty '99 went on to pitch professionally for two seasons for the independent league Adirondack Lumberjacks. Many of Colby's current players are active with summer baseball teams, and about one third of the team includes two-sport athletes.

Tom Dexter, Colby's head coach of 15 years, says, łThe program gives our student athletes a chance to compete in a great college baseball atmosphere while always keeping the academic mission of the College in focus.˛

About Coombs Field