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St. Joe's baseball secures second seed in A-10 Tournament

Hawks head to St. Louis for the postseason after a strong regular season.

THE SAINT Joseph's baseball team started its last series of the regular season against Massachusetts last Thursday afternoon. In the bottom of the third inning, Chris Hueth connected with a pitch and sent it way over the fence and across Latchs Lane, which rests beyond the leftfield fence. It was cited as the longest home run ever hit at Smithson Field.

Hueth's blast could serve as a metaphor for the Hawks' 2014 campaign. They have hit it out of the park in a way never seen on City Avenue.

Saint Joseph's has had its best year in program history, finishing the regular season at 33-14. They went 18-8 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, securing the second seed in the double-elimination A-10 Tournament, which starts tomorrow. The Hawks play seventh-seeded Fordham (23-28, 13-14) at 2:30 p.m. in St. Louis.

A lot has changed even from last season for the Hawks. They finished last year 26-26 and missed the A-10 Tournament. The change did not come from new players, but from newfound chemistry between returning players.

"We have become more of a family over the course of the year," catcher Brian O'Keefe said. "My freshman year, there were a lot of individuals. Even last year there were a lot of individuals. At times, I was that way where you played for yourself. Everyone has each other's back and it is really a family atmosphere now, and I think that is the difference."

"This is the closest group of guys I have ever played with ever in my baseball career," pitcher Jordan Carter said. "Everyone is looking out for each other. Pitchers are picking up the hitters when they struggle. Hitters are picking up the pitchers when they struggle. It is a great feeling."

Both the hitting and the pitching this year has been outstanding for the Hawks. Carter and fellow senior Daniel Thorpe have combined for a 19-4 record. Carter, who won 10 games in the regular season, holds the school record for wins in a season.

At the plate, St. Joe's has six regulars batting over .300, with Collin Forgey leading the way with a .368 average. Whether it is on the mound or in the batter's box, the Hawks find ways to get it done.

"The reason we are successful with that is that on any given day, you don't know who it is going to be, but one guy in that family is going to pick somebody else up. That is really special," O'Keefe said.

The family atmosphere has created success, but the groundwork for this year was laid even before the team's seniors arrived on Hawk Hill.

Six years ago, St. Joe's finished up an 18-34 season, with the outlook seemingly bleak. The athletic department decided to bring in head coach Fritz Hamburg to turn the program around. He came from the United States Military Academy, and brought some of those values with him.

"It is important to lay the foundation of being disciplined and accountable and being hard-nosed and doing the right things off the field, doing the right thing when nobody is watching," Hamburg said.

The concept of accountability is something that has washed over the team, especially this season. It started in the preseason, and has kept the team together ever since.

"Everyone on the team is accountable for everything that we do as far as their work ethic," Carter said. "You don't have to tell people what to do; everyone knows what is expected and what they need to do to succeed on this team and be a part of this team. Everyone is really fighting to keep that."

Aside from the change in attitude from the players and coaches, there were changes on the surface as well. Smithson Field was built in 2010, giving St. Joe's a field on campus for the first time. The seniors on the team had played everywhere from Camden to the Main Line before getting a home on campus.

"It not only helps our team but it helps recruiting," Carter said. "It helps the program going in an upward spiral. We feel so blessed, especially the seniors who have experienced Campbell's and experienced Haverford, to have our own field on campus."

The changes, both with the field and the product on it, have vaulted St. Joe's into the A-10 spotlight. It may seem sudden, but it was all a part of the vision Hamburg had when he signed on to coach the Hawks.

"I wanted this program to become the program of Philadelphia," Hamburg said. "I thought in due time we wanted to be the program of the Atlantic 10 and then the Northeast that people recognize as a great program, a great place to get an education."

Hamburg and the Hawks have hit this year out of the park, but they are not done yet.