The baseball team has had a slow start to the season with five out of eight games being canceled due to weather.

After the three games they played in Tampa, Florida at the start of the season, they are currently 1-2.

The team is currently ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll due to its success last season. The Eagles ended the season with a 49-13 record and won a national title.

Hoping to defend that title this season and be the first USI baseball team to win back to back championships, head coach Tracy Archuleta said the guys do have one large end goal.

“One of our end goals is to hopefully be able to defend our national championship and that’s a big goal for them,” he said. “But before that we still have to do all the little things.”

Kyle Kempf, a junior outfielder also named player to watch by Collegiate Baseball, is focusing on going to the finals again this season and helping his team win another championship.

“If I can help the team in any way to accomplish that goal, I’ll be doing everything I need to do,” he said.

The team lost its seniors from last season, so the players are focusing on how they can fill those holes.

Hamilton Carr, a junior outfielder, said they lost some strong arms but that is only making them work harder.

“This year, we really have to put a lot of emphasis on being able to manufacture runs,” Carr said. “We lost a lot of talented arms and while we still have some depth with pitching, I think, offensively, we will probably have to have our hitters step up.”

But after losing two games in Tampa, the No. 1 ranked team in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, Kempf talked about how the team is practicing its defense to become stronger as the season progresses. He said even though they made some errors those are things that can be fixed.

The Eagles may have not played many games, but Archuleta said he knows the team will have many obstacles to overcome as the season goes.

“Every year is different. We’re going to have different obstacles and different things to overcome,” Archuleta said. “I think as the season gets going, we will have to make adjustments and do things that will help us to get through the different obstacles that we will have to jump over.”

Archuleta has led the Eagles to two NCAA Division II national championships in his eight years with the team, and he’s eager to help this team win another one.

Focusing on each player’s strength will help the team win games Carr said.
“He’s a good coach and he does a good job finding what each player can bring to the table then improving on those skills to help them win some games,” Carr said.

The Eagles next opportunity on the field will be Friday, when the team is scheduled to begin the Dunn Hospitality Classic.