The Hilbert College baseball team is getting ready to start their 2021 season, with the  team hungry to start playing games again after their 2020 season was ended short due to the Covid 19 pandemic that took the world by surprise.

The season is set to kick off March 9^th at D’youville college, in a doubleheader. The team has been practicing for about a month now and is doing its best to make sure they are prepared for the upcoming game and season while still dealing with protocols in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Hilbert College Head Baseball Coach, Drew Fittry, said the team has been preparing for the season despite the challenged that covid protocols present.

“Covid made it tough for a lot of teams to prepare the right way,” Fittry said. “We have done a great job adapting and we are in a better spot than the Pennsylvania schools in our conference because we got to start practicing almost a month before them due to Covid.”

Covid has brought many challenges to the college sports world but the Hawks have had better opportunity to gear up for the season because of the different restrictions by certain states.

The team has a set of goals lined up for their upcoming season, hoping to make history within the Hawks Athletic program, and believe they have a great chance to do so, Fittry said.

“We need to take baby steps throughout the season and make sure were doing the little things right,” he said. “I want to make it to the postseason and make a run there, we have a great group of guys and a great chance of achieving this goal.”

The Hilbert baseball team would make program history by winning an AMCC postseason game this year. Out of the 17 years that the baseball team has been in the AMCC, they have not won a postseason game, but the coach and his players believe they have a great shot to win one this season.

This season for the Hawks baseball team will take a lot of work to get through. The games early in the season will have to be planned around the snow and rain typical to a Buffalo spring. Also, there are many Covid regulations that the team has to follow like testing the whole team when they play a school in Pennsylvania. On top of all of this, the team has to remain focused and shut out distractions in order to reach their goal of being at the top of the Alleghany Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Still, Michael Contini, a pitcher on the team said he sees this year as a great opportunity. “We have a great group of guys with a lot of talent, as long as we work hard and play up to the standards that we know we are capable of, we will have a great season,” Contini said.

Editor’s Note: Zack Panfil, the article’s author, is a member of the Hilbert baseball team