VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- A third Hampton Roads baseball program has joined Christopher Newport and Virginia Wesleyan as NCAA Division III teams in the 757.
Regent is taking the field for its inaugural season and has wasted no time winning. The Royals topped Virginia Peninsula Wednesday night, 13-3, to improve to 14-12 on the year. It's the kind of success that a first-year program doesn't always experience.
"We wouldn't be where we are right now if it wasn't for the players," head coach Brett Lindsay said. "They show up and they work incredibly hard every day, just from the top down."
The Royals opened the season in a big way, battling cross-town foe VWU in its first ever game back in February and playing the Marlins tough in a 10-9 loss in 10 innings. There were ups and downs as Regent began the campaign on a six-game losing streak, but saw things come together. A stretch of six victories in a row helped grow the win total and now the squad finds itself above .500 as it heads into the second half of the schedule.
Lindsay says part of the positive start has to do with his players taking the field with a chip on their shoulders.
"I think just guys not taking for granted this opportunity and kind of embracing the fact that we're kind of the island of misfit toys," the head coach said of his team's identity. "Guys that haven't been heavily recruited, but yet they rally around the fact that they've been doubted a little bit in that regard. They still show up every day. They work hard."
"It's built on adversity," added junior pitcher Will Maloney. "Coach Lindsay preaches that to us. We just try our best to overcome everything any day we can and we grow from everything that we've learned."
The Royals are competing in the Coast-to-Coast Conference this season, the same league that houses CNU. Regent and the Captains will square off in Newport News twice later this month.
There have been some milestone moments in the young history of the program. Freshman pitcher James Blotter hurled a no-hitter back on March 10 against Hood College to highlight some of those achievements. Maloney currently leads the conference with a 1.18 ERA and has four wins on his ledger thus far.
The accomplishments in year one will go a long way in building the foundation of the program, a building block in which these players and coaches are proud to play a role.
"They're building the culture, but also setting the standard," Lindsay noted. "They get to leave their fingerprints and their individuality on doing so and I think there's a lot of pride in that. They don't get to just show us and kind of fall under what's already been built. They get to build it themselves."
"Everything's a first," added Maloney. "First strikeout, first home run, first everything. It's just a lot of fun at this point."
Regent, which plays its home games at Landstown High School, will travel to Newport News for a doubleheader against Apprentice School this Friday beginning at 2 p.m.
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