Published: April 1, 2010

Fordham’s baseball team has started off the season with an underwhelming 4-14 record. However, there have been many bright spots on this team that has yet to reach its potential. At catcher, Chris Walker, FCRH ’11 and Angelo Ponte, FCRH ’10, provide twice the talent.

Before the start of the season, both players were in contention for the team’s starting catcher role. The situation was settled with the team finding a way to utilize both of the player’s abilities. To this point, Walker has played DH in nine games and caught in eight, while Ponte has been the DH in 4 games and started behind the plate in nine.

“I never looked at it as a battle for the spot,” said Ponte. “Walker and I are good friends that always help each other become better on and off the field. Our playing time is something we both care about but don’t stress.”

Walker said, “The competition makes you work harder and focus harder. You have to work for the spot and not just be given it. There is a level of friendly competition but we are very supportive of each other. I’ve known Angelo for three years and we always help support each other in any way.”

Both players admit they would prefer to catch everyday, though the rotation has become normal. “I’m used to it,” Walker said. “You just come everyday ready to play.”

The rotational approach to catching does have its advantages, namely, that both bats are in the lineup. Walker’s .377 batting average and 16 RBI lead the team, while Ponte is batting .283 and has knocked in a second best nine RBI in fewer games.

Neither player cares much for following their own numbers, though. “Stats don’t matter to me much,” Ponte said. “Once our team gets rolling and the number of wins goes up in our win column, I will be happy.”

Prior to the start of the season, Ponte and Walker had very high expectations for a team loaded with talent. “My expectations coming into this season were to win the [Atlantic 10],” Ponte said. “I feel our team has a lot of potential and once we all meshed we would undoubtedly succeed.”

Walker said, “The goal was for the team to win as many games as possible, win the A-10 tournament, and make it to the NCAA tournament.”

Despite the 4-14 start, both players feel that this team has the ability to beat any team in the country. “Our record at this point does not show how good we are,” Ponte said. “We played some of the country’s top teams in order to prepare for conference.”

Each player has the same opinion of the direction that the team is headed in. They feel that the team needs to learn to play well on all cylinders. On some days the pitching does really well and other days the hitting is great. “It all about improving piecing it all together,” Walker said. “We need to all be on the same page.”