COLLEGE BASEBALL: ‘Valley Boys’ go way beyond win-streak

TROY, N.Y. — The Hudson Valley Community College baseball team was off to its best start to a season through Tuesday since 1970, with a record of 17-1.

It all began with a split double-header in Washington, D.C., versus Anna Arundel College, in which HVCC, or ‘The Valley Boys’ as it reads across the hoodie of head coach Josh Parrow, would drop game two in extra innings.

From there, it was 16-straight wins for the Vikings – something that was understandably, hard to predict coming into a season. However, there was just something about that loss that stuck in the craw of the Vikings and fortunately for them, it paid off.

“I think it started with some of the guys talking to each other about what we should have done better and then we eventually figured it out right away that we just need to be more focused, especially in practice- that’s something we can’t take lightly, especially after a loss,” HVCC redshirt-freshman middle-infielder Matthew Carrera said. “Everyone took it a little bit personal.”

“It was the first time we’ve ever come back with a win from Anne Arundel, so we joked that, ‘we had a monkey on our back,’ when came back because we had never come back from and Anne Arundel with a win. So, we had a chance at possibly reaching our goals a little bit faster than we usually do around here, but our ultimate goal is to win a World Series and that was a really good sign right off the bat,” Parrow remarked.

“I think it’d be hard to say I expected to win 16 straight games. In baseball, that’s extremely hard to do. It’s hard to sweep a team. It’s hard to get, three games in a row; that’s why they call it streaking in baseball. But, I definitely expected them to be a good team. They have a great environment in the clubhouse, off the field, and on the field,” Parrow explained.

The streak happened far from in the blink of an eye, as to that point, the Vikings had only played in 18 of a possible 38 games, due to weather-induced cancellations and postponements. That aspect of the season was foreshadowed, with the initial two games being canceled vs. Anne Arundel due to the nation’s capital being stuck amid a snowstorm.

Part of what made the winning streak so special was it came with the Vikings’ averaging one game played across three days. The team found ways to stay loose, in rhythm, and unfathomably keep it going.

“We make a joke around here: ‘If there’s a party and Hudson Valley’s having it, adversity is the first person to walk through the door,'” Parrow said.

“It’s a lot of competition and credit to our coaches and their character; they like to compete. So, we keep a really good environment of competition when we go out to practice. If we get a game canceled, we have live at bats or we’ll go out in the field and play each other, or we’ll pick up a scrimmage from somebody. We’re constantly trying to create an environment where we’re competing and we’re keeping them very busy,” Parrow continued.

“We find ways to keep them busy beyond baseball,” he noted. “We’re very involved and that’s one thing we take a lot of pride in is- we don’t just do baseball things. We keep them really busy beyond that. So when they’re not competing, they’re giving back and they’re in the classroom.”

“We’re taking it one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time and we’ve done a pretty good job of that so far,” added freshman left-hander Hunter Stolov. “On weekends, like last weekend since all four of our games got canceled. We ended up doing a scrimmage with the team. Just keeping our bodies fresh, making sure what the hitters are seeing pitching, making sure the pitchers are seeing batters and just making sure we’re staying game ready.”

On Tuesday, the win streak came to its bitter end, as the Vikings were swept in a road doubleheader versus Cayuga Community College, by scores of 10-1 and 1-0. The 1970 Vikings squad, which made it to a three-game stint at the NJCAA World Series and was inducted into HVCC’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022, finished 25-3 overall, so this iteration remains on track.

Although it’s not the team they’re looking to match, but rather the destination and that is where the expectations come into play.

Last season ended for the Vikings in the NJCAA Region III Final Four, after a 27-19 campaign and winning 19 of their final 24 games. Whether on the team a year ago or not, there is a feeling of a little more than just belief that the ballclub can get back and farther.

“It definitely hasn’t been forgotten. It’s definitely something that is a motivating factor and it was a bar set each year. I’m very proud of our alumni and what we’ve built and those guys come back and they talk to them about their experience and not just about the losses, but the wins and what they’re doing in life…they do a really good job of communicating to them how hungry they should be and why they should stay hungry and humble and consistent throughout their work process every single day,” Parrow said. “These guys want to win, but there’s definitely a good vibe about them and a good buzz in the air.”

‘We heard how close they got last year and I want to be a part of something special,” added Stolov. “I know we got that in us and I’m just really excited for it to get going.”

The Vikings are organizing a three-headed assault on the diamond, with a pitching staff and defensive play that ranks inside the top five, and offense inside the top 10, despite having played nearly half as many games as the rest of the Region III field.

On the mound, the Vikings are second in earned-run-average (2.88), fourth in strikeouts through nine innings (11.32), and ninth in walks/hits per inning pitched (1.29).

“I knew we’d throw a lot of strikes. I was very confident in our ability to throw strikes and the depth we had of guys that can do that. We lost two great guys from last year – Jacob Lapham, from Lansingburgh, Luis Misla, who was a product of Tampa, Florida – both of those guys were definitely record-setters here at Hudson Valley and we knew we had to fill their shoes, but we wanted to fill those shoes with guys that threw strikes and gave us a chance to win every day,” Parrow said. “One thing we’re really proud of is just limiting our walks and giving our defense a chance to work because it’s truly a special defense.”

“I mean, it’s unbelievable, the pitchers so far this year. We are so comfortable with them, so we know that they’re gonna give us a good game, so we don’t really have that pressure as an offense,” added Carrera.

Leading the way on the bump is Stolov, who until Tuesday, was 4-0 with a .29 ERA and 33 strikeouts, through 34 innings pitched. Cayuga would bat the freshman, Florida native around for six runs on 10 hits across 3.1 innings.

“With pitching, it’s definitely all about confidence. I’ve always been doubted. I like to prove people wrong, but I’ve been trying my best to prepare myself for the season as best as I could. I took the Fall off, trained, and really built my body up to get ready for the season. I feel like that’s really what’s helped out with my success and definitely the team behind my back,” Stolov said. “Coming in, in the Spring, I felt all the love from everybody making me feel like I’ve been here for two years instead of four months and it’s just been a great time.”

Stolov has some quality, homegrown arms behind him, such as Scotia Glenville graduate, sophomore Andrew Wilson (4-0, 1.44), Greenwich graduate Jayden Hughes(2-0, 1.50), and Mohonasen graduate Jimmy Wilson (2-0, 1.13).

“One guy doesn’t have it, we know the next guy’s got our back and there’s no selfishness on this team. We’re all rooting for each other to do well and I think that translates onto the field because when you’re rooting your team to do well and you’re not being a ‘me’ guy, and it shows,” Stolov said. “It shows a lot and that’s hard to find sometimes.”

“They’re workhorses, they’re quiet, they’re humble, they throw strikes, they try to limit their walks, they don’t really care about striking guys out, they care about winning games and that’s why they’ve had so much success,” Parrow said.

Behind the mound, in the field, the Vikings rank number 2 in the NJCAA’s Region-III fielding percentage (.962).

“Our outfield flies, our infield can handle ground balls. We get to play at a beautiful [Joseph L. Bruno] stadium but the other facilities around the region are turf, so you get a lot of true hops and it’s a team that can definitely do the fundamental things very correct, day-in, day-out,” Parrow said. “That’s a compliment to our assistant coaches who work hard every single day to drill down their positions and make sure that they’re working on their daily routines and sticking to that.”

To back it all up, depending on which order you look at it, is an offense that slashes .358/.474/.518 with the sixth-fewest amount of strikeouts in the Region.

Carrera is paving the way for the Vikings at the plate, as through 55 at-bats he has notched 26 hits (.473) with 14 runs batted in. Freshman Brendan Connolly is also batting plus, .450 with 50-plus plate appearances and leads the team with 18 RBI.

“I was saying before, ‘this is by far the best hitting team I’ve ever been on. I mean, just top to bottom, even on the bench.’ There’s nobody here I wouldn’t be confident sending up to the plate in a big spot; we’re just a super talented group hitting-wise,’ Carrera said.

“Starts with picking each other up. I mean, we keep working day in and day out with the coaches and coaching staff and different drills every day just to like, keep the mind right and keep the swing. Right. It’s been working it,” Carrera noted.

Off the diamond, while as Parrow mentioned, the team is out in the community, the competition stays on high but friendly.

“MLB: The Show (video game), that’s a big thing we like to play together. It’s definitely a competition off the field, so we love that,” Carrera explained.

Next up the Vikings look to rebound from the unaccustomed losses with a four-game, home-and-home set with SUNY Adirondack, with a doubleheader on Thursday, in Queensbury, followed by a twin-bill on Saturday, in Troy.

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, HVCC came in at tenth on the most recent NJCAA poll, as announced on Monday.

“We know who we are. We try and block out everything around us. Try to keep a level head and it’s just been really fun,” Stolov added. “I know we’re going to keep it going and we have a really good shot at the World Series this year for sure.”