Army West Point Athletics
Dan Pluff Diary
May 02, 2006 | General
Dan Pluff Diary
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May 2, 2006 |
Throughout his career at West Point, senior Dan Pluff has appeared in more games than any pitcher in the history of Army’s baseball program.
The bullpen specialist will add to his workload this spring, documenting Army’s baseball season through regular online journal entries that will appear on Army’s official Web site at www.goARMYsports.com.
Army’s career leader in pitching appearances and relief appearances, Pluff also ranks among Army’s career leaders in saves and will graduate later this spring as one of the finest relievers in Army history.
Be sure to check back regularly to gain his insights as the Black Knights attempt to claim their third straight Patriot League championship.
May 2, 2006
When this season started, everyone knew it was going to be a difficult task for us to repeat as Patriot League champions for a third straight year. What we didn’t envision was us sitting at West Point May 14-15 while three other teams are playing for the NCAA regional berth. It’s still kind of a shock to everyone that it happened, but when it’s all said and done, I think a good team is going to represent the Patriot League this year in the regionals. All three of the teams in the tournament have a lot of talent on their squads. I’m not going to make any predictions about who is going to win, but I’d like to wish them all luck and I hope that the winner makes a solid run during the NCAAs. The level of play in the league has increased tremendously since I was a freshman, so hopefully that continues.
Of course the team is disappointed that we aren’t in the postseason, but we still had a good year in my mind. We started five or six freshmen or sophomores every game this season, which will pay huge dividends for the next couple of years. That was the case my freshman year, and look what happened the two years after that. Coach Sottolano definitely has a long-term plan for this program, and he’s proven before that it works. Let’s face it, the departure of my class isn’t going to hurt the team nearly as much as last year’s class did. The bullpen takes the largest hit, but there are plenty of quality arms to fill the roles that Monte and I did for the last four years. Jeremy Stache was also a four-year starter, but Coach has several options already in the program that can fill his spot after graduation. The talent level in the program is tremendous, and I am sure that they will be back on top of the Patriot League next season.
Before we get worried about all of that, we still have five more games left to play. We play St. Peter’s at home on Wednesday, New York Tech at home on Friday and Sunday, and we finish the year at home against Stony Brook on Tuesday the 9th. We’re four wins away from our third straight 30 win season, so come on out, we would really appreciate your support!
I likely won’t get a chance to write any more diaries. I appreciate the kind words I’ve had about all of these, so thank you! Although I won’t be writing any more, I’ll try to “toe the rubber” a few more times before next Tuesday is over.
GO ARMY!
-Pluffer
