Holmes keeps focus between the lines

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tyler Holmes opened the 2021 Interstate Collegiate Baseball League (ICBL) season mired in 4-for-19 slump.

That his batting average was the least of concerns was understandable considering off-the-field factors that were out of his control.

A decision made by the University of Hartford administration to drop its athletics program from Division I to Division III left Holmes (and his teammates) in limbo. For the first time in his young career, the catcher faced uncertainty when arriving at a baseball field.

“It’s been tough,” Holmes said. “For the first half of the summer I really truly thought we weren’t going to have a baseball team coming back in the fall, and I wasn’t going to be playing baseball if I went to Hartford. It was kinda tough for me coming to the baseball field thinking wow I possibly might not be playing for Hartford.”

The decision came after a vote in early May. While not a complete surprise, as Holmes and his teammates knew the change was being considered, the manner of communication was abrupt.

“Out of the blue,” he recalled.  “An email saying flat out the decision to move to D3 has been passed. The school board has passed it. Our coaches found out the same way that everybody else did. They didn’t get a phone call or a heads up the day before. Everybody heard from an email.”

In early March, the University of Hartford men’s basketball team clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The impact brought the university and community together.

“We were riding a wave,” Holmes said. “This was probably the closest knit our whole athletic community has been in a long time. They started ‘The Neighborhood.‘ The basketball team started this trend called ‘The Neighborhood.’ It just went through Hartford. The mayor announced a Hartford Men’s basketball day. The whole town was behind Hartford athletics.”

April 28th was Hartford Men’s Basketball Day. The administration announced its decision on May 6th. The basketball team had to avoid any positive COVID-19 results to remain eligible for sport’s biggest stage. Chances that the Hawks return to that stage seem bleak because of a decision out of the athletes’ control.

“I was pissed off. More than that, I was unsure about everything. I knew most of my teammates wanted to leave and transfer as soon as they heard that.”

The setbacks didn’t stop there.

Upon his return home, Holmes was informed that budget cuts also forced the university to drop his degree of study (Math/Secondary Education).

In a couple of short months, his athletic and scholastic careers had taken a dramatic shift.

Holmes will have the opportunity to graduate with a Math/Secondary Education certificate. He’ll be able to continue playing baseball at the Division I level through next season. Nothing beyond that is guaranteed.

It’s hard to imagine any faculty members in the area of Secondary Math turning down employment opportunities elsewhere. Division I scholarships will disappear for future players thus limiting the talent pool. The primary reasons Holmes chose the University of Hartford will be diminished at best.

“This is probably the toughest decision I’ve had to make in my life so far. It’s not only affecting my baseball. It’s affecting my education which at this point in my life is more important to me.

“I thought about it a lot, but I am going to go back at least for this first semester because I want to see how it goes. I’m invested in the school and the coaches that recruited me and wanted me. I want to represent Hartford, but they’ve shown me two times they really don’t have any interest in me athletically and the last two weeks they showed me that the school really doesn’t have any interest in my major academically.”

A two-time All-County selection at Fairport, Holmes hit .320 as a senior. He collected 16 hits, 17 walks and scored 14 runs. He verbally committed to Hartford in the summer prior to that senior year.

“The coaches are great guys,” Holmes said of his decision to attend the school. “They’re parents. It was a really good family vibe.”

Holmes appeared in four games making one start in the shortened 2020 season. He recorded his first collegiate hit and set a career high with seven putouts in a game. This past spring he made eight starts behind the plate finishing with an on-base percentage of .407 while registering 41 putouts and seven assists.

Those statistics may seem hollow when considering the larger picture.

“For the first half of the summer, there wasn’t any definitive information. We didn’t know who was coming back to the team. We didn’t know which coaches were staying or leaving. We didn’t know the status of our season in general.

“Going to the baseball field every day reminded me that I might not be able to go back to school and be able to play the sport I love and that I went to Hartford to play. That was the toughest mentally on me this whole summer. That nagging feeling that I might not be playing in the spring, a feeling of doubt for my future.”

Holmes and his Blue Jay teammates play the Ducks in the second round of the ICBL playoffs. A 7:30 p.m. first pitch is scheduled Tuesday night at Penfield’s Bachman Field. It’s a win and advance game in the double-elimination tournament as both teams lost their post-season openers.