Fall report: Holy Cross counting on Austin Masel, newcomers

Junior Liam Dvorak had 83 strikeouts last spring — the most by a Holy Cross pitcher since 1925. (Varsity Vantage Photography)

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in an offseason series profiling the region’s Division 1 baseball programs.

The fall is an important time of year for every Division 1 baseball program.

At the College of the Holy Cross, it’s a time to help get a 10-member freshman class get up to speed with the game at an advanced level and to watch returning players take the field together for the first time since last season’s Patriot League tournament.

Important steps toward the Feb. 14 season opener at South Carolina are made in the fall. More will be made in the coming months as the regular destination becomes the weight room rather than the diamond. As important as the fall is in building to start of the season, though, nothing compares to the real thing.