Ben Rice’s sophomore season at Dartmouth College ended in a snap.
The catcher from Cohasset, Mass., and his Big Green teammates played just seven games before COVID-19 put an early end to Ivy League seasons. There was virtually no time for him to build upon his successful stint with the Worcester Bravehearts during the second half of last summer.
“Following the (spring) season’s cancellation, summer ball was really the big thing that everyone was going to have to prepare for,” said Rice, who’d helped the Bravehearts to the Futures Collegiate League championship in 2019, hitting .392 with seven doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI across 27 games.
“It was disappointing that even that was up in the air, so you just had to keep the mentality that everything would go according to plan,” he added. “When I got home I spent a lot of time working out, getting BP and throwing in, and just doing anything I could to stay ready.”
