IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- Samuel Vega had his first season as head baseball coach at Ellsworth cut short after 20 games when the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread across the nation last year.  Vega's second team played 58 games this spring, thanks to dedication and vigilance by the coaches and players and lots of hard work.  And the ECC coach is already looking ahead to the 2021-22 academic year as things continue to get back to normal and the Panthers program can keep growing.

The list of accomplishments for the Panthers is a long one -- areas and stats where they showed marked improvement -- and it includes their 20 wins, double the number before Vega and his staff arrived in Iowa Falls.  Ellsworth won two conference series for the first time since 2014 and swept a NJCAA Division I team (four-game series with Southwestern CC) for the first time in at least 15 years.  The Panthers received votes for a NJCAA national ranking early in the season and claimed a win against Iowa Central, which was nationally-ranked at the time.

Vega said he's proud of what his team did off the field and it began even before the season got underway.  "COVID was something that everyone had to deal with and we did a fantastic job," Vega said.  "It wasn't easy and we sure had to do things we weren't used to, but our guys just wanted to play the game they love.  The mentality was more of whatever it takes to get better every day and compete.  I couldn't be more proud of the way the guys handled everything."

The Panthers put up some impressive numbers, especially on offense.  Nationally, they were 8th in doubles and 9th in walks.  Their 43 home runs ranked 3rd in the ICCAC and the team batting average improved by 26 points.  The squad's on-base percentage was .375 and the slugging percentage was .403.  The pitching staff helped the team ERA drop by over two runs and the fielding percentage went up nearly 15 percentage points and was 3rd in the conference.  The Panthers boasted the league's defensive Player of the Year in TJ Truso.

"I'm a firm believer that stats don't lie," explained Vega.  "The fact we were able to improve in every offensive and defensive category this year tells us that we are heading in the right direction.  Our goal isn't to move up in the conference, our goal is to continue to get better every single day and to compete to the best of our abilities.  If we do that we will be in a better spot next year."

The Panthers did a solid job in the classroom this year, something that their coach said makes him very proud.  "Saying that we had 27 student-athletes that were named Academic All-Conference is a big deal.  We need to continue the good work in the classroom, after all that's more important than anything we can do on the field."

Now that he's had a chance to reflect on the season, Vega is anxious to keep the momentum going.  "We still have a long way to go but the future is bright for ECC baseball," he said.  "This summer the focus will be to bring in THE RIGHT student-athletes.  Work ethic and the way we go about things this fall will dictate the future for us so as coaches we need to make sure we find the right guys." 

Vega encourages any player with an interest in being a part of the baseball resurgence at Ellsworth to contact him at the college.