Roots returns to the diamond for senior season

by AMANDA SHEWARD

Staff Writer

At the onset of baseball season on Feb. 10, Noah Roots, a senior business administration major, pulled his hamstring at bat. Nevertheless, through dedicated work and training, Roots has recovered from his injury and returned to showcase his skills on the diamond as a first baseman. 

Roots was on crutches for a week and then rehabilitation for two weeks, which included dry needling and strengthening. Kimlonte Morris Jr., commonly known as “Coach Kim,” is UMW’s strength and conditioning director who helped Roots with his strength lifting by modifying his training. 

“We have modified some things for his lower body to include lower impact [exercises] and less direct work on the hamstring,” said Morris.

Despite his injury, Roots epitomizes the image of athleticism. 

“As an athlete, Noah passes the eye test. He has the build and strength of a top-tier athlete,” said Morris. “On the field, he displays his talents with a powerful swing, efficient infield play and quick decision-making.” 

Mary Washington’s baseball team has been playing strong. Over 24 games, they’ve won 18, hit five home runs and are on base 41.9% of the time, according to UMW Athletics.

But Roots holds himself and the team to a higher standard than winning or other arbitrary statistics. Even though the team swept the plate in all of their games over the March 23–24 weekend, Roots said, “We agreed as a team that we didn’t play that well.”

On March 27, UMW Men’s Baseball played an away game against Bridgewater College. The game went into two extra innings as they were tied 4–4 by the end of the ninth inning, and Mary Washington fell short, losing by just one run in the end. 

On March 29, UMW baseball had a makeup game against Randolph-Macon College. The team was up 5–0 in the third inning but ultimately lost 10–6. According to Roots, the game was one of the worst losses of his career.

During their following game on March 30, the team had a home game against Salisbury University—one of the Eagle’s toughest rivals. Since UMW did not play well in their previous games, they had even more motivation to take home the win. 

The game was remarkably close at the end, but the Eagles won 11–9. It was the first game that a team scored more than 10 runs against Salisbury this season, and the win also marked the first win against Salisbury in eight years.

In all, Roots’ talent on the field doesn’t stay on the plate since he incorporates excellence into his social life as well—particularly with his teammates.

“He is down to earth, has a great personality and engages with any and everyone he is around. He keeps a positive attitude and always has something funny to say,” said Morris.

Furthermore, Griffin Graham, a junior economics major and pitcher on the team, sees Roots as a great model to the underclassmen, noting that his presence will be missed after he graduates. 

“What I’m going to miss the most when he’s not here next year is his leadership in the weight room,” said Graham. “Teammates see the work he puts in during lifts, and it motivates guys to step up to that level. We’re also going to miss not having him daily. We’re a family first on this team and not having him around is going to be sad.” 

Even with a torn hamstring early in the season, Roots still looks forward to the conference and the NCAA tournaments. 

He said, “The season’s been good. The team is winning a lot of games and we are excited to get into conference play towards the back half of our season.”