The 2021 Rams Reflect is the sixth in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Andrew Ashworth | Hometown: Nashua, N.H. | Finance
What would I do without baseball? That is the question I am searching for today, tomorrow and onward. Not just the act of playing baseball, being at the field for countless hours or spending time with friends, but what is a life that is not controlled chaos? Running from place to place with a busy schedule is all I’ve known for 22 years and now what do I do with all this time on my hands?
Growing up, baseball was everything to me. Dawn to dusk, I was either playing, watching, learning or dreaming about baseball. From the young age of 6 until now at 22 years old, baseball has been a world I can escape to whether it be a simple game of catch or just tossing on a baseball game to watch. Baseball was a realm of comfort and normality that seemed to never end, until now.
I am thankful for the memories baseball has brought and more importantly the relationships that have been built. Day-after-day on the second floor of Ridgeway is something I cannot ever forget and cherish immensely. There was never a dull moment with teammates at Ridgeway, East Boston Memorial or anywhere for that matter. When you bring together 30-plus guys year-after-year and allow them to spend countless hours together there is something special that is fostered. Comradery is the easy word to attach in this case, but even that does not fully encompass the lifelong connections that are built at Suffolk University.
Adversity is something that is preached as a Mutt and for good reason. Every day at East Boston Memorial was different and memorable, but it is what gives Suffolk University Baseball a resilient backbone. From putting up blown down fences on a windy day to having soccer balls constantly kicked onto the field. Playing baseball in East Boston is something that teaches you many lessons.
Sports, in general, will teach you many life lessons. They teach you what it takes to be successful, how to handle different types of people, what to do when you get knocked down and much more. All of these lessons are bigger than sports and it wasn’t until freshman year at Suffolk University when I realized their true power.
My story is different than most and I am grateful for the lessons I have learned. Being knocked down by injury after injury is something all too common to me. Tricep, shoulder, thumb and eye the list goes on. Every day was a new challenge and tackling that with my teammates by my side was something I loved. It made the tough times easier to have a band of brothers working towards one common goal of winning. I hope to have left an impact on how anyone can be a good teammate no matter the circumstances. Everyone can impact a game without stepping foot between the foul lines and that is something I worked to achieve every day.
I want to thank Coach Del Prete for giving me the opportunity to play baseball at Suffolk University and sticking with me through every hardship. I want to thank my parents for being as supportive as possible and instilling the values in me at a young age to make the most of every opportunity.
Finally, I want to thank my teammates for countless memories and bonds that will never age. It is bittersweet to be closing this chapter of my life, but I am excited for what the future now holds and thankful for my four years at Suffolk University.
Thank you and go Mutts,
Andrew Ashworth