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Scots fill preseason needs with recruits and veterans
Release Date:
March 1, 2009
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
After
finishing a disappointing 9-24 last year, Monmouth College baseball
coach Roger Sander had two options: 1) hope his returning senior
pitching staff made themselves better, or 2) get a really good
recruiting class.
“I feel like I won
the lottery,” said Sander. “I challenged the senior pitchers to get
better and they did that. We also got a great recruiting class. On
paper, it’s a great freshman class, but they’ll still have to prove
it.”
If Sander gets the
kind of pitching he’s expecting, the Scots could play a
Saturday-Sunday doubleheader and still have arms left in the
bullpen. The Scots boast no fewer than eight pitchers in contention
for serious mound time – and that’s not counting any newcomers who
may step up throughout the season.
Five seniors who
showed great promise as sophomores, but stumbled a bit as juniors,
form the base of what Sander hopes is a solid pitching staff. As
sophomores, the group accounted for 10 of the Scots’ 18 wins that
season.
“The senior class
of pitchers were decent as freshmen and pretty good as sophomores,”
said Sander. “Collectively, they had a bad year as juniors. We need
them to get back to the form they showed earlier in their careers.
We’ll live and die with those guys, and last year we died.”
Brian Chandler
(Athens, Ill./Athens) heads the group of veteran pitchers who want
to resurrect the staff’s effectiveness. Chandler logged the most
innings last season (56.1) and became the Scots’ most versatile
pitcher, seeing action as a starter, middle reliever and closer. He
even appeared in a doubleheader last season as the closer in Game 1
and the starter in Game 2. Drew Johnson (North Henderson,
Ill./United) recorded the best ERA of the senior returners (5.79)
and Matt Tye (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) equaled Chandler and
Johnson for the most wins at two each. Lefties Matt Bourne
(Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic) and Chris Albanese (Lansing,
Ill./Thornton Fractional South) round out the senior staff.
“Right now,
Chandler is our No. 1 guy,” said Sander. “The stats last year didn’t
show how valuable he was. Our five seniors have the mentality that
they all want to be the No. 1, and that’s the way we like it. I
think we’ll be pretty good on the mound.”
Waiting in the
wings and ready to go are four sophomores: Robbie Hinkle (Galesburg,
Ill./Galesburg), Corey Gruber (Galesburg, Ill./Abingdon), the
“improved” Chris Wolcott (Gurnee, Ill./Warren) and transfer Zach
Myers (Dwight, Ill./Dwight). Once Hinkle and Gruber get into shape
following the basketball season, the “live armed” duo could also be
in the mix for the starting rotation.
“We should be
pretty deep with pitching,” reported Sander. “We’ve gravitated
toward using our bullpen more in the last few years. We should have
plenty of good arms to give us some options.”
While a plethora
of pitchers return, that’s not exactly the case when it comes to
position players. The Scots lost three all-conference performers
from a year ago – Jake Bice, Ryan Priola and Matt McIntire. Another
senior, Ryan Stubler suffered through an off year as a senior, but
earned all-league honors his first three years, including the Player
of the Year honor his freshman year.
“We lost some
really good baseball talent with graduation,” lamented Sander. “The
flip side is we recruited some really good athletes. Not to take
anything away from last year’s seniors – they were good baseball
players. But these new kids are good athletes in addition to being
pretty fair ballplayers. We lost our two corner people, but I feel
like we’re better this year. We’ll have more team speed than ever
and we should be able to generate more power than we had last year.
We’ve never stressed power as much as making good contact and
attacking the defense. We’ll see what happens, but we’ve got some
big holes to fill.”
Filling those
holes at the corners will be a pair of freshmen. Caleb Ruyle
(Jacksonville, Ill./Routt) takes over at third and Chad Kamm
(Metamora, Ill./Metamora) gets the call at first. Ruyle, who earned
a state title at Routt, impressed Sander as a solid hitter and
“gritty” player. Kamm, a converted high school third baseman, is
described as a player who can show occasional power, and “really
attacks the ball.”
Handling the
pitching staff will be another freshman, Brad Winkler (LaGrange
Park, Ill./Lyons Township). Winkler drew jersey number 72, which
might suggest a deep reserve, but White Sox fans will remember
Carlton Fisk wore that number in Chicago. Don’t draw any comparisons
between Winkler and Pudge, but Sander had an immediate short answer
to describe his rookie backstop – “He’s good.”
“He’s a very solid
catcher,” continued Sander. “He handles the pitchers well. He has a
good command of the game and hits the ball well.”
Sander will count
on a couple of veterans to handle the middle infield duties. Senior
Kevin Sashko (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and junior Tom Shaver
(Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) return to their starting positions from
a year ago at short and second, respectively.
“They’ve really
taken it upon themselves to show some leadership,” reported Sander.
“They’ve stepped up to guide this team. They work well together and
have put in a lot of time to help us get better.”
Much like the
bullpen, Sander has options on the infield, too. Vinnie Vitale
(Gurnee, Ill./Warren), Payton Judy (Homer, Ill./Heritage) and Jake
Virgo (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) could also see time as
middle infielders. Chaz Baggio (Bedford Park, Ill./Argo) is in his
third season and is ready to spell Winkler behind the plate.
All-conference
sophomore Billy Herrin (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) returns to center
field. The speedy left-handed hitter leads all returnees with a .333
average. Another fleet-footed outfielder, senior Willy Mason
(Lansing, Ill./Thornton Fractional South), swiped a team-high 13
bases in 14 attempts last season and will get playing time along
with junior Brett Peterson (Burlington, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) and
freshman Terry Davis (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington).
“Peterson and
Davis aren’t in the speed league with Mason and Herrin, but we’ve
got another freshman, Rick Caruso (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich), who is
as quick as Mason and Herrin,” said Sander. “If we went with those
three in the outfield, we could flat out run some balls down.”
With more power,
more speed and a very talented freshman class, Sander has just two
questions on his mind: 1) will the freshmen play like freshmen, or
just go play ball, and 2) will the senior pitching staff return to
the form that showed so much promise two seasons ago?
“The bottom line
is pitching,” said Sander. “Everything in baseball relies on
pitching. We know we’ve got a good staff, they just have to show
it.”
Sander would also
like to show the Midwest Conference the Scots have returned to the
form that won them seven straight division titles from 2001-07. Last
season, the MWC’s South Division needed a playoff to determine the
division representatives for the league tournament after all four
teams – Monmouth, Grinnell, Knox and Illinois College – were
deadlocked at 6-6 at the end of the regular season.
“The conference is
up for grabs again this season,” said Sander. “We’re going to be
competitive and I think this year is as wide open as last year.”
If it’s all the
same to Sander, he would just as soon cash in his recruiting
“lottery” winnings and wrap up the division in regulation – that is
if his senior pitching staff performs like they were sophomores and
his freshmen play like they are veterans.
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