2006 Baseball Preview Part 3 - Wright State

Feb. 10, 2006

A new season looks to usher in a successful campaign for the Wright State baseball team in the 2006 season. The Raiders are coming off of their best league season in recent history and had their deepest run into the conference tournament since the 1997 season, but the 2006 squad looks to improve upon their 26-win season and make a run at the Horizon League Championship.

Second-year head coach Rob Cooper looks towards an experienced group of 21 returnees to guide the 14 newcomers to the Raiders roster. The 2006 edition returns eight of nine starters, losing only All-League catcher Bryan Vickers, and returns its top three pitchers from last season.

Of the 14 newcomers to the Raiders roster, five come straight from the high school ranks and nine of them join the Raiders after transferring in from junior college or college programs.

On the Corners:
The Raiders return strong defense and solid hitting at the corner positions this season in third baseman Brian Shoup, who garnered Second-Team All-League honors last year, and Paul Majestic, who set a school record for put-outs in a season. Shoup and Majestic tied for the team lead in home runs last spring with seven and each of them compiled over 30 RBI. Shoup, led the team with 11 stolen bases and 42 runs, while driving in 39 runs, looks to improve in his second season at the hot corner and anchor the middle of the Raiders line-up. Majestic started 54 games at first base last season and ranked third in the league in doubles with 16.

Dan Biedenharn returns as the Raiders defensive specialist at third base and Pat Masters brings a steady bat and good defense to the first base position. Also at first base will be freshman Jeremy Hamilton, who joins the Raiders from Princeton High School in Cincinnati, adding a powerful bat and solid defense at the most competitive position on the team.

Up the Middle:
The Green and Gold return four everyday players from last season team in Travis Migliorini, Ross Oeder and Brendan Rubestein. The trio started a combine 133 games for the Raiders with Rubenstein making 50 starts at second base and designated hitter. Migliorini was named to the All-League first team and will be challenged by freshman Justin Parker for the starting job at short stop.

Parker, a freshman from Wayne High School in Indiana, comes to the Raiders as a solid defensive player with a bat that will improve as the season progresses. Oeder, who was second on the team with a .320 average, looks to rebound after shoulder surgery in the off season to win the starting position at second base. After a successful junior year at second base, a season which ended with All-Newcomer honors, the switch-hitting Rubenstein looks to continue his assault on opposing pitchers, trying to improve on his .306 batting average from last season.

Also available to the Raiders is switch-hitting utility player David Kapka, who walked onto the team last season, a solid replacement that aids the Raiders who have led the league in fielding each of the past two seasons.

In the Outfield:
Roaming the outfield grass for the Raiders will be familiar faces as all three starters return to a unit that batted a combines .321 and scored 96 runs during the 2005 season. Justin Wilson and Amin Abusaleh return as the seniors in the group and John Kopilchack looks to build off of a stealer freshman campaign in his sophomore season.

Wilson led the Raiders in batting average last season and ranked tenth in the league in that category hitting .339. Abusaleh, who was selected to the All-Newcomer team last season, will anchor the middle of the Raiders line-up and get the start in right field. Abusaleh led the team with 99 total bases, ranking fifth in the league in that category, and belted out 62 hits and scored 41 runs last season. Kopilchack started 31 games last season for the Green and Gold and slugged three home runs, including a walk-off in the Horizon League Tournament against Cleveland State, and drove in 16 RBI from the left side of the plate.

The Raiders bring in a trio of experienced back-ups in the outfield as three-newcomers join the mix in Nick Mahon, a transfer from Georgetown College, Stephen Marquez, from Sacramento City College, and Kris Steffen, a transfer from Eastern Michigan.

Behind the Plate:
The Raiders are deep with talent at the catcher position, even though they lost four-time All-League honoree Vickers, with four players that will battle for the starting spot. Three of the four catchers will be putting the Raiders uniform on for the first time and Jack Leopard holds the most experience with the pitching staff.

Leopard is joined by freshman Nathan Weisenstein and Nick Allsop and senior Aaron Garcia, who joins the Raiders from Oral Roberts. Leopard started 23 games last season for WSU and handled the Raiders pitching staff very well on his way to a .297 average and 14 runs scored. Garcia will look to challenge for the starting spot, while Allsop and Weisenstein look to add depth to the Raiders line-up.

On the Mound:
The pitching staff returns all but two pitchers from last season and adds six new faces to the 2006 staff. Fighting for the three-weekend starting spots will be newcomers Erich Schanz, from Bakersfield (CA) College, Garret Holleran, from Central Arizona College, and veterans Chris Snyder, Nate Stevens and Ross Vagedes. Snyder tied for the team lead in wins last season with six and Vagedes collected four wins in his first season on the bump. Schanz comes to the Raiders with experience at the college level and Holleran looks to build on a resume that includes an ACCAC saves crown in 2004.

In the bullpen the Raiders look to relievers Chris Coleman and Kyle Kearcher to pitch in long relief and have Chris Nighland, Cole Budinsky and newcomers Christian Koenig, Andrew Burns and Greg Robinson for middle and short relief situations. The set-up men for the Raiders this season consist of right-hander Robert Barrett, a converted starter from last season, and Jason Bennion, a left-handed specialist who transferred in from Central Arizona College.

The Raiders' closer role this season will fall on the shoulder of junior righty Joe Smith, Smith tied for the league lead with eight saves in 2005, who returns after a solid campaign last season. Smith struck out 42 batters in 32.2 innings of work last season and looks to build on a season that saw him make a league-high 29 appearances.

Schedule:
The new league schedule helps to bulk up the amount of games the Green and Gold will play against Horizon League foes, with the Raiders playing a home-and-home series with each of the five League schools. The Raiders will open their season with a three-game series at Murray State, then head south for three games with pre-season top-25 TCU. The Raiders will take on ACC foe Wake Forest in a three-game set and end their early season road trip with instate rival Miami(OH). The Raiders will then play Air Force and Bowling Green at home before hosting Butler in the Horizon League season opener.

The Raider non-conference schedule consists of a game at Notre Dame, at Ball State and at Toledo and has the Raiders playing Dayton, Miami (OH), Kent State and Bowling Green in home-and-home series during the week. The Raiders will make a late season trip to Miami (FL) to take on the nationally ranked Hurricanes. The Horizon League Tournament once again makes its way to Dayton, as Nischwitz Stadium will be the host for the 2006 edition.

Story provided by Wright State University Office of Sports Information