2006 Baseball Preview Part 6 - UIC
Feb. 10, 2006
With four consecutive Horizon League regular season titles, two Horizon League Tournament championships and two NCAA Regional berths among its impressive list of recent accomplishments, the UIC baseball team has proven to have a successful way of conducting business.
So for the program to go where Head Coach Mike Dee and his staff want it to go in 2006, that success must be a distant memory.
The start of fall practice meant going back to square one.
"It's easy to say, `Well, let's try to improve on [last season]', but you really have to start all over," said Dee. "Every year you have to start all over. You start all over because you have different players, and they're in a different place mentally and developmentally."
"We clearly want to get back to that level again, there's no question about that. All we're focusing on at this time of the year is, `Are we better today than we were a month ago?' If we continue to say that, I think we've got a chance to do some good things in the spring."
UIC returns plenty of players that did some good things last spring. Among them is senior outfielder Ted Rosinski, who batted .325 in 2005 with a team-best 46 RBI. Rosinski made the NCAA Lincoln Regional All-Tournament Team following his 6-for-8 performance at the plate, highlighted by a huge home run against third-ranked Nebraska on their home turf.
But Rosinski brings more than numbers to the team.
"I don't know what Teddy is going to do for us statistically, but I will say this: he has made a huge jump in terms of his maturity," said Dee. "He's a lot more focused than I've ever seen him. He's much more responsible than I've ever seen, and I do think that he is having, and will continue to have, a very strong influence on our program, regardless of what he does statistically. He is a definitely a leader right now."
Dee also talked about the noticeable increase in maturity shown this fall by two of last season's leading hitters, Larry Gempp Jr. and Bart Babineaux.
In his first season at UIC, Gempp Jr. led the team in batting average (.362) to go with his team-best eight homers.
"Much like Ted, Larry has made remarkable strides as a person this fall," Dee said. "He's beginning to mature, he's beginning to have some perspective about people around him, about his work ethic, about what he needs to focus on.
"We've been very, very pleased with Larry's attitude the last couple of months and there's no question that he has very good physical ability. We saw stretches last year where Larry could be a very, very good player, and I'm hoping that we will see that on a more consistent basis, which is a credit to him and his work ethic this fall."
Babineaux, a .317 hitter with a team-high 16 doubles and 42 RBI in 2005, has also caught the attention of Dee and the staff with his work ethic in the fall.
"Bart's also made some significant strides from a maturity standpoint," said Dee. "I think he's a lot more relaxed in his ability to evaluate himself. I've seen his work ethic improve dramatically this fall as well, and we're very encouraged about that."
Pitching will be something to keep a watchful eye out for in 2006, as 2005 Horizon League Tournament heroes Ryan Zink and Zach Peterson return to anchor a staff that should be even better.
Along with league tourney MVP Zink and All-Horizon League First Teamer Peterson, Ryan Martin is back for his first full season after Tommy John surgery, and lefty Joe Skinner will join the staff to give UIC a quality four-man rotation.
"Those four guys," said Dee, "have a chance, if they continue to work on the things they're working on, to be very, very good, which would be the first time in a while that we've had four quality starters from day one."
Peterson went a phenomenal 10-1 in his second season on the mound for UIC, winning his last nine decisions and leading the team in ERA (3.31). His 10 wins were the sixth-best victory total in the nation.
Zink posted an 8-6 record with a 3.78 ERA and a team-best 74 strikeouts. The Madison, Wis., native earned the league tourney's Most Valuable Player award after he shut down UW-Milwaukee in the final three innings of the Horizon League title game last year, limiting the Panthers to a mere hit during that span in a 9-6 comeback by the Flames.
One of the nation's best freshmen at the plate last year was UIC infielder Mark Hallberg. With a .354 average, 15 doubles and 42 RBI as a rookie, Hallberg proved to be a tough out at the plate as the fifth-toughest batter to strike out in the entire nation, with only 11 strikeouts in 237 at-bats.
This year Hallberg, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, brings his quality glovework from first base to second base.
"He's got a chance to do some really special things," said Dee. "What really separates Mark is how much he really enjoys baseball. He enjoys every part of it. He loves the practice part of it; it's not work for him. He's a really unique young man."
UIC features strong experience behind the plate as 2005 starter Bryan Nolte and Justin Johnson, a 2004 All-League First Teamer who returns after recovering from arm surgery last season, will handle the catching duties. Eric Palomino and Ben Trotter will also battle for time at catcher.
The Flames will look to a slew of young players to help ease the losses of OF Shane Crowder and INF Bryan Russo to graduation. Russo was one of the league's top run producers last year with 45 RBI and 46 runs scored, while Crowder made a huge impression on Nebraska fans at the 2005 NCAA Lincoln Regional in earning All-Tournament Team honors after going 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored against the host Huskers.
One of those young players is Chad Schroeder, a versatile transfer from Mount Hood C.C. Schroeder can serve as a catalyst at the top of the batting order while providing defense at short and depth on the mound.
UIC's talented arsenal of youth will feature five redshirt freshmen, nine true freshmen and four junior college transfers.
Dee has continually upgraded UIC's schedule over the years, and this season is no exception. The Flames will face Air Force and Creighton in the first four games of the campaign beginning on February 17, followed by road series against Long Beach State, Mississippi, and Saint Louis.
UIC will play three Big Ten teams in a span of three days as Indiana, defending Big Ten regular season champion Illinois and Ohio State take on the Flames in Bradenton, Florida, in mid-March.
Opening the home slate at Les Miller Field for the Flames will be a three-game rematch of last year's league championship game against UW-Milwaukee.
The Flames will have plenty of time to get used Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, as UIC closes the regular season with a three-game series at Wright State before returning to the Raiders' home park for the 2006 Horizon League Championships.
Success has not changed Dee, his staff and his players. A humble yet competitive desire continues to drive UIC baseball toward an exciting future.
"I'm very encouraged about everybody's attitude," said Dee. "No one is showing arrogance. We're just taking care of business today and having a good time doing it."
Story provided by UIC Office of Sports Information
