Baseball Weekly Report #1

Feb. 14, 2006

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Bulldogs rely on large group of newcomers
Butler looks to improve on a 19-35 record from a year ago with a large crop of new faces. Coach Steve Farley has added 19 new players to his program this season, the largest recruiting class in the Horizon League.

Butler's pitching staff returns two seniors in Craig Costello and Pat Feeney. Costello threw a no-hitter vs. UW-Milwaukee in 2004 and led the team with five wins a year ago.

Sophomores Brian Deter and Josh Vollmer also return with experience for the Bulldogs. Butler has eight newcomers on the pitching staff that are ready for action this spring.

Behind the plate, Butler's returning starters at catcher are both recovering from fall-season injuries. Senior Brandon Tormoehlen looks to come back from a shoulder injury and junior Joe Dempsey, who led Butler with four home runs, is recovering from a knee injury.

Butler returns three seniors to a highly talented infield. Stephen Gill led Butler with 16 stolen bases last season. Clayton Deeb batted .317 for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Alex Rinearson, who finished last season with Butler's top batting average (.372), should start at first base. Joe Pauley, also a sophomore, figures to be the starting shortstop for the Bulldogs. Pauley finished last season with a .336 batting average.

After losing Horizon League Player of the Year, Dale Mueller, the Bulldogs have some big shoes to fill. Looking to step in are juniors Tony Barnes, Dustin Bucalo, Ricky Chomicz, and Aaron Thompson. Bucalo batted near .300 last season and played center field. Sophomores Kyle McLaughlin and Nate Hart should also figure into the equation. Butler also has three freshmen---Rick Betsch, Andrew Piekarski, and Colin Ziegel ---competing for playing time in the outfield.

Vikings look to climb up League ladder
Cleveland State also features a roster composed of a multitude of newcomers backed by a core of experienced veterans.

Tenth-year head coach Jay Murphy spent the better part of last season recruiting some of the top high school and junior college talent from the region, and his quest was rewarded with the addition of 11 high school graduates and six junior college transfers.

The infield will likely be the strongest facet of the Vikings this season, as the squad will have four of the five positions filled by veterans. The addition of several newcomers will provide additional depth, especially at the corners and behind the plate.

Senior Steve Chinn will begin the year as the starter at second base alongside sophomore shortstop Bobby Cash, a member of both the Horizon League's All-Newcomer team and the All-Tournament team last season. Cash finished the season with a .310 average.

Sophomore Josh Geric will resume his role as starting backstop after being thrust into the position as a freshman last season.

Junior Marc Sikora anchors the outfield, with sophomore Vasili Pahoulis stepping in as the starting center fielder this year, while junior John Westra is the top candidate to start in left field.

The starting rotation is composed mostly of newcomers, but the Vikings have a deep pool of experienced veterans. Junior left-hander Stephen Procner will start the season as one of the squad's frontline starters.

Following him in the rotation will likely be a trio of freshmen in left-hander Josh Hungerman plus right-handers Brian Long and Dylan Henry. Junior right-hander Pat McKitrick rounds out the rotation with junior Gian Testa starting the year as the closer.

Flames prepare for defense of loop crown
UIC enters the 2006 campaign as the preseason favorite according to the League's coaches. The Flames return many of the key players from last year's League Championship roster. Among them is senior outfielder Ted Rosinski, who batted .325 in 2005 with a team-best 46 runs batted in.

In his first season at UIC, Larry Gempp Jr. led the team in batting average (.362) to go with his team-best eight homers. Bart Babineaux, a .317 hitter with a team-high 16 doubles and 42 RBI in 2005, has also caught the attention of head coach Mike Dee with his work ethic in the fall.

Along with veteran stalwarts Ryan Zink and All-Horizon League First Teamer Zach Peterson, Ryan Martin is back after Tommy John surgery, and lefty Joe Skinner will join the staff to give UIC a quality four-man rotation.

Peterson went 10-1 last spring, winning his last nine decisions and leading the team in ERA (3.31). Zink posted an 8-6 record with a 3.78 ERA and a team-best 74 strikeouts. He earned the League Championship's Most Valuable Player award after he shut down UW-Milwaukee in the final three innings of the Horizon League title game last year.

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 nation, with only 11 strikeouts in 237 at-bats.

This year Hallberg, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, brings his glovework from first base to second base.

Behind the plate, 2005 starter Bryan Nolte and Justin Johnson---a 2004 All-League First Teamer who returns after arm surgery last season---will handle the catching duties.

The Flames will look to a slew of young players to help ease the losses of outfielder Shane Crowder and infielder Bryan Russo to graduation. Russo was one of the league's top run producers last year with 45 RBI and 46 runs scored.

Panthers poised to make run at League title
After having its season come to a close just one game away from a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year, UW-Milwaukee returns six everyday starters in the field and, more importantly, all five starting pitchers from a season ago.

The Panthers return their starting middle infielders from 2005. Sophomore shortstop Grant Berkovitz garnered Second Team All-Horizon League honors in 2005, hitting .286 in 43 games, while sophomore second baseman Jesse Hart batted .371.

Senior first baseman Joe Nowicki was a First-Team All-Horizon choice last season, leading the team with his .376 average while posing nine home runs and a .631 slugging percentage.

Senior Zak Rivera will see the bulk of his time as the Panthers' designated hitter. Rivera had a stellar junior campaign, earning First Team All-Horizon League honors. He batted .364, leading the team with a .643 slugging percentage and a .511 on-base percentage.

Senior Matt Curran will see time at second base, while junior transfer Kyle Silver will play third base along with freshman Andy Hetebrueg.

The Panther outfield will provide experience and stability to the team. Senior Mike Goetz and junior Ross McCoy will be counted on as every day starters.

UW-Milwaukee will have a crowd behind the plate, with five players fighting for playing time. Senior Jeremy Wilson is the most experienced, playing 36 games a year ago.

Easily the biggest strength of the squad, UWM returns all five of its starting pitchers from 2005.

Senior Aaron Sorensen made a good first impression a year ago, tying the school record for wins in a 9-3 campaign. He earned Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-League honors and led the team with 76 strikeouts and 85.1 innings pitched.

Senior Rick Cavaiani led the squad with a 3.86 ERA, but struggled with run support: Fellow senior Jed Dolske led the team and Horizon League with eight saves last season.

Raiders hope not to be hospitable hosts
Wright State enters 2006 fresh off of its best League season in recent history, and having the home field for this year's League Championship has the Raiders eyeing a run at the loop title.

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, plus its top three pitchers from last season.

The Raiders return strong defense and solid hitting at the corners this season in third baseman Brian Shoup, who garnered Second-Team All-League honors last year, and Paul Majestic. Shoup and Majestic tied for the team lead in home runs last spring with seven, with Majestic ranking third in the League in doubles with 16.

Travis Migliorini bolsters the Raider defense up the middle, along with Ross Oeder and Brendan Rubestein. The trio started a combined 133 games a year ago. Migliorini was a First-Team All-League pick in 2005.

Three starters return to an outfield 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 add to his accomplishments in his sophomore season. Wilson led the Raiders with a .339 batting average last season.

The Raiders are deep with talent at the catcher position, with Jack Leopard holding the most experience with the pitching staff.

The pitching staff returns all but two pitchers from last season and adds six new faces. Chris Snyder tied for the team lead in wins last season with six. The closer role this season will fall on the shoulder of junior Joe Smith, who tied for the League lead with eight saves in 2005.

Penguins look to take next step forward
Although only two players are gone from last season's 29-27 team that finished second in the Horizon League's regular season, the Penguins will have work to do to overcome their departure. Justin Thomas, the 2005 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, was drafted in the fourth round by the Seattle Mariners in June.

The Penguins will return all five starters in the infield with First-Team All-league selections Justin Banks and Brandon Caipen solidifying the group at third base and catcher.

Banks is the most experienced player on the roster having started 162 games in his three seasons. Last year, he led the team in batting average (.356), hits (67) and runs scored (37), and hit a League-high 18 doubles. Caipen earned First-Team All-League honors as a utility player after starting 50 games and hitting .301 overall.

Fellow senior Charles Schultz also returns for his fourth year as a starter in the infield. Schultz moved to shortstop last season and drove in a team-high 38 runs and hit .282. The Penguins also got a boost defensively from second baseman Josh Page, who started 33 games and committed only two errors in 183 chances.

In the outfield, senior J.D. Hannan started 37 games, hitting .346 and tying a team-high with 37 runs scored. Senior Dustin Thomas and sophomore Brent Parks complete the starting trio.

The Penguins bring back four starting pitchers that started at least seven games last year, and senior lefty Chris Dennis will return from a redshirt season to help fill the void left by Thomas.

Senior left-hander Eric Shaffer posted a 3.98 ERA last season, and junior righty Andy Svitak finished with a record of 5-1 after moving into the starting rotation in mid-March.

Capsules are excerpts from previews provided by each school's sports information department