Preseason Spotlight on the UIC Flames Baseball Team

Feb. 23, 2005

A common theme has echoed throughout the University of Illinois at Chicago baseball clubhouse during the off-season following the 2004 campaign.

Compete.

"It was a huge point of emphasis in recruiting, practice and everything we do here now," UIC Head Coach Mike Dee said. "If there was one thing to describe this group is that they like to compete in everything they do from sprinting, strength and obviously on the field."

"If you have 35-36 people competing with each other, you'd like to think that if you have the right athletic ability that on any given day you would have a pretty competitive team."

With that in mind, Dee has brought in several talented and eager recruits to mesh with an already hungry baseball squad in hopes of the Flames' second NCAA Regional berth in three seasons.

"We're very encouraged about the attitude of this team," Dee said. "There's an eagerness to learn and an openness to find out how I can improve as a player."

"It has helped make the environment a very upbeat, productive one."

Most coaches would be nervous, taking on 18 brand new players to their squad, but Dee believes that chemistry problems will not be an issue.

"I think the seniors have done a good job of going out of their way to work with the new players and that has a lot of those new players feeling a part of the program much more rapidly than normally would be the case," Dee said. "I'm really proud of the upperclassmen for doing that on their own.

"They just want to win and that's all they care about."

Someone knows a little about winning is sophomore pitcher Ryan Zink. Zink, a 6-foot-5, right-hander, went 9-3 with 92 strikeouts in 95.2 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.07 in his rookie campaign.

For his efforts, Zink was named to the All-Horizon League First Team, as well as earning `Louisville Slugger' Freshman All-American honors, Baseball America All-Freshman Second Team honors and a Honorable Mention All-American selection from CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

"Ryan had a great year and we're expecting him to be as good as he was last year," Dee said. "He has an outstanding attitude about himself and continually works on improving.

"I think he really likes the role of being the Friday - let's get this series started kind of guy," Dee continued. "I see no reason that he won't give us an opportunity to win every time he goes out on the mound."

Joining Zink in the starting rotation will be crafty left-hander Tom Szalewski. Szalewski, a senior, picked up All-Horizon League Newcomer Team honors after going 4-2 with an ERA of 2.76 in 16 appearances for the Flames last season.

"(Szalewski) can locate and he's very, very smart," Dee said. "He's a tough kid mentally, who likes to compete.

"He's used to going out there and knowing that every pitch is going to count for him."

Dee will welcome the return of junior right-handers Bill Bernabei and 2003 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, Ryan Martin to his pitching staff. Both Bernabei and Martin missed a majority of the 2004 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery on both of their elbows.

As far as the rest of the pitching staff is concerned, Dee knows that each individual will have an opportunity to make an impact for the Flames in 2005.

"I think our pitching staff is going to be better as a group," Dee said. "They're much further along in the year than any pitching staff has been in the past and those guys ended up being pretty productive.

"I think rather than relying on four or five guys, we'll rely on nine or 10," Dee continued. "The key is finding the right role for the right guy.

"In terms of having the right people, I think we have that."

Other hurlers expected to see some time on the bump this season include: juniors John Flood, Jason Foster, Jason Friedman, and Scott Saling; sophomores Zach Peterson and Ryan Hopkins; and freshmen Travis Kempf and Jake Wasechek.

On the offensive side of the plate, Dee returns All-Horizon League First team selections, Bryan Russo and Justin Johnson.

Russo, a two-time All-Horizon League First Team selection at second base, batted a career-high .330 with five homers and 26 RBI in 2004. This season, Russo could see some time at either third base, or catcher.

Johnson, who was also named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team, batted .361 and had eight homers and a Horizon League-leading, 61 RBI. Johnson, who saw action at catcher in 2004, should primarily be used as the Flames' designated hitter this season, due to offseason ligament surgery on his elbow.

Competing with Russo behind the plate will be junior college transfers Bryan Nolte and Ben Trotter.

"All three of those players have unique things that they can bring to the puzzle and I don't doubt that at one time or another will be a factor for us this season back there," Dee said.

Once the catching situation has been solidified, the battle at third base will most likely come to an end. Russo, Nolte and freshman Mark Hallberg could all see action at third base.

Hallberg, a highly touted infielder out of Barron, Wis., has the ability to play third, shortstop or second base. Sophomore Nick Rainwater will also compete for a job at second base.

Anchoring the middle infield will be senior shortstop Jeff Gremley. Gremley, a transfer from Iowa, batted .318 as a sophomore and led the squad in hits (58).

"Jeff Gremley had a tremendous fall," Dee said. "He's an extremely tough, blue-collar guy whose really helped our program from an attitude standpoint."

Manning first base will be junior college transfer Chris Stinson. Stinson, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder out of Columbia-Basin CC in Washington, should provide the Flames with some power in the middle of the lineup.

"He's a very physical player," Dee said of Stinson. "He has the potential to be a 3-4-5 hole hitter for us and put up some big numbers."

Senior shortstop Mike Bruszer can help the squad in a variety of capacities, whether as an infielder or even as an outfielder this season. 

"He's as good a defensive (player) that I have seen in 20 years of Division I baseball," Dee said.  "He's a really good athlete.

"If Mike continues to produce offensively the way that we need him to, we need to find a place for him in the lineup."

Patrolling the outfield for the Flames this season will be senior Shane Crowder. As a junior, Crowder batted .269 with 19 RBI in his rookie campaign with UIC.

Following last season's exit from the Horizon League Championships, Crowder took it upon himself to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

"(Shane) has been a phenomenal leader this fall, as good as I've seen," Dee said. "By example, his intensity, his enthusiasm, he makes our program better every single day.

"The other players respect him and the coaches feel the same way," Dee continued. "He's probably made the most physical improvement out of any single player this fall.

"I think he has a chance to have a really big year, but for sure, Shane is the heart and soul of the team."

Junior outfielder Ted Rosinski will also return to the lineup this spring, after batting .347 with four homers and 30 RBI as a sophomore.

"Ted Rosinski had a great fall," Dee said. "He's been very good offensively and we expect more of the same this season."

Others expected to see some time in the outfield, include junior college transfers, Larry Gempp Jr. and Bart Babineaux.

Gempp, a sophomore out of College of Lake County, led the NJCAA in RBI last season with 96, while finishing second in batting average (.502) and sixth in home runs (13).

"(Larry Gempp) is a terrific player who's had an enormous amount of success," Dee said. "He's adjusted a little bit faster this fall than I thought he might.

"He's a good athlete who's extremely intense and it's really important to him to play well," Dee continued.  "We think Larry is going to be an outstanding offensive player."

Babineaux, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior out of El Camino (Calif.) CC, could provide some power for the Flames in 2005. As a sophomore, Babineaux topped the Warriors in runs scored with 53.

"We're very excited about Bart as a player," Dee said. "We think he's going to create some big problems for us as far as who our 3-4-5 hitters are going to be."

All told, Dee looks forward to the 2005 campaign with great anticipation.

"I'm excited to go out there and find out how good we can be," Dee said. "I like the potential of this group a lot, because they're fun to be around.

"It's a lot more relaxed environment because of that and I'm excited to watch them compete like heck everyday," Dee continued. "We're going to be a terrific pain in the butt to play."