Can Strong Arms Carry BU to CWS?
1/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 28, 2004
With six straight NCAA appearances to its name, Baylor has firmly established itself as one of the nation's top collegiate baseball programs.
Having advanced to a regional title game in four of the last five years, including two Super Regional appearances, the Bears have annually knocked on the door of the College World Series; this year, the squad believes, it's time to kick in the door and return to Omaha.
After putting together perhaps the best offensive showing in Baylor history in 2003, the 2004 Bears will rely a little more on pitching success to make the trip to Rosenblatt Stadium in June. Thankfully, the team returns eight of nine hurlers from last year, and that experience should pay dividends this season.
"I don't think we've ever returned as many innings pitched or wins as we have coming back this season," head coach Steve Smith said.
The Bears suffered a loss in the graduation of four-year letterwinner Steven White, who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fourth round last June after concluding his time at Baylor with a school-record 28 career victories. However, White is the only departed pitcher from the 2003 team that took LSU to three games in the NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional.
"With the exception of Steven, we have basically taken last year's staff and hopefully added a healthy Jared Theodorakos, who has performed well in the past and who we hope will help replace some of Steven's efforts," Smith said. "We know that our success or failure this season will not rest on untested pitchers."
Candidates for the starting rotation abound. Sophomore Mark McCormick, the Cape Cod's No. 6 prospect this past summer and a Baseball America 2004 preseason All-American, is expected to continue his development after going 6-3 and averaging over a strikeout per inning as a freshman.
Theodorakos, a fifth-year senior, finished second in the Big 12 in strikeouts in 2002 before missing nearly all of 2003 due to shoulder ailments that eventually required surgery. He is expected to be nearly 100 percent by the beginning of the season and will compete for a spot in the rotation with fellow lefty Trey Taylor, junior Sean Walker and freshman Ryan LaMotta.
Whoever starts for the Bears will have a strong bullpen to close out wins. A preseason All-American, senior Zane Carlson begins 2004 as the nation's active career saves leader with 34 and needs just 15 to tie the NCAA Division I record for career saves. Carlson, already the Baylor and Big 12 Conference career saves record holder, teamed with LaMotta and sophomore Abe Woody last season to anchor a Bears' bullpen that picked up 20 wins to go with 18 saves last season.
Also factoring into the mix are senior Andy Schnizer, junior Cody Hall, and sophomores Tyler Bullock, Andy Pape and Russell Reichenbach. Among this year's newcomers, lefty Cory VanAllen (a third-round draft pick in 2003) and right-hander Jeff Mandel (who also plays infield) are the most likely contributors.
"A number of our freshmen will get an opportunity and may make contributions, but the nice thing is that we won't have to put a lot of pressure on the untested pitchers to carry us," Smith said.
"Hopefully we'll get some left-handed innings out of Russell Reichenbach and Cory VanAllen, and I think Jeff Mandel has a chance to help us both on the mound and with his bat. Whether that is at the beginning of the season or later in the year, we'll have to wait and see," Smith added.
In contrast to the pitching picture, Baylor returns just five of nine starting position players. Foremost among the losses are all-America outfielders David Murphy (a first-round pick by Boston) and Chris Durbin (a 10th-round pick by the Red Sox). The Bears also lost DH Ross Bennett and his career .335 average to graduation, while first baseman Mark Saccomanno (.381, 9 HR, 44 RBI) and shortstop Trey Webb (.284, 45 RBI, 22 2B) left for the pro ranks.
Further complicating the lineup is catcher Josh Ford's injured shoulder, which required surgery last fall and will prevent him from throwing until late spring at the earliest. Ford can still swing the bat, which makes him the frontrunner to replace Bennett at DH. Bullock and junior Mike Heldoorn could also earn at-bats at DH.
Ford's replacement at catcher will likely be sophomore Zach Dillon, who came on strong near the end of last season. Dillon, however, also is rehabbing from arm troubles but is expected to be ready for opening day. Bullock and sophomore Matt Forestiere could see time behind the plate if Dillon is not fully recovered.
After spending most of 2003 in left field, junior Michael Griffin will return to third base to begin this season. Griffin earned 2004 preseason All-America honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association after hitting .350 with 11 home runs and a team-high 76 RBI as a sophomore.
Sophomore Kyle Reynolds and junior Paul Witt also return on the infield. Reynolds, who started 58 games at second base last year, will slide over to shortstop while Witt, the Bears' primary third baseman a year ago, moves to second base. Junior college transfer Drew Sutton could also see time at both middle infield spots, as might sophomore Blake Womble and redshirt freshman Jake Rippee.
Senior Jared Clements claimed first base with a strong fall. A product of nearby China Spring High School, Clements' improvement both offensively and defensively paved the way for him to step into the 2004 starting lineup.
"Even though we don't have a lot of returning starters, we're not counting on a lot of untested faces to step out there and do it. Jared Clements is more than ready to go out there and play. The infield will probably be Paul Witt, Kyle Reynolds and Michael Griffin, with possibly Drew Sutton, Jake Rippee and Blake Womble factoring in. The only brand new guy is Sutton, so we've got some experience out there," Smith said.
The outfield is where the real changes will take place. With Murphy and Durbin gone and Griffin moving back to the infield, a host of new faces will see time in left, right and center.
"Of the veteran players, we'll look to Kevin Sevigny, Seth Fortenberry and Reid Brees. Mike Pankratz is not like a first-year guy; he's got a lot of at-bats and is extremely talented," Smith said.
Brees, a junior, hit .356 in limited time last season, while Sevigny and Fortenberry each saw their share of time as true freshmen at various points during the year. Pankratz, a sophomore transfer from San Jacinto Junior College, was named the Northwoods League MVP last summer after hitting a league-best .372 with 12 home runs in 43 games.
Pankratz will likely be the Opening Day right fielder, with Brees, Sevigny, Fortenberry and Heldoorn fighting for the job in left field. Redshirt freshman Chase Gerdes is the leading candidate to start in center field after hitting .335 last summer, finishing second in the Northwoods League batting race to Pankratz.
After playing one of the nation's five toughest schedules last season, Baylor's 2004 schedule features a more favorable, but no less difficult, run of non-conference opponents. The Bears stay home for four of their five non-conference series, traveling only to California for a three-game set with Long Beach State in February.
Making the trip to Waco will be Loyola Marymount, Arizona, UC-Irvine and Vanderbilt. Baylor also hosts Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Nebraska in Big 12 Conference action, and the defending College World Series champion Rice Owls will trek to Waco to face Baylor in the Bears' final regular season game of the season.
"The schedule may not look as tough on paper this season, but I think we are playing better teams this year," Smith said. "We're going to play an Arizona team that started five or six freshmen last year; they'll be improved. Cal-Irvine was without three or four of its best players last year, so they'll be better than last year. Vanderbilt has a lock first-rounder in pitcher Jeremy Sowers and will be a very talented team. Long Beach State - well, we know what they've got.
"The difference is that this year, we're playing more home games in the regular season than we have had since I've been here. I think with the number of new guys and with so many players competing for positions, it will be good to have that comfort level of playing at home early on."
With the difficult task of returning to the College World Series for the first time since 1978 ahead, any such advantages will be accepted. Smith would like nothing better than a trip to Omaha to celebrate his 10th season at the helm of the Bears, and this team will aim to give him nothing less.
