2008 Season Outlook
| “We want consistency,” said Shippensburg
head baseball coach Matt Jones prior to his first season with the
Red Raiders in 2007. He added, “We need to find that consistency, know the expectations that come with being a part of this program and be willing to live up to those expectations.” So just how did Jones handle the pressure that comes with the high expectations of a Shippensburg program that has a long and outstanding tradition? By leading the Red Raiders to their 16th PSAC championship and third in the last eight years as well as the team’s 19th appearance in the NCAA Regional Championship. For Jones, it was his fourth conference title in just eight seasons as a college head coach after winning three in seven years at Elizabethtown. Perhaps just as impressive as Shippensburg’s PSAC championship was Jones’ capability to establish an immediate connection with his new team. His credentials and intrinsic leadership skills earned the players’ trust and served as the basis for last season’s success. Those abilities enabled Jones to avoid the rebuilding phase that almost certainly accompanies a team in the transition of hiring a new head coach. Just as important as Jones’ arrival was to the team’s success last season, so too was the fact that he inherited a team that returned 24 players from a squad that won 31 games and advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC Baseball Championship in 2006. Heading into the 2008 season, the Red Raiders return 18 players, including three All-PSAC Western Division selections, three All-Northeast Region honorees and one All-American. "We hope to compete for a championship in our final year in the PSAC West," said Jones. "We know that the other teams in the conference return good players and did a good job recruiting so it’s going to be an exciting year. Whenever you are the defending conference champ, you can be sure you aren't going to sneak up on anyone." In addition to Shippensburg's strong returning talent, Jones has also added 11 new faces to help the Red Raiders in their effort to win back-to-back PSAC championships, something the program has not done since the 1987 season. However, entering his second season at Shippensburg, Jones does have experience in defending a conference title, something that he accomplished in 2001 in his second season at Elizabethtown. "We lost a bunch of guys from last year, but hopefully our mix of young and old will be the right one to take us deep into the playoffs," added Jones. “Our team is strong and this is a great group of players. We’re not thin anywhere. This is a very athletic group. Most of the guys can also play another position.” The team must replace 10 seniors, including Ross Buckwalter and Eric Perlozzo who were selected in the 26th and 35th rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft, respectively. Both earned All-PSAC Western Division Second Team and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) North Atlantic Region Second Team honors. Buckwalter was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays after leading the PSAC in both innings pitched (85.1) and games started (12). An All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection, he totaled a 5-3 record with a 2.85 ERA and 60 strikeouts. Perlozzo was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and finished his final collegiate season hitting .295 with 14 steals and 30 runs scored while committing just two errors in 188 chances at second base. In eight postseason games, he hit .469 (15-for-32), drew six walks, stole five bases, scored eight times and drove in three runs. "Expectations are always high at Shippensburg," commented Jones. "Our administration and alums expect us to be in the playoff hunt every year and we don't want to let them down." If the Red Raiders' recent experience of five consecutive PSAC championship appearances, two conference titles and three NCAA regional appearances in the last five years are any clue, then those expectations are warranted. And, based on Jones' credentials, he won't have to worry about a letdown. PITCHING Much like last season, Shippensburg will look to its pitching staff to sustain a run at a second-straight conference championship. “Starting pitching is a strength,” said Jones. “The bullpen innings are wide open. We’re going to try some guys out and hopefully someone steps up.” A year ago, the pitching staff ranked second in the PSAC in strikeouts and fourth in wins, ERA and innings pitched due in large part to Buckwalter, junior Matt Wright, the 2007 PSAC Western Division Pitcher of the Year and Frank D’Agostino. Like Buckwalter, the Red Raiders must replace D’Agostino who, during his four years, led the team with in appearances (47) while ranking second in and starts (32) and innings pitched (210.0). He also finished his career with 16 wins and 163 strikeouts. Also gone are Nathan Jones and Stephen Slatcoff who combined for 72 appearances, 20 starts and 16 wins over the last four seasons. Slatcoff made the most contributions a year ago, making 13 appearances with seven starts while totaling a 4-3 record with one complete game. Heading into this season, Wright will be the ace of the staff for the third-straight season after leading the PSAC in strikeouts with 99 which was the third-highest single-season total in school history. Wright also had a 6-3 record with one save and a 2.08 ERA while making 11 starts, totaling 78.0 innings and six complete games. The NCBWA Second Team All-American and North Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year enters his third season with 182 career strikeouts, just 60 from becoming the school’s all-time leader. He is already Shippensburg’s career leader in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.20 and is just off the career ERA record by just 0.07 points. Joining Wright at the top of the Red Raider rotation will be junior Andrew Burke and junior Tim Freshour. After beginning his career as a reliever, Burke has made the transition into a starting pitcher, finishing fourth on the team with six starts last season behind Buckwalter, Wright and D’Agostino. Burke led the team in appearances (14) and wins (6) a year ago. Freshour began his career as a reserve outfielder in 2006, batting .253 in 34 games, but over the last two seasons, has proven to be one of the team’s best arms. During that time, he has made eight appearances, totaling 20.0 innings and 16 strikeouts while allowing just 17 hits and four earned runs. Rounding out the team’s starting pitching rotation will be junior Thomas Ashman, sophomore Phil Harnick and senior Brandon Geib. Harnick is the only one of the three who has starting experience as he made two starts in eight games last year. However, he will have to improve his control after he allowed 28 walks in 18.1 innings with 17 strikeouts. Ashman had just five appearances last season, but he did manage to strike out 12 in 17.0 innings in 2006, posting a 2.12 ERA in nine appearances. Meanwhile, Geib totaled just 1.2 innings in two games a year ago. “We are very confident in our six starters and look for this to be a strength,” said Jones. The biggest pitching concern for Shippensburg in 2008 will be the development of a steady reliever who can help preserve late leads and close out victories. The Red Raiders ranked fifth in the conference in saves in 2007, but they will need to find a replacement for Brian Boylan who finished his career with 11 saves, ranking him fifth on the school’s all-time list. Over his four seasons at Shippensburg, Boylan made 47 appearances, tying him with D’Agostino for the team-lead during that team. The frontrunner to step up and assume the role of closer will be senior Kyle Warner who, along with Boylan, finished with a team-high three saves a year ago. Warner enters his final season with six career saves, boasting 29 appearances and 35.0 innings pitched. Juniors Jason Kelly and Tyler Redick are the next likely candidates to see increased time out of the bullpen. Kelly totaled 9.0 innings in six relief appearances last season while Redick, an All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection in the outfield, threw one inning of relief at Slippery Rock on April 27. Others expected to see time in relief are junior Sean Killian and freshmen Shane Barrett, Matt Emerich, Alex Hartman, David Hughes and Kody Kibler. Killian has played in 59 games as a catcher during his first two seasons at Shippensburg. INFIELD Unlike last season when the Red Raiders were loaded with experience in the infield, the 2008 season will feature some new faces in new places, especially on the corners after the loss of Scott Goss and Jamie Mengle. The team’s primary first baseman over the last three seasons, Goss finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in putouts with 1,133 while hitting .283 with 27 doubles, 14 home runs and 100 RBIs. An All-PSAC Western Division selection in 2005, he set a single-season school record with 401 putouts as a sophomore. Mengle played in 140 games in four seasons at Shippensburg, making 125 starts as a third baseman and designated hitter where he earned All-PSAC Western Division Second Team honors in 2006 after he led the PSAC in home runs with 10. He finished his career with 20 doubles and 20 home runs. Junior Sean Killian returns as the team’s starting catcher where he made 33 starts in 37 games last year. He has totaled 47 starts in 59 career games, hitting .226 while committing just five errors in 350 chances and throwing out 10 would-be base stealers. Other than Killian, there are four players who give Shippensburg options behind the plate, but all four are newcomers in freshmen Pete Fisher, Kris Kullman, Jesse Smith and Ashton Taughinbaugh. “Smith is a very good athlete who could catch or play the outfield,” noted Jones. “He and Kullman both swing it from the left side, giving us good options.” Up the middle, the Red Raiders have two familiar faces who are the leaders to start at second base and shortstop in junior Kyle Rhoades and senior Eric Dezell. Dezell returns as the starter at short after starting 39 contests a year ago and 88 over the last two seasons. He finished third on the team with a .296 batting average and a .391 on-base percentage last year. While his .302 average in 91 career games displays his consistent bat, Dezell needs to improve upon his .910 fielding percentage where he has 33 errors in 366 chances. Rhoades looks to expand on his role at second base where he played in 49 games and made 47 starts in 2006, filling in for injured starter Eric Perlozzo. That year, Rhoades batted .292 with nine doubles and a .972 fielding percentage. Last season, he played in 22 games with 10 starts. Sophomore Rick Shumway is expected to compete with Rhoades for the starting job at second, but both will see significant time. Shumway was not with the team last season, but batted .273 in 19 games with 10 starts at third base for West Chester in 2006. He can also play shortstop as well. The starting job at third base looks like it will be sophomore Kevin Scholly who played in nine games a year ago with four starts. He totaled 15 at-bats and 10 chances in the field. When not being used out of the bullpen, junior Jason Kelly, who appeared in six games as a relief pitcher in 2007 and 30 in the outfield, played some here in the fall, along with Shumway. Kullman and freshman Tyler Ebersole could also factor in as well. While the battle at third base will feature three players who have actually played a game at the position in college, the eventual starter at first will be a newcomer making his collegiate debut. Freshman Steve McCardell, brother of former Kutztown standout Mike McCardell who was the 212th overall pick by the Minnesota Twins in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, looks to be the starter heading into the season. In January, Steve was selected as a “newcomer to watch” by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper following a stellar playing career as a shortstop and first baseman at Henderson High School in West Chester. In addition, junior Brian Emerich, who transferred to Shippensburg from Division III Arcadia last season, and freshman Kevin Miller can also play first. “McCardell looks to be the guy at first base now,” said Jones. “Emerich can play first and add a solid left handed stick while Miller is a very good athlete who will hit for us and can play first or second base.” OUTFIELD While the pitching staff is projected to be one of Shippensburg’s strengths this season, the production and certainty of the outfield is not far behind. For the second-straight season, the Red Raiders should have one of the top outfields in the PSAC with the return of senior Justin Garber in centerfield and junior Tyler Redick in right field. A two-time American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-North Atlantic Region First Team, Garber finished last season with a team-best .358 batting average while leading the team with 24 stolen bases and 41 RBIs. He enters his final season with a .377 career batting average which ranks him fourth on the school’s all-time list. Garber also ranks sixth in school history with 56 career stolen bases and is just 31 runs shy of placing in the top-five all-time. Redick, an All-PSAC Western Division Second Team and NCBWA All-North Atlantic Region Honorable Mention selection, was one of only two Red Raiders to start all 52 of the team’s games last season. He led the team with 67 hits and 42 runs and was second on the team with a .351 batting average. Redick was also tied for the team lead with eight doubles while adding three triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs. A trio of talented juniors in Kasey Kuhns, Tim Freshour and Jason Kelly are all likely candidates for the position in left field. Kuhns batted .293 in 33 games last season while finishing third on the team with three home runs, 25 RBIs. He was also third with a .435 slugging percentage, but looks to lower his team-leading 28 strikeouts. Freshour has played in 48 games as a reserve outfielder during his first two seasons at Shippensburg, including 14 with seven starts a year ago. While his primary contributions will be as a pitcher this season, he will also be available to play in the outfield in between appearances on the mound. Similar to Freshour, Kelly is expected to see time both in the field and on the mound. He hit .241 in 30 games last season while making 24 starts and finishing fourth on the team with five doubles. “Kuhns, Freshour and Kelly will all get time in left field and possibly at DH as well,” said Jones. “Kelly and Freshour will also get innings too while Smith and Hartman are two freshmen who could help us out now and in the future.” SCHEDULE Shippensburg finished with a 28-24 overall record last season en route to its first PSAC championship since 2003 and its first NCAA North Atlantic Region Championship appearance since 2004. The defending PSAC champions were ranked at No. 39 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll and had three players, Wright, Garber and Redick highlighted as “players to watch.” In addition to the team’s preseason ranking, seven teams on Shippensburg’s 2008 schedule were also ranked, including Tampa who is ranked No. 1. The Red Raiders open the season with three games at No. 6-ranked Mount Olive before traveling to No. 14 Georgia College & State for three games March 1-2. “We have a tough schedule and will test ourselves very early,” commented Jones. “We like the challenge and can’t wait to get going.” As far as teams from the PSAC on Shippensburg’s schedule who are ranked, West Chester is at No. 22, followed by No. 26 California (Pa.), No. 30 Slippery Rock and No. 37 Kutztown. The Red Raiders open the 2008 season on February 16 with a doubleheader at Mount Olive beginning at Noon. “We are happy with where the program is and look forward to another exciting season,” concluded Jones. |
