|
By Bret Mitchell
HCC Sports Information
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Hutchinson Community
College baseball team averaged 5.7 runs per game last season.
Not bad, but when you
consider that the 2006 Blue Dragons averaged eight runs per game and were
loaded with hitters that could plug a gap or go deep with regularity, the
2007 team couldn’t compare.
Fourth-year head coach
Kyle Crookes lost a majority of his starting lineup and starting rotation.
Offensively, the Dragons
lost 61.5 percent of the total hits of last season, 83.3 percent of the home
runs, 66.7 percent of the run production and 61 percent of the runs driven
in from 2007. Crookes also lost 78 percent of the innings pitched from a
staff that had a solid 4.05 team earned run average.
Eleven players return
from last season (seven position players and four pitchers). But Crookes
thinks he has a solid freshman group that can provide some instant
productivity.
“We lost a lot on the
mound in terms of velocity,” said Crookes, who is 111-60 in his first three
seasons at Hutchinson. “We did a good job of replacing that with quality and
a lot of depth. We have some defined roles.
“Offensively, we will be
improved. Instead of having to rely on one person to hit a double, we have
four or five people who can do that now.”
Last year, HCC finished
30-25 overall and 16-16 in the Jayhawk Conference Western Division, which
was fifth. The Blue Dragons were an impressive 14-8 at home, but just 8-16
on the road.
“I expect them to work
as hard as they can,” Crookes said of his returning sophomores. “That’s the
best leadership they can provide.”
Catcher Matt LaGree is
the leading returning hitter. LaGree hit .316 with a .454 on-base
percentage. He had two home runs and 10 RBIs. He hit .368 in his last six
games last season. Outfielder Matthew Yerby hit .309 with nine runs driven
in.
On the hill, Ben Graham
will make the jump from the bullpen to the starting rotation. He was 2-1
with a 3.20 ERA in 25 1-3 innings in 15 appearances.
Some freshman Crookes
expects to make an impact are catcher Cory Miller, outfielder Jamell
Cervantez, infielder Trevor Adams and Brett Delcambre.
“I expect a lot of the
freshman,” Crookes said. “The pitching staff includes a lot of freshman,
and we’ll see a lot of them competing for starting jobs.”
The Blue Dragons are
projected to finish fifth in the Jayhawk West this season.
“There’s a lot of
parody, not a lot of separation between the one and nine teams in my
opinion,” Crookes said. “I expect us to play with our best effort every
time we are on the field.”
The Blue Dragons open
the season on the road with four games in Texas. The Dragons open at home on
March 1 with a conference series against Cloud County.
The Jayhawk Conference
has changed the way it schedules its conference games, going to four-game
weekend series at one site instead of playing two games at one site and
later playing two games at the other site.
Pitching Staff
At the moment,
Hutchinson has narrowed its tentative starting rotation down to six
players.
Graham, Mitch
Stubenhofer and Ryan Scoles all return with a season’s experience under
their belt. Scott Keffer, Tim Statz, and Jason Borchardt are the newcomers
to the rotation.
Graham allowed an
opponent a .265 batting average and struck out 12 in 25 1-3 innings. Scoles
finished with a 1-2 record, posted a 4.30 ERA. Stubenhofer (0-2) will be
adjusting to the starting role, appearing in 15 games last year with a 5.55
ERA.
The closer’s role will
have two options to start the season. Redshirt right-hander Adam Roy will
split time with true freshman Kyle Rosine.
In middle relief and
set-up, Taylor Klugman and sophomore Zach Biery (0-0, 5-14 ERA, 7 IP) will
among the candidates seeing action out of the pen. Once the weekend rotation
is settled upon, the bullpen will be even deeper. Topeka native Bill
Wigington could “open some eyes” according to his coach.
Catchers
While Hutchinson will
not be lacking in talent at the catcher position this spring, health is a
big concern. Matt LaGree comes in as the front-runner, coming off a
freshman season where he had a .965 fielding percentage and he threw out 8
of 35 runners.
“LaGree had a solid
freshman campaign, but has battled injuries,” Crookes said. “He should come
back soon enough to play.”
If LaGree was unable to
play, freshman Cory Miller will likely see the bulk of innings behind the
plate. Miller would then possibly split time with Wigington.
Infield
There will be plenty of
competition for infield positions this spring. Only one, shortstop, has been
settled, according to Crookes.
That position belongs to
sophomore Ben Ferrell (.239, 18 RBIs). He had a .959 fielding percentage
with six errors in 145 changes in 2007.
The competition for
third base will be between out-of-state players Trevor Adams and Brett
Delcambre, both freshmen.
The second base battle
is possibly the most competitive battle. Incumbents Chris Marquez (.283, 8
RBIs, .494 FP) and Chris Cox (.182, 3 RBI) will fight for playing time, as
well as newcomer Justin Calvin will also seek playing time.
Adam Roy appears ready
to inherit the first base job, but could be pushed by Adams.
Outfield
The Blue Dragon outfield
has to replace all-conference centerfielder Logan Hoch. But there is plenty
of potential.
Sophomore Clint Bieberle
(.276, 1 HR, 22 RBIs, 1.000 FP) appears to be the only set everyday player
at this position. Freshmen Jamell Cervantez and Drew Wilkinson will compete
for playing time at the corner outfield positions. Matt Yerby returns with
experience, but because of injury issues, will most likely play the role of
designated hitter. Redshirt sophomore Bryce Miller also faces health issues.
He missed last season after hitting .310 with one homer and 26 RBIs in 2006.
He will start the 2008 season injured as well.
Crookes said there could
be surprise players who step up.
“Eric DeBlanc has shown
a lot of improvement, he’s got a lot of upside,” Crookes said.
Offense
Hitting only 24 home
runs in 2007, Crookes expects HCC’s power numbers to be up, as well as run
production.
“We have more guys that
are capable of hitting home runs now,” Crookes said, but don’t be fooled.
“We’ll still do small ball. Execution oriented is what we’re after.”
The 2007 Blue Dragons
hit .284 as a team, the lowest of Crookes’ first three teams at Hutchinson.
HCC had a .392 on-base percentage with the team drawing 159 walks and a
school-record 111 hit-by-pitches.
Bieberle and Yerby can
also be a force once on the basepaths. Bieberle stole 18 of 22 bases last
season, and Yerby swiped 13 of 16. As a team, the Dragons stole 125 of 168
bases and had 49 sacrifice bunts. |
