My Baseball Preview

I've been waiting on this for a while. The John Cohen era is about to begin and I am anxious to see the product we put on the diamond this year. Last year was rough. Our worst season in 30 something years? However, much of that was due to injuries. We had some expectations coming off that CWS run, but, the loss of a Ed Easley, a Mitch Moreland, a Jeffrey Rea, and a Brian LaNinfa can do that to you. This year, we will be much improved. I have been to every scrimmage since fall practice, call me obsessed, but I can tell that this team is hungry. They won't let a repeat of last year happen, too competitive, too good. Yes, too good. Injuries killed us last year. With most of those guys fully healed, we now have depth virtually everywhere on the field. So without anymore waiting, here is my 2009 baseball preview that some have looked forward to.

The Outfield: This is probably our strongest group top to bottom. It's a given, that if Grant Hogue is healthy he will start. He will be ready to go soon and will more than likely lead the league in stolen bases. He batted over .300 last year and looks good to improve on that this year. He is our centerfielder and an ex-walk on at that. He can bunt for a hit pretty much at will and will certainly wreak havoc on the basepaths. Other than that, everything else out there consists of guys fighting for their place. I would feel comfortable with any of them playing at any given moment. I do think, however, that it will depend on the matchup against the other team's pitcher. I'll just name the guys and their strengths. Experience may play a factor in this and Nick Hardy has that. He has a good arm, hits well, and runs above average. Very quality player that is a senior and leader on this team. Jason Nappi absolutely raked early in the year last year. The guy has a big bat and a powerful right handed swing. He will be one of our power hitters, but I believe he won some bunting contest in the fall. Judging by Cohen's style, that may play a factor in playing time. Luke Adkins just hits the baseball. He is a pure hitter in the way that he can hit to all fields from the left side of the plate. Something about Nettleton products I guess but this USM transfer will get some big hits for us this year. Ryan Collins batted over .300 last year as a Freshman in SEC play. He has a very strong arm and gets good reads on fly balls. He stepped up last year and helped as a freshman and should only improve throughout his sophomore campaign. Mark GoForth played a role in getting us to Omaha a few years ago after transferring from Birmingham Southern. He is a great defensive outfielder. Makes diving plays on a regular basis during BP. With his experience, he will get some playing time, especially against RHPs. Brent Brownlee is a diamond in the rough type. He is a speed demon and may be the only guy on the team that rivals Grant's speed. Brownlee played great in the fall and fits perfectly into Cohen's aggressive style of play. This redshirt freshman will see the field plenty this year and will be great before his days at Dudy Noble are over.

The Infield: Depth is also a good thing here. Connor Powers and Russ Snead provide great experience on the corners. C. Powers will hit his fair share of dingers this year. He is a great hitter and pretty dang good with the glove too. Snead is coming off that nagging hip injury that sidelined him all fall but has impressed me so far this spring. He had some big hits in that Omaha run and has a great athletic frame. JuCo transfer Jarrod Parks provides that will surely be needed through the wear and tear of SEC play. He has some pop in his bat and can play both corner positions also. Freshman Nick Ray has potential. He is a first baseman and also provides depth should someone go down. He hits well. JuCo transfer Justin Bussey and true freshman Frankie Rawdow have really been impressive all fall and spring. They will push returning lettermen Jet Butler and Ryan Powers for playing time in those important middle infield positions. Bussey is an all around player. He fields, hits, runs, throws, and yes, bunts. Rawdow is similar. Both guys are very athletic. Jet has experience and is a leader. He too played a major role in that CWS run as a true freshman. He has a very strong arm and most importantly is a switch hitter. Powers has probably the best glove and has hit well throughout the spring scrimmages. Should be interesting to see how the middle infield plays out.

The Catchers: 5 quality guys behind the plate. All have different strengths. Ryan Duffy is big and can hit for power. He moves around great for a big guy behind the plate. Johnny Allen is a ballplayer. The guy works hard and isn't afraid to get dirty. He has probably the better arm of the group and is big and strong and can hit the ball long and far. Brooks Lewis works hard. He too can hit and has done well in scrimmages. Scott DeLoach may be the best defensive catcher. He blocks well and moves well on bunts and such. He has really hit well this spring. Cody Freeman is probably the best hitter in the group. His bat will be in the lineup somewhere whether he's behind the plate, at 1st base, or DHing. He hits the long ball, too. Played very well as a true frosh last year. We have depth here too, should someone go down.

The Pitching: Really, this may be the only question mark. Ricky Bowen is the ace and will get us deep into ball games. He pitched well in the Cape last summer and of course has done well all fall and spring. Look for him to be the Friday guy. Lefty Forrest Moore will more than likely be the Saturday guy. He has been unhittable at times and gained loads of experience as a freshman last year. Extremely competitive. The Sunday guy, I have no idea. Could be a number of guys. Chad Crosswhite would be the obvious choice given his experience. I don't know if he wants to go 6 or 7 innings though. I could see him as our SEC relief guy that comes in when a starter has trouble. It's imperitive he be healthy for us to have that guy with experience that you trust with the game on the line. He, too, has been unhittable at times. Greg Houston has really impressed me this spring. With some added velocity and his will to compete he will get some outs for us and helps us with some of that SEC relief question. Justin Bussey pitches, too. He's a guy that could come in late in ball games and shut the door. He throws hard and gets outs. Michael Busby can't be touched when he's on. He can reach the low to mid-90s when he wants. If he's throwing strikes and hitting spots then no one can touch him and he will be a weapon in SEC play. We have a strong group of freshman pitchers that have pitched extremely well at times and not as good at times. That all comes with getting comfortable and settling in. Devin Jones and Tyler Johnson showed flashes of being great RHPs for us in the fall. I was impressed with both of them and I believe we will seem them making some starts for us this season. Nick Routt threw great the other day and will definitely see the mound some because of our shortage on LHPs. Caleb Reed has done well in his shorter outings and I think he will be a key piece to our mid-week puzzle. David Hayes has also done well at times and will be player for us down the road. Getting away from the freshmen, Jared Wesson will be key for us too. When he is on, he is very tough to hit. I think he will be a lefty that we call on to get some outs in the 7th and 8th innings. Lee Swindle is a senior that will also have to come in and get us some outs. Especially on weekends when the bullpen is being worked, which will happen at some point. Tyler Whitney has done well at times and I think he is the only man on Earth to win a Governor's cup. He will could play a key role in mid-week and SEC games. Jared Koon and Drew Hollinghead have both dropped down to side arm. I believe that's because the coaches wanted some guys to be able to come in and give different looks to hitters. They both pitched well Sunday and will also be important to this staff. Redshirt freshman Paxton Pace is a guy that could help us if he is healthy. I haven't seen much in the way of him pitching but watched him in high school. If he gets back to that level when he is fully healthy then he may be a diamond in the rough in this group. He may play a key role especially if someone goes down with an injury. We need him healthy to provide just that little extra depth to come in and eat some innings for us. Overall, this is the place where we can't afford too many lengthy injuries, if any. We need these guys to be healthy because of the inexperience of some and talent of others. This is what will make the difference in us being a decent NCAA Tournament team and us being a contender to go further.

Guys, we are going to surprise some people this year. We have a coaching staff that won't settle for anything less than the best. We have depth in the field and will do anything it takes to score runs. We will steal bases, bunt them over, and depend on the middle guys to drive them in. We will be really aggressive. I think we will win more than 30 games, make the SEC Tournamentwith a .500 or better league record, and get a bid to a regional somewhere. If we get hot, and remain healthy, we could make a lot more noise than that. Only time will tell. Best thing to do is to get yourselves out to Dudy Noble and support this team in Coach Cohen's inaugural season. Be there Friday night as we open up against Northern Illinois.