University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Focused and Ready For 2003 Baseball Journey
2/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Eagles Focused and Ready For 2003 Baseball Journey
What a difference a year makes. Unlike the 2002 season, where the Southern Miss Golden Eagles were breaking in a number of new position players, a lack of experience is not a factor for the 2003 season.
After being forced to play mostly freshman and sophomores in the starting lineup last season, Southern Miss has developed a solid core of seasoned veterans, as it embarks on the 2003 baseball campaign.
Going into the 2002 season, there were a lot of young players in the lineup. The goals were not set as high as normal and the team?s focus was centered on building a strong foundation and developing team chemistry.
As the season progressed and the team was collecting wins, the goals that were set earlier were already within reach, so new ones were developed. Talk of competing for the Conference USA title and earning the coveted bid to the NCAA Tournament were the new aspirations.
However, the surge tapered off in the final weeks, a period that included a three-game sweep by Tulane in the final series of the regular season. With just one win in the Conference USA Tournament, the Golden Eagles did not have enough victories to achieve the bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Even though the Golden Eagles didn?t accomplish their goals, they still had a successful season, finishing with a 36-22 record and a fourth-place regular-season finish in Conference USA, one of the top five baseball conferences in the country.
But now a new season is here and with it new goals have been set by the Golden Eagles. Once again, the ultimate desire of the team is to compete for the Conference USA title and advance to the NCAA Regionals.
?We have a lot of position players back, and we have a chance to have a pretty good team,? Southern Miss Head Baseball Coach Corky Palmer said. ?We will be very good both offensively and defensively, and that will be important. Our pitching rotation is a big concern, along with building depth in the bullpen.?
This year's roster has 16 letter winners returning, which includes seven position players, who were starting at the end of last season. One starting pitcher returns, along with several bullpen pitchers who saw action last season. There are also 12 newcomers who will battle for playing time on the diamond as well.
However, while the team returns seven position starters, the inexperience may be felt in the pitching rotation, where the Golden Eagles lost three of their top four starters ? including two-thirds of the weekend rotation ? from last season?s group.
Gone is left-handed ace and one of the best pitchers to don the Black and Gold, Shea Douglas, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Along with Douglas, senior starting pitchers Daniel Stewart and Charlie Rogers also are gone.
?The question is how quickly our pitching will come around,? Palmer said. ?We have to replace two-thirds of our rotation and that will be the key to our success this season. If our pitching comes around, we should have a good team.?
But while finding replacements in key areas of the team is not always a wanted option, the fact that the team has many more returnees in the field will prove to be beneficial.
While starting a number of fresh faces last season, the team was able to get much-needed experience in the playing field, as well as showing just how much it takes to play a long, successful season in Division I college baseball.
Palmer said that if there were a downfall of the 2002 season ? it was that the young players were not used to the adjustments needed to play a 50-60 game schedule.
?That will be crucial to our success this season,? Palmer said. ?The only time we had a bad stretch last season was in the final two weeks of the year.?
So in the offseason, Palmer?s squad put in the hard work and effort needed to get stronger, and in turn, pay benefits this season.
?All of our guys are much stronger now, and I know that will help,? Palmer said. ?We have had a good offseason program, as each of our young players has added 10-15 pounds of muscle. The players added a lot of bulk, and I think now they know what it takes to play such a long season.?
One of the keys of success for last year?s team was the fact that Palmer and his staff did not have to do much to motivate the players. In fact, Palmer claimed that last year?s group was one of the more self-motivated groups that he has coached in his five-year tenure with the program.
?We will stay with the same philosophy that we employed last year,? Palmer said. ?I don?t have to get on the guys a lot or pump them up, because they set their goals for themselves. We came close to the goal of reaching the postseason last year, and I don?t have to say a whole lot to the players about what it will take to get there this year. As a staff, we learned not to get too high or too low with the wins or the losses. That has helped us as a staff, and I know it helped us a team.?
Heading into the 2003 season, Palmer knows that his team should excel offensively. With several good hitters in the lineup, Palmer feels that he has a group of players that has what it takes to have outstanding years at the plate.
?We are balanced on offense,? Palmer said. ?We have players who can hit for average or power, and we have enough weapons where we can combat right-handed and left-handed pitchers. We have 12 guys who I feel comfortable with swinging the bat. We will be able to do some things with the lineup that may help us in certain situations against certain types of pitching.?
Leading the charge for the offense will be a two-time All-Conference USA and 2002 All-South Region selection in Jeff Cook. As a junior, he led the team in virtually every major batting statistic, including hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and total bases. He also leads a talented group of six returnees who batted better than .300 last season.
Following Cook is a solid lineup that includes three 2002 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans in Brad Willcutt, Jarrett Hoffpauir and Matt Shepherd. Those players, along with returnees Carlos Velasquez, Griff Israel and Cliff King, make for a potent offense that is sure to rank among the tops in the conference.
But the lingering weakness remains the concern with the pitching staff. With only All-Conference USA pitcher Bob McCrory returning from the weekend rotation, the Golden Eagles will have to find two more weekend starters, as well as middle of the week starters and bullpen pitchers.
?Last year, we didn?t really know what we were going to do offensively, but we knew we had solid pitching,? Palmer said. ?This year, we have lost three of our top four pitchers. We have other guys who are capable of stepping in, but those players have never been pure starters in Division I baseball.?
The absence of Shea Douglas? 10 wins and 100-plus strikeouts, along with losing Daniel Stewart and Charlie Rogers, the team?s No. 3 and No. 4 starting pitchers, will be felt.
However, the reins of the pitching rotation will be handed over to McCrory, who was pitching as well as anyone in the conference at the end of last season. He will join the rotation a few weeks into the season after he has recovered from a broken bone in his pitching hand. As a sophomore, McCrory finished with a 7-3 record and a 2.57 ERA, while striking out 63 batters in 84.0 innings pitched. He was tops among starters in opposing batting average, limiting opponents to just a .244 average at the plate.
Following McCrory in the rotation will be 2002 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Cliff Russum. As the team?s closer, he ended last season with a team-high four saves, and also had a team-high 19 appearances. He finished with a 2.39 ERA and fanned 31 batters in 37.2 innings of work. He is a hard-nosed player who believes he can win anytime he steps on the mound.
Junior right-hander Anthony Dewitt will battle for the third starter position in the rotation. Coming out of the bullpen for the past two seasons, he finished with a 6.08 ERA in 2002, along with a 1-4 record with one save in 14 appearances. He tossed 15 strikeouts and limited opponents to .289 batting. During the fall, he worked hard and showed improvement and looks poised to step into a starter?s role.
As McCrory, Russum and Dewitt have all but secured the Nos. 1-3 pitching positions, senior right-hander Stephen Castleman and sophomore, right-hander Brian Hurley and southpaw Brent Leach will compete for the remaining starting position. The others will be the first ones to come out of the bullpen in middle and long relief.
A veteran on the pitching staff, fifth-year senior Castleman was a mid-week starter during the non-conference portion of the schedule last year and then was moved to the bullpen during the conference season and finished the year with a 3-2 record with a 4.64 ERA.
Leach, in his second year with the program, is poised to build on a successful campaign from 2002. He finished the year with a team-low 2.08 ERA in 16 appearances, along with 15 strikeouts in 26.0 innings of work. He also worked hard in the fall and showed signs of taking his game to the next level.
Hurley has been fighting a sore elbow during the fall and early preseason and should be ready to go when the season begins. He made 14 appearances last season and started twice. He finished with a 4-1 record with a 5.97 ERA in 37.2 innings and was second on the team with three saves. He struck out 27 batters and walked 12.
Also adding depth in the bullpen will be junior college transfer Ray Antonelli and redshirt sophomore John Nicholas. Antonelli, who played two seasons at Gulf Coast Community College in Pensacola, Fla., throws three pitches for strikes and changes speeds well. A 2002 first-team All-Florida Panhandle Conference selection, he finished with a 5-2 record and a 1.84 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched last season. He struck out 56 batters, while walking 23, and opponents only hit .232 off him.
Redshirt sophomore John Nicholas is a hard-throwing right-hander who saw limited time last season and will be looking for more action this year. He played in four games last season and struck out six batters.
Freshmen Daniel Best, Elliott Meng, Nick Valluzzo and Noah Tritz will add depth to the bullpen and could see action this season.
Best throws three pitches for strikes and locates his pitches well. He posted a 7-3 record with a 1.56 ERA in 49.1 innings last year as a senior. He struck out 56 batters and walked only 19, earning all-district honors.
Tritz, as a senior at Klein Oak High School in Houston, Texas, finished with an 11-1 record and a 2.14 ERA in 84.0 innings pitched. He recorded 97 strikeouts and walked 28, while being named an all-state honoree.
As a senior at Trinity Episcopal High School in Frogmore, La., Meng posted a 1.07 ERA as a senior last season and was named a first-team all-district and all-metro selection. Valluzzo is a hard-throwing left-hander who posted an 8-3 record with a 3.18 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched as a senior last year. He struck out 75 batters and walked only 22, earning all-district honors.
The closer?s role has be secured by junior college transfer Austin Tubb, who
comes to Southern Miss from Shelton State Community College in Birmingham, Ala. He has an underneath delivery and throws three pitches for strikes. He has the ability to bounce back quickly and pitch several times a week. Last year as a sophomore, he finished with a 2-0 record, three saves and a 2.10 ERA in 23 appearances. He was an all-conference selection and helped Shelton State to two-straight conference championships.
Perhaps the most solid area of the team, the Southern Miss infield, is in tact from the end of last season and looks to be more productive this season both in the field and at the plate.
At first base, Israel returns as the starter after playing 55 games and starting 20 at first base and 34 as the team?s designated hitter last season. He finished third on the team in hitting with a .330 batting average and has the tools on defense to be a formidable player. In his first year after transferring from Shelton State Community College, Israel shined with 60 hits and 40 RBIs, as well as five home runs.
Sophomore Jason Lowery, who played in 42 games and started 23 last season, will also be a factor in the first base slot. He hit .286 with two doubles and 15 RBIs and will be used especially against left-handed pitching.
Freshman Marc Maddox, who led Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss., to the MHSAA state championship series in his senior season, will look for playing time this season. He hit .411 with seven doubles, 10 home runs and drove in 31 runs and was named a first-team all-state selection and earned most valuable player honors in the Mississippi High School Activities Association All-Star Game. Freshman Bryan Bennett could battle for playing time as well at first base.
Hoffpauir and Shepherd, both Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans, return to their starting second base and shortstop positions, but both will add depth at either slot.
Hoffpauir was the lone freshman to start all 58 games last season, finishing fourth on the team in batting with a .320 average. He had 63 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, one home run and drove in 32 runs, while walking a team-high 36 times.
Shepherd entered the lineup as a starter 22 games into the season, pleasing the coaches with his defensive skills, but more importantly, his offense. Shepherd was among the team leaders in batting in conference games, as he had a .333 batting average with 31 hits in 25 conference starts. Overall, he hit .315 with 10 doubles, one triple, one home run and drove in 26 runs. He worked hard during the offseason on his defense and should make even more of an impact this season.
Senior Matt Benson, who began the 2002 season as a starter at shortstop, improved in the fall and will serve as the backup in both the second base and shortstop positions. He has good defensive tools and has worked hard on his hitting.
While the middle of the infield is secure, there is a battle between two solid players in the third base slot. Both Beau Griffin and junior college transfer Adam Smith display excellent defensive tools but both need to improve on their hitting ability.
Heading into the fall, sophomore Griffin had the advantage in the spot, as he finished the season as the starter at third base. He finished the year with a .261 batting average and had 12 hits in just 12 starts. He took over in the final stretch of the year after senior Allen Winningham saw his season end with an injury in the final month of the regular season.
Battling Griffin is junior college transfer Smith, who comes to the Southern Miss program after playing at Meridian Community College. Smith had a .342 batting average while at Meridian, as he hit 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 45 RBIs. He was named all-conference and all-region and was selected to play in the National Junior College all-star game.
Willcutt, also named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team, returns for his second-straight season as the starting catcher. As a redshirt-freshman, Willcutt had a breakout year in which he hit nine home runs and knocked in 53 runs, while hitting .288. He also finished with 63 hits and 107 total bases. The question this season will be the recovery Willcutt made from shoulder surgery in the summer.
Redshirt-freshman Kevin Coker redshirted last season and is set to back Willcutt up at the position, while freshman Trey Gamble and Eddie Burger add depth as reserve catchers.
Two of the three starters return in the outfield as Cook and Velasquez are back in left and center field, respectively. Junior college transfer Ryan Frith and sophomore Clint King will battle for the final outfield spot.
Cook has been one of the mainstays in the Golden Eagles baseball program for the last three seasons, and a successful senior campaign could put him among the best players in school history. He will be looking to build on successful marks in 2002, where he hit .335 with 11 doubles, one triple and a team-leading 16 homers and 63 RBIs. A first-team All-Conference USA and second-team All-South Region selection, he was among conference leaders in runs (82), home runs (16), RBIs (63), total bases (143), hits (67), slugging percentage (.584) and stolen bases (18).
Velasquez had a successful first half of the season last year, but he struggled in the latter half to finish with a .282 batting average with 69 hits and 30 RBIs. Velasquez was solid on the basepaths, as he finished with a team-high 21 steals, ranking among the conference leaders. He worked hard in the offseason and should be ready to step up and produce at an all-conference level.
Taking over for the departed Clint Stoy in right field will be a pair of players in redshirt-sophomore Clint King and junior college transfer Ryan Frith. King, who was named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team, has proven his worth at the plate, as he was the most-improved batter in the second half of the season last year.
While King will stay in the lineup as either the right fielder or the designated hitter, Frith may see action in right field as well. He comes to Southern Miss after a productive two years at Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City, La. He hit .330 with 18 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBIs last year as a sophomore, earning all-Mississippi-Louisiana Conference honors. Lowery also adds depth in the outfield, where he can play either left or center field.
The offense and defensive depth, along with the pitching staff concerns will be put to the test early in a stronger non-conference schedule that includes McNeese State, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, New Orleans, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Southeast Missouri State, along with the Coca-Cola Classic at South Alabama, featuring Northwestern from the Big 10 and St. John?s from The Big East. But the real test will come in Conference USA play; a league that Palmer believes is one of the better conferences in the nation.
?The league is so balanced, that there is no telling how one team will do,? Palmer said. ?There are at least seven or eight teams in this league that can get regional bids this year, and I feel that we are right in the middle of that mix.?
In Conference USA play, the Golden Eagles have home series against Saint Louis, Tulane, Charlotte, UAB and South Florida, while they have road series with Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis, East Carolina and Houston. Southern Miss will not play TCU this season.
With the experience returning on offense and quality players on the mound, there is no telling how far the 2003 Golden Eagles will go. But with the experience that the team gained last season, and the heartache it felt when there was no regional bid, one can be sure that Southern Miss will have its sights set on the postseason.
And this time, they will be more than prepared to accept the challenge.
