2009-2010 Bobcat Baseball Seniors

2010 BOBCAT BASEBALL SEASON OUTLOOK

The 2010 campaign will mark Jason Cronin’s fifth as the Bobcats skipper. The ‘Cats are scheduled to open the season with a three game series at University of Science and Arts in Chickasha, Oklahoma on February 5th and 6th. The 2009 season was the most successful, in terms of wins and losses, under head coach Jason Cronin. The team finished beyond expectation (preseason 5th) with an overall record of 30-22 with a 14-10 record in conference play. That mark was good enough for 3rd in MCAC play. Reaching the 30 win plateau signified a dramatic improvement from the 14 games won in 2008 and the 2009 team reached its pre-season goal of qualifying for the conference tournament. The 2010 Bobcats who return 20 players have been selected by the head coaches in the MCAC to finish second.

Pitching Staff

This spring the Bobcats return 23 of their 30 wins on the mound including senior staff ace Yimy Rodriguez (RHP Rochester, NY.) The hard throwing right hander had a very good 2009 campaign by starting a team best 14 games (tied for 1st all-time), winning 7 (tied for 3rd all-time) with a 3.93 ERA in 84.2 innings pitched (3rd all-time) while up 73 strikeouts in the process (5th all-time.) Competing atop the rotation with Yimy this spring will be Jr. College transfer Andre Kinder (LHP Albion, NY.) Kinder is a hard throwing lefthander with an above average breaking ball and change-up. According to Cronin, “these two young men give us a chance to compete against anyone in the country. I feel that with good health and hard-work both are potential All-Conference pitchers. They have attracted significant attention from area scouts are there is a decent chance that one of these guys will be the first Bobcat selected in the MLB Amateur draft this June.”

Also competing for time in the weekend rotation is a pair of returners and two year starters – Matt Martin (Jr. RHP Omaha, NE) and Jon Sanley (Jr. RHP Rising City, NE.) Matt has been one the ‘Cats top starters for the past two seasons including starting 13 games (2nd all-time) in 2009. He won 5 games and tossed 76 innings which is good enough for 7th all-time. Jon, on the other hand, has really begun to mature as a pitcher. In 2009, Jon posted a 2-0 record and tossed 44 innings while striking out 35. “Both of these guys give us a chance to win each time they take the mound. Each has worked extremely hard since their freshmen year and have been willing to critically look at themselves, and more importantly, be willing to make the adjustments necessary to put them in the position to be weekend starters for our program,” stated Cronin.

Three other members of the Bobcats pitching staff that will be pushing hard for innings as either starters or long relievers are senior Shawn Staszczyk (RHP Cheektowaga, NY), redshirt freshman Ryan Grabowski (LHP Omaha, NE) and freshman Jesse Glasgow (RHP Omaha, NE.) “Shawn pitched very well at times in 2009 including a dominant win over nationally ranked William Penn University. His fastball has been clocked at 92 MPH and when his command is on he is nearly unhittable. Ryan spent 2009 working on a change of delivery and working very hard. He has shown weekend starter type stuff at times this fall and early in the spring. If he continues to develop as we hope he will have some great success during his four years here at PSC. Jesse had a very good fall and surprised the coaches by earning a spot on the travel roster as a true freshman. He offers a deceptive delivery with a solid secondary pitches and he should get the opportunity to throw some quality innings for us this spring,” stated Cronin.

A trio of position players will see time this spring out of the bull-pen and possibly even do some spot staring; in this group are returning right hander Jordan Hall (So. RHP Sterling, CO) and a pair of lefthanders Ryan Baroudi (Sr. Amherst, NY) and Tyler Croushorn (Fr. Omaha, NE.) According to Cronin, “Baroudi has a low-to-mid- 80’s fastball and he can definitely get outs at this level. He was the conference gold-glove centerfielder last spring so it made it difficult to get him innings, however, this year with the addition of Croushorn who can also go track the ball in center we should be able to get more innings out of Baroudi. Tyler put up some very good numbers on the mound last season as he helped his high school team make a run to the state playoffs. Finally, Jordan is a competitor and has really begun to develop a quality secondary pitch to go with a sneaky fast-fastball.”

Last, but not least, for any team that hopes to win a conference championship there must be a legitimate closer to finish games. The coaching staff believes that returning sophomore Timothy Crawford (RHP Omaha, NE) will be one of the top closers in the region this spring and for the next couple years to come. According to Cronin, “as freshmen Tim saved 4 games but he was put into some very difficult spots, by design, and as our season progressed he became more comfortable in those situations. He made 21 appearances out of the bullpen which is first all-time. What is most impressive is that Tim has really taken to this role and he wants the ball with the game on the line. Anytime you have a pitcher that presents a very deceptive motion throwing from a very low ¾’s arm slot and has shown the ability to pitch at 84-87 mph you have a good one.”

Catchers

Competing for time behind the plate this spring will be four returning players. The catching position will by far the most competitive position on the field this spring. Leading the way are two seniors, Bobby Last (Lincoln, NE) and Ryan Lanpher (Blue Springs, MO), however, pushing them day in and day out will be returning sophomore Kyle Fredrickson (Omaha, NE.) Bob, swings it from the right side and has shown offensive improvement each year in the program by hitting .268 as a freshman, .280 as a sophomore and .333 last year. The other two guys swing it from the left side and offer a bit more pop. Last spring, “Ryan began to establish himself toward the end of the season both offensively and defensively as the guy behind the dish, but that was aided by a late season injury to Fredrickson. The light was becoming to come on with Kyle who has a tremendous upside prior to an unfortunate season ending injury with about 3 weeks left in the season,” stated Cronin. Ryan hit .302 last season and was very difficult to run on late in the season. All three catchers have shown pop times consistently between 1.9 and 2.0. Finally, redshirt freshman Jeremiah (Eagle, NE) will also be pushing for time this spring.

Infielders

Last season the Bobcats set the team fielding percentage record that had stood for almost 20 years and this group looks to up that mark once again. A big reason for that was the move of Brandon Schrupp (Sr. Parker, CO) to shortstop about a quarter of the way into the season. “Brandon really solidified the middle infield and gave game-in and game-out consistency with the routine plays, stated Cronin. Offensively, Brandon led the “Cats in base-on-balls with 40 (2nd all-time), sported a .461 on-base percentage and led the team in stolen bases with 16. The other half of the “twin killing this spring will be returning senior Clayton Brigham (West Seneca, NY.) Cronin, commented “Clayton is a very solid 2nd baseman with great range and instincts. He brings leadership and has strong vision at that position. He basically negates the 4-hole.” Brigham hit .340 last spring after a very slow start. He hit over .420 in conference play and is poised to make a run at all-conference honors this year. Backing up at both positions will be a pair hard working freshmen, Franklin Bush (Norva Spring, IA) and Tyler Hoffman (Omaha, NE.) Cronin went on to add, “we think Franklin and Tyler will be very solid college baseball players and will aid in our immediate and future successes here at the college. Both of these young men have leadership abilities and few players out work them day in and day out.”

One the few holes that the team needed to fill this fall was at third base with the departure of all-conference 3rd basemen Mark Houck. Filling that position nicely will be Jr. College transfer Alejandro Gonzalez (Jr. Valencia, Venezuela). “Alex is a tremendous defensive player and if he stays healthy should earn Gold-Glove honors at that position. He was an all-region shortstop in Jr. College and has made the move third base with little issue. He also brings a middle of the order type bat with him and he put up very good numbers in Jr. College. We expect the same to continue here,” stated Cronin.

Anchoring first base this year is returning sophomore Brenden Gentry (Sallisaw, OK.) “Brenden can play every position on the baseball and play them well. We finally decided to put him at first base due to his ability to consistently dig the balls in the dirt. Again, this is a player who has the potential to win gold-glove honors. He made only 3 errors last season and did so playing multiple positions. Also seeing time at first base will be returning junior Matt Martin who was a first team Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Star Journal selection during his high school days. Matt will begin the season as our DH and will hit in the clean-up spot. He has worked extremely hard to earn this position, commented Cronin.

Outfielders

This spring the Bobcats outfield should be fun to watch and it may be the deepest position on the team. Leading the way is returning senior Ryan Baroudi. Baroudi won the MCAC Gold Glove in centerfield in 2009 and received all-MCAC honors, moreover, he hit .329 with 2 homeruns, a team high 4 triples to go along with 8 stolen bases. Backing up and spelling Baroudi in center is freshman Tyler Croushorn. According to Cronin, “with Tyler and Ryan we feel we have two of the best centerfielders in the conference this season. Both track the ball very well and have solid arms for that position.”

Anchoring right field this year will be Jr. College transfer Andre Kinder. When Kinder is pitching or filling the DH role Senior Brandon Jalass (Omaha, NE) will fill that position. “Andre will be one of the top players in the conference this season on the mound and at the plate. He has above average foot speed and has good pop in his bat. He hit over .400 in junior college ball and stole 40 bases. He should be a mainstay in the middle of our line-up this spring. Brandon who will also DH and see some time in left has worked himself in a very solid ball player over the past 3 seasons. In fact, as the regular right fielder last spring he did not commit an error,” stated Cronin.

Holding down the fort in left field this year is Jr. College transfer Patrick Knabe (Lincoln, NE.) Also competing with Knabe in left is redshirt freshman Darrick Ramaekers (Columbus, NE) and freshman Jeremy Walther (Omaha, NE.) “Pat is a proven middle of the line-up type hitter. He set several offensive records in his two years at the Jr. College level and there is no reason that success won’t continue this year, especially with the transition from wood back to the metal bat. Darrick has worked extremely hard this past year to make himself a legitimate option to earn playing time in both left and right. Jeremy could see sometime this spring and will also help to fill the speed-up runner role as well,” stated Cronin. Finally, transfer Luke Berning (So. Shenandoah, IA) is capable of playing all three positions and he offers the Bobcats speed and quickness both in the field and at the plate.

Wrap-up

Finally, Cronin adds, “I would like to recognize the great job that our coaching staff has done over the past year. We have addressed our team needs through the recruitment and educational process and we have gone about trying to build this thing the right way. These guys have done an excellent job getting our players to buy-in and implement our team philosophies on a daily basis. The coaches and players feel that we have a legitimate chance at the conference title this spring, however, we must continue to work harder than everyone else and hope to stay healthy. From a baseball standpoint, our conference has gotten much stronger from top to bottom over the past couple years that each and every team, in my opinion, is capable of making the post-season. We have several goals as a team, however, our ultimate goal is to get better every day by making consistent and positive adjustment in everything we do both on and off the field. If we stay true to the pursuit of that goal it will put us in a position to be a valid conference contender and, as a result, add a significant number of notches in the win column.”

Grey defeats Blue 2 games to 1 to win the 2009 Blue-Grey World Series
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