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SCSU baseball tries to go from worst to first
A deeper and more experienced Husky roster looks to improve on last season's woes
By Drew Herron
Published:
Monday, March 29, 2004
Sometimes success hinges on a different attitude or approach, and the SCSU baseball team believes that can make all the difference in the world.
Last season is behind them, and the Huskies are ready to let the past be the past. A last place finish and an 11-34 record is the legacy inherited by today's squad, and although most of the team's key players lived through that dreadful season, they're not about to use that memory as anything but motivation.
"We really got to have an attitude about ourselves that we can win games," said senior co-captain Joe Durham. "You just need to be mentally and physically tough, knock people on the ground when you have a chance."
Durham, a junior transfer who spent his first season with the Huskies last year, has proven to be an excellent hitter, batting .333 last season. Durham is also a source of power and is solid defensively. With a slightly experienced but young roster, the team looks to Durham for leadership.
One positive result from throwing young players to the wolves is building depth and developing skill level, and Coach Denny Lorsung isn't too worried about a hangover from last season.
"I don't think it's learning lessons so much as it is improving talent," Lorsung said. "We've got a better talent pool, more depth. We're hoping that our pitching is going to be a little more solid and our defense will be a little better."
Durham believes last season, despite the record, has given the team confidence in comparison to where they were a year ago, and by no means should the team doubt what they are capable of.
"I think we're more aggressive now," he said. "When we were down in San Antonio last year we were real tentative when we were swinging, and this year we were hitting the ball hard."
"Conference, that's the main thing, that's what you got to go for, that's what we're here to do," Durham said. "We were the worst team last year and we're trying to go from worst to first. If we make the tourney, we'll get there."
Lack of clutch hitting can always be an Achilles heal for any baseball team at anytime, but experience along with catching some breaks usually coincide with success.
"We have to win games," Lorsung said. "The thing is, you have to have good pitching, you have to have good defense and you have to get the breaks. Wednesday we played at Southwest State. We hit five homeruns and had RBIs on five home runs. That's not getting any breaks, it's pretty good hitting, but hopefully they'll come with people on."
Of course, it's still March and every team looks all right on paper, but with seven position players returning to two players lost, it is inevitable that the defense will be improved from last season. Consistent play has been the recipe for success for all NCC teams in past seasons.
"We just have to step it up," Lorsung said. "Last year our defense was terrible and this year our defense is considerably better. Offensively, one of our goals is to put the ball in play so that the guys that we have who can run, can run. We don't have a real quick team but we can run some guys who aren't necessarily going to steal, but we know when they're running to hit the ball."
"Secondly, we need to be a little smarter when we're hitting, knowing all that we have to do. Sometimes all you need to do is put the ball in play, sometimes you need to hit a ground-ball or a fly-ball, rather than try to clear the bases with a shot to the gap or a homerun," Lorsung said.
One area the Huskies still have to address is their pitching. One of the team's strengths last year was that they lost three pitchers but return five. The returning arms, led by senior co-captain Blayne Penney, senior Andrew Garry, junior Chase Nelson and sophomore Mike Hoelscher, have all seen significant innings. Still, it is early and Lorsung isn't sure exactly what he has yet.
"Some of our older guys that we've counted on have struggled a bit, and some younger guys that have pitched really well. But nobody's had more than two outings so it's still pretty early. We know we have more depth and we've got some guys with really good arms and are very competitive, so our pitching is bound to be improved from last year."
The corner infield is all but set with Durham starting at first and sophomore Nate Swan at third. Swan proved to be valuable last season as a freshman, hitting .317 and a .363 on-base percentage in 36 games. Swan is out to a hot start this season, hitting .455 with 15 hits, two homeruns, nine RBIs as well as an astounding .727 slugging percentage.
The middle infield consists of a platoon of players seeing action, but sophomore Brock Mutcheson will get more starts at shortstop because he can generate offense, leading the team with a .343 average last season. Again this season, Mutcheson hasn't disappointed, batting .429 with a .444 on base percentage.
One bonus the team gets is the return of Parnell O'Connor. O'Connor, a backup catcher who plays a bit at first base and in the outfield, is a source of power that was missed because of an injury-plagued 2003. This season he is hitting .343 with two homeruns and seven RBIs.
The table is set and now the Huskies have to execute and find out what will work for them.
"I think intensity is the biggest thing," Durham said. "If our intensity stays high and we stay at a middle ground, and we don't get too high or too low, that's going to help us win."
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