Baseball Greets New Millennium

Team Adds Speed, Defense to Last Year's Squad

If youıre looking for some optimism around campus this spring, the baseball diamond is a good place to start. As the Yeomen head into the new season, there is little doubt among the players and coaches that this yearıs squad will perform better than last yearıs. The only question is how much better. After last yearıs 6-28 finish there is significant room for improvement, and with a strong nucleus of returning players, the team expects to fill a lot of that room.

Defensive lapses plagued the Yeomen throughout last season, leading to some frustrating losses. Head Coach Eric Lahetta said, ³Errors kill a team, and that goes for anybody. Weıve been snake-bitten by that since Iıve been here.² This year, capable hands should field some of the most important defensive positions, and that will help save the team from the aggravation of blown chances.

"Weıve got guys who are pretty solid up the middle,² said Lahetta, referring to co-captains shortstop Andy Smith and second baseman Chris Irish, both juniors. The versatile Irish, who played centerfield last season, will shore up an infield graced at the corners by senior third baseman Ray Cagan and sophomore first baseman Bob Montag, both of whom did not play last year.

Lahetta gave another reason for the Yeomenıs improved defense: ³An asset we do have that we havenıt had in the past is our team speed. With the overall added team speed weıre gonna be better defensively.²

See the ball, be the ball: Senior pitcher Matt Burns hurls a strike towards junior second baseman Chris Irish during an intrasquad scrimmage. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)

That speed should pay dividends offense as well. Expect some aggressive base-running, as the Yeomen attempt to compensate for a lack of all-out power. ³Weıre not going to be a power-hitting team,² said Lahetta. ³But I think we can be a team thatıs going to drive the ball up the alleys, so weıre more of an extra-base-hitting team.²

An extra yearıs experience also will prove invaluable to the offense. Led by a veteran corps of position players, the Yeomenıs batting skills should anchor the club during the months ahead. Assistant Coach Carson Keeble, a double degree fifth-year and former OC baseball standout, professed his confidence in the returning players. ³Hitting looks better. [Senior] Mike Fradin is back after being gone last year, and Chris Irish, Andy Smith and [sophomores] Ross Golowicz and Greg Wells all had good years last year.²

Consistency should also be a virtue of this veteran group, according to Lahetta. ³Last year, either everybody hit or everybody didnıt hit,² he said. ³So I think that this year, with all of our position players returning, weıre going to have a little more punch. With Smith and Irish wreaking havoc at the top of the lineup, followed by Fradin, Wells, Golowicz, and [senior Sean] Nagle, I think weıre totally capable of scoring some runs.²

If there is a question mark for the team, it is the pitching staff. Keeble, the former ace, saw his college eligibility expire with the last pitch of 1999, leaving this yearıs staff with a gaping hole to plug. ³Carsonıs the best pitcher Oberlinıs had in 10 years,² said senior Matt Burns. ³He will be impossible to replace.² Burns, co-captain of this yearıs squad, will be a mainstay on the mound.

The coaching staff has confidence that Burns will be up to the task. ³Matt Burns has had a good career here at Oberlin,² said Keeble, ³and weıre looking for him to improve.²

Lahetta said: ³Burns is going to be the workhorse. Heıs going to throw a lot of innings, and heıs going to win some games for us.² Junior Eben Askins will also provide some pitching experience.

One promising but unknown element is first-year left-hander Zach Pretzer. ³We have a lot of pretty inexperienced pitchers with a lot of promise,² said Keeble. ³Beyond that itıs hard to tell how things are going to pan out during the season.²

Slide, you're on candid camera!: Senior Ray Cagan practices his sliding technique at third base. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)

Lahetta expressed his desire for the rest of the staff to keep games competitive. ³Basically, their job is to keep the opponents down and give us an opportunity to win,² he said.

As usual, the Yeomen will face some stiff competition within the conference. The College of Wooster and Allegheny College are national powers, with Wooster expecting a pre-season top-ten ranking. But this OC team wonıt be a pushover. ³With good pitching, thereıs no telling what we could do,² said Irish. ³Anything can happen on any given day,² said Lahetta. ³If weıre on top of our game, we could possibly surprise a few of those teams.² The Yeomenıs lack of depth will be their chief shortcoming against their powerhouse conference foes.

³We should be able to compete with all the teams on a given day,² said Keeble. ³We have a solid core, but we just donıt have the sheer manpower of some of the big teams, such as Allegheny or Wooster.²

Looking for a cool, calculated numerical prediction? ³As far as what our record is gonna be, Iım striving for .500,² said Irish. ³If we could get to .500, that would be something special.²

In this conference, thatıs some optimism.