2/7/2002 - Baseball
Navy Baseball to Open 2002 Season Saturday at Duke
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team will open its 2002 season Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Mids travel to Durham, N.C., take on the Duke Blue Devils at Jack Coombs Field. The teams will play a nine-inning doubleheader Saturday followed by one nine-inning game Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
"We are itching to get out on the field in a competitive situation after working hard in the off-season," Navy second-year head coach Steve Whitmyer said, after posting a overall 21-25-1 record last season. "Our guys have worked hard, so we are excited to see what they can do on the field this weekend. Duke will provide our team with a big challenge. They are a fairly young team, but have one of the most talented hitters in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Larry Broadway. We just need to go out and play aggressive baseball and play well from start to finish."
Duke compiled a 23-33 overall record last year and posted a 10-13 mark in the ACC to finish fifth, its best conference finish in seven years.
Broadway, a First-Team Preseason All-America selection by Baseball America, is one of the premier first baseman in the country. Last season, Broadway batted .308 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs, while missing several games due to an elbow injury. The 6-foot-4, 234-pounder batted .264 with 27 RBIs in the Cape Cod League and was second in home runs with six. He was also voted the league's No. 5 pro prospect.
The Blue Devil recruiting class was ranked 18th nationally last year by the Prospects Plus. Rated as the nation's 71st-best propect, pitcher Russell Durfee from Silver Spring, Md., was an all-state selection at Springbrook High School.
Duke leads the overall series, 16-12, and has won the last three games against the Mids. The teams haven't met since the 1995 season.
After dropping the 2001 Patriot League Tournament Championship in two games to second-seeded Bucknell, a bad taste lingers in the mouths of the Navy baseball team.
However, with many of the key components of last year's Patriot League Regular-Season Champions returning to the Mids' lineup, the 2002 squad is looking to get back to the Patriot League Championship series and remember last year's defeat. Ten seniors and several talented newcomers will lead the way.
"Our expectations and goals are to contend for and win a league championship every year, but that is just one of our goals," Whitmyer said. "We are very disappointed and frustrated in how we played in the championship last year. We just did not feel like we played well.
"However, we want to start playing well from the very beginning. Hopefully, we will continue to get better as the season goes on and then play our best baseball in a championship format. Winning a Patriot League championship is a major goal, but it is one of many. First and foremost, we want to play well from the beginning and feel like we can be successful against any program in the country."
Of Navy's 10 seniors, nine played on the Mids' squad last year which posted a 14-6 regular-season mark in the Patriot League and claimed a share of the regular-season title with Bucknell.
"Our team is only going to be as good as our seniors in terms of leadership, chemistry and production," Whitmyer said. "When you have a large group of seniors, you expect most of them to have their best seasons. Starting with our team captain, Dominic Nicolini, and David Woolsey, our top-two catchers, I think that leadership is there. I expect both guys to continue to be vocal leaders, but we've got a lot of other seniors, too."
Other seniors expected to contribute include outfielders Brian Whitten and John Cocca, first baseman Neil Brubeck, second baseman Jason Guidos and pitcher Brian Pennell. Outfielders Trey Hargrove and Todd McKinney, along with pitcher Bryan Koehler, also return to round a strong senior class.
Also returning is a strong junior class, giving Whitmyer plenty of experience and a deep bench.
"One of our strengths this season will be the overall depth of our team," Whitmyer said. "In just about every position on the field, we are two-deep and in some cases even three-deep."
As Navy did in Whitmyer's first season, the Mids will look to be aggressive on the base paths and use their speed to put pressure on opposing defenses. Navy stole 112 bases last season, doubling the previous single-season record.
"Speed is certainly a strength of this team, just like it was last year," Whitmyer said. "We have quite a few guys that have above average speed, so we are hoping to make some things happen on the bases.
"Speed coincides with our team philosophy of being aggressive on the bases and not to be tentative. When we ran last year and were aggressive, we did very well. We did not run that much in the league championship, and I think that is a big reason we did not play well."
When talking about strengths, it is hard to ignore Navy's trio of talented junior starting pitchers. Matt Cooney, first-team All-Patriot League selection Matt Foster and Rich McDevitt were Navy's top hurlers last season, combining for a 13-10 record in 32 starts with an earned-run average of 4.25. The three posted a 10-3 record in Patriot League regular-season games.
"We have a lot of experience and depth in the pitching department, especially with our junior class in Cooney, Foster and McDevitt," Whitmyer said. "All three have experience pitching as starters, and they logged quite a few innings last year."
One weakness in the Mids' arsenal is a lack of power offensively.
"We are not going to be one of those physical teams offensively," Whitmyer said. "A big goal for us is to try and improve our power numbers, not just home runs but also in RBIs and slugging percentage. With the amount of runs being scored at the college baseball level, we need to improve in that area.
"College baseball today is a run-scoring sport. With teams averaging in the area of nine runs per game, you need to be able to do some things offensively. We need to hit the ball better, and our team batting average and slugging percentage need to go up."
Infield
Despite losing first-team All-Patriot League third baseman Nick Sylvester, the Navy infield remains intact with the return of five-key upperclassmen.
The strength of the Mids' infield begins behind the plate where two veteran catchers return in Woolsey and Nicolini. The two seniors split time at catcher last season with Woolsey making 25 starts and Nicolini 21.
Woolsey provides a consistent and solid bat offensively, posting the highest batting average (.337) on the squad in 2001 with 28 hits, four doubles, one home run, 10 RBIs and 17 runs scored. The Columbia, S.C., native had a slugging percentage and on-base percentage above .400, while throwing out 16 attempted base stealers.
Nicolini is a strong defensive catcher, but also has shown flashes of power at the plate. He batted .283 in 60 at-bats with three doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBIs and a slugging percentage of .417.
"Dave and Dom will be our top-two catchers, and I feel even better about the position this year because of our depth," Whitmyer said. "Will Mahan is a very good athlete that can also step in there. We also have three talented freshmen in Paul Knittle, Chris Pandy and Doug Silverman."
The biggest question mark on the infield is at first base, where a competitive battle looms.
Junior Rusty Hearn, senior Neil Brubeck and junior Ted Hart are all capable players, but one did not separate himself from the pack during the fall.
Hearn made 17 starts at first base last season and is a solid contact hitter. The left-hander hit .324 in 71 at-bats with 23 hits, four doubles, 11 RBIs and had the longest hitting streak on the squad (11).
Brubeck played his freshman year before taking two seasons off. A native of Bryan, Texas, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder brings a big bat to the lineup, but will be looking to get his timing back.
Hart saw the majority of his playing time on the junior varsity squad the past two seasons, but made huge strides in the off-season. Hart had an outstanding fall and turned the heads of the coaches.
"We are very solid at first, but it is still a dogfight to see who will get the majority of playing time," Whitmyer said. "Rusty is back and has a lot of experience. He hits well from the left side and will be a solid player for us again.
"Brubeck joined the team after playing his freshman year and can really swing the bat. Hart has come along quite well and has improved every year he has been here. We have three capable guys over there."
The gritty Guidos returns at second base after a breakout season in 2001, stepping up as one of the most consistent performers in the Navy lineup. Guidos tallied a career-high batting average of .303 and led the team in at-bats (155), hits (47) and walks (18). He stole 18 bases, ranking sixth all-time in single-season history, scored 27 runs, hit six doubles, drove in 17 runs and had an on-base percentage of .381.
Sophomore Dean Farmer and freshman Matt Lukevics are two of the Mids' most talented newcomers and also can play second base along with Chris Ashinhurst, the starting quarterback on Navy's 2001 championship sprint football team.
"Guidos is back and has a ton of experience at second," Whitmyer said. "I would expect him to have a good year because he is such a good all-around player. There are some other guys who could step in and do a good job for us there."
On the leftside of the infield, junior Jake Miller is looking to bounce back from a sophomore slump. Miller was named second-team All-Patriot League in 2000 after hitting .338 with 47 hits, 11 doubles and scored 37 runs.
With the loss of Sylvester at third base, Miller saw a lot of time at the hot-corner in the fall and may have found a new home at third base after playing shortstop during the last two seasons. The addition of Farmer and Lukevics gives Whitmyer plenty of options on the left side of the infield.
Lukevics, drafted in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, will likely move into the starting lineup and play shortstop. Lukevics is solid defensively and brings another strong bat to the lineup offensively. His father, Mitchell, played for the Chicago White Sox and currently works for the Devil Rays, while his grandfather played in the big leagues for the Detroit Tigers. With baseball running though his veins, Lukevics is a budding star.
"Jake played very well at third in the fall," Whitmyer said. "Lukevics showed he is very capable of playing shortstop. He has the chance to help us this year. Farmer can play short as well as third. Brad Hager came in last year and is starting to settle in to the infield, at either shortstop or at second base."
Outfield
Whitten returns to centerfield after starting 35 games, and missing 12 contests due to a hamstring injury. Strong with great range in center, the Westfield, Mass., native stole 20 bases in 23 attempts, fourth most in single-season history at Navy.
"I would consider Brian one of the better players on our team," Whitmyer said. "He has a lot of talent and can cover a lot of ground in center."
Cocca is back in right field after a breakout junior campaign, in which he paced all Navy base stealers in 2001 with a single-season record 24 bases in 29 attempts. At the plate, Cocca hit .287, and led the Mids in runs scored (33) and was third in both hits (41) and RBIs (23).
"Cocca returns in right, giving us a lot of experience, but he can also move over and play left, as well," Whitmyer said.
Craig Candeto, the backup quarterback on the Navy football team, made 31 starts in left field last year as a freshman and is expected to have a big season this spring. Candeto displayed his power at times last season, tallying six doubles and two home runs in 102 at-bats, but was too much of a streaky hitter.
"Craig played a lot of left field last year, so we will see how he comes back after football and how well he can get himself ready to play," Whitmyer said.
Sophomore Justin Jackson played well in the fall after spending last season playing on the junior varsity squad. Hargrove and McKinney along with freshman Pete Curnow provide even more depth in the outfield.
Pitching
The starting pitching rotation is strong with the return of Cooney, Foster and McDevitt.
Cooney had the lowest ERA (3.63) among Navy starters last season. He led the squad in strikeouts with 66 and compiled a 5-3 record. He tossed six complete game in eight starts, while opponents batted just .226 against the Mountaintop, Pa., native.
Foster was equally impressive, posting a 5-2 record with 37 strikeouts in 55 innings of work. In league games, Foster was 3-0 during the regular season. One of the top left-handed hurlers in the league, he is looking forward to an even bigger year in 2002.
After elbow problems in the fall, McDevitt returned with a healthy cannon in January, armed ready to improve on last year's performances. Despite a 3-5 record in 10 starts, McDevitt posted an ERA of 3.99 and opponents batted just .250 off the right-hander.
Whitmyer will be looking to find a fourth starter and the top-two candidates are Pennell and sophomore Andy Froistad.
Pennell started six games in 2000, but was used primarily as a long reliever last season. Second on the team in appearances with 14, the hard-throwing right-hander tallied two saves in 31.2 innings of work.
Froistad, a talented 6-foot-4 hurler from St. Paul, Minn., made nine appearances and two starts as a freshman, posting an ERA of 4.26. He struck out 14 and allowed 17 hits in 19 innings of work.
"Pennell has a lot of experience as a starter and a reliever," Whitmyer said. "Froistad has emerged as another guy who can start for us and log some innings. I see those five guys as being our top pitchers as far as starters go."
Out of the bullpen, Koehler has good velocity on his fast ball, while junior Steven Goocey possesses an array of off-speed and breaking pitches. Goocey made four appearances out of the bullpen late last season, working 4.2 innings and giving up just two hits and no runs. Left-hander Ryan Naquin will be in the mix as well after posting a 2-1 record in eight appearances in 2001.
With all the ingredients to make a run at the Patriot League title, Whitmyer wants to keep the approach simple.
"I believe, and I want our team to believe, that we can match up and play with anybody," he said. "We are just trying to prepare for our first weekend at Duke and take it game by game. We have to challenge ourselves each game to go out and play well. We need to treat each game like it is our last.
"A goal of ours is to play well the entire year, whether it is a conference game, a mid-week game or a postseason game. Our guys understand that better now, and we have something to prove every time we hit the field."
