2/15/2005 - Baseball
2005 Navy Baseball Season Outlook

Annapolis, Md. - Navy baseball head coach Steve Whitmyer told his team prior to fall practice to put the 2004 season behind it and move on and prepare for the upcoming campaign. He stressed working on fundamentals, but more importantly, he stressed to his guys to have fun and play together as a team.

Following a rigorous fall practice, Whitmyer believed his team accomplished everything he needed it to do.

"We had an outstanding fall practice," said Whitmyer, who enters his fifth season on The Yard. "The guys came together as a group and came to practice looking to have a better 2005 season. They had a lot of fun during those practices and I think that attitude will carry over into the spring."

Infield

The Midshipmen struggled up the middle last season, but the return of several letterwinners and an influx of newcomers give Whitmyer reason to believe the infield will be a strength on this season's team.

"We worked a lot on strengthening our middle infield this fall and everyone responded," Whitmyer said.

Senior Matt Lukevics will be looked upon to provide leadership in the infield. Lukevics split time between second and third base last season and proved to be a durable player for the Mids appearing in 49 of 50 games and making 47 starts. The 49 appearances and 47 starts were bested by only two other players on the team and are the most for a returnee this season.

Several returning infielders learned on the job as underclassmen last season and showed tremendous potential at the plate.

Junior Jared Munde earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors at first base by posting a team-leading .356 batting average (minimum 60 at-bats) with two home runs and 20 runs batted in. Munde, who started 27 games at first, recorded a .973 fielding percentage and committed just six errors in 223 attempts.

Munde split time at first with classmate Ryan McGinn (19 starts). McGinn ranked second on the team with a .349 batting average and a pair of homers and eight RBI.

"Munde and McGinn were two of the bright spots for us last season," Whitmyer said. "They performed well at the plate and in the field."

Sophomore B.J. Bickel came on strong in his rookie campaign and appeared in 27 games with 18 starts. Bickel tied with Lukevics for most starts at second with 18. He committed just five errors in 95 chances last season for a .947 fielding percentage. At the plate, Bickel posted a respectable .254 batting average -- good for seventh on the team -- with one home run and five RBI.

Classmate Dominic Lopez learned on the job as a newcomer last season by starting a team-high 26 games at shortstop. Lopez, who started 10 double plays, showed tremendous potential at the plate by batting .274 (20-for-73) with nine RBI. He also ranked fourth on the team for highest batting average.

Senior Doug Silverman and junior Jonathan-Matthew Johnston will return to split the catching duties. Silverman started 23 games behind the plate, while Johnston started 21.

Outfield

Several Mids who manned the outfield last season are gone, but returnees such as senior captain Trevor Thompson, junior D.J. Faldowski and sophomore J.P Temperilli will provide experienced depth.

Temperilli led the team in home runs (5) and RBI (24), while turning in a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (33-for-33) with 17 starts in left field and five in right.

Faldowski, who also started 19 games in the designated hitter's role, started three in left field.

Thompson, who won a Rhodes Scholarship in November, started 12 games in right and two in left.

"Trevor has been a solid leader for us so far," Whitmyer said. "He has done so much on the field and off and the guys on this team really respect him for it."

Munde can also play the outfield and could see time in left field. Sophomore Lewis Hobbs started a game in center last season and has solid speed to cover a lot of ground.

Pitching

Navy will welcome the return of several experienced pitchers, including First-Team All-Patriot League honoree Burgess Nichols.

As a freshman last season, Nichols posted a 2-0 record with a team-best 3.54 earned run average. He also led the team with four saves and struck out 24, while walking just 12 over 48 1/3 innings of work.

Junior Ryan Hefner was the other mid to post an ERA under 4.00 last season with a 3.90 mark. Hefner was tied for the team lead with three wins (3-6). He led the team with 60 innings pitched and started 11 of his 12 appearances with two complete games.

Senior Jeff Lange tied with Hefner for the team lead in wins (3-2) and started seven of 15 games he appeared in. Lange struck out 51, while issuing just 15 walks over 51 innings of work.

Sophomore Daniel Kovalcik and junior Joe Koessler each won a pair of games last season. Kovalcik went 2-4 and Koessler compiled a 2-4 mark with two saves as well. Koessler set school and Patriot League records for appearances in a season with 27.

"We have some pitchers returning that pitched well at some points last season and not so great at other times. They were all young then, but should be better this season with a year of experience."

Newcomers

Navy will welcome 20 newcomers to the fold, who bring with them some impressive accolades.

Mitch Harris, who is projected to pitch and play first base, earned North Carolina All-State honors twice at South Point High School.

Mark McCoy is another freshman that earned Florida All-State honors in high school while leading his 2002 and '03 baseball teams to state championships.

William Maugeri led his 2002 baseball team to the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia Private School Championship with an impressive 39-7 record.

Other newcomers who could factor into the mix this season are Renaldo Hollins, Mark Guadagnini and Thomas Hamilton.

"We have some young guys who could see some playing time right away," Whitmyer said. "Everyone on this ball club is going to get a fair chance to earn playing time. It's up to them if they will make the most of their opportunity."

Schedule

The Mids will play a challenging schedule during the 2005 season, including teams from major conferences such as the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, MAC and Mountain West.

The highlight of the schedule will be a trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., March 2, to face the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in an exhibition at 1:05 p.m., at Progress Energy Park.

"This schedule is going to be exciting and challenging this year," Whitmyer said. "In addition to our conference schedule, we will face some strong teams from the major conferences. We are looking forward to facing them."

Navy will open Feb. 19-20, at the Savannah State Tournament. After a doubleheader against Savannah State Saturday, the Midshipmen will face Villanova (1 p.m.) and Virginia Tech (4:30 p.m.) in back-to-back games the following day.

Navy will be back on the road the following weekend (Feb. 25-27) where it will compete in the Service Academies Classic in Millington, Tenn. The Mids will face Missouri (Feb. 25, 10 a.m.), Air Force (Feb. 26, 10 a.m.) and Indiana (Feb. 27, 9 a.m.) at the Classic.

Following the Devil Rays exhibition, Navy will face VMI in Lexington, Va., March 5-6. Both teams will square off in a doubleheader Saturday (12 p.m.) and conclude the series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start.

Navy will return home for its home-opener, Tuesday, March 8, as it plays host to Coppin State at 2:30 p.m., at Max Bishop Stadium.

The spring break trip for Navy this season will feature a three-game series at East Carolina (March 11-13) and two games in the Duke Tournament (March 15-16). The Mids will face Duke on the first day of the tournament and Yale in the tournament's finale.

A season-long 12-game homestand follows the spring trip. Navy will play host to Boston College in a doubleheader (March 19, 12 p.m.) and conclude the series March 20, with a 1 p.m. start. A week later, Navy will play host to Buffalo in a doubleheader (March 26, 12 p.m.) and a 1 p.m. start in the series finale (March 27).

The Midshipmen will then play host to Georgetown (March 29) and UMBC (March 31), with both games beginning at 2:30 p.m.

The Patriot League schedule kicks into full gear April 2-3, as the Mids play host to Bucknell in a doubleheader on both days beginning at noon.

The 2005 Patriot League schedule calls for doubleheaders to be played on Saturdays and Sundays with both days' games beginning at noon.

Navy will head back out on the road April 9-10 at Holy Cross and then return home for the first of three-straight league series against the teams that qualified for last season's Patriot League tournament.

The Midshipmen will play host to Lafayette (April 16-17) and then travel to Lehigh (April 23-24) and Army (April 30-May 1) for the Star Series.

The 2005 regular season concludes May 3 at George Mason (noon) and the Patriot League Tournament will be held May 14-15 at the site of the regular season champion.


2005 Outlook Capsule

2004 Overall Record...14-36
2004 Patriot League Record/Finish...7-13/T6th
Home Record...11-13
Away Record...3-21
Neutral Record...0-2
Day Games...14-34
Night Games...0-2
vs. Left...2-7
vs. Right...12-29
One-Run Games...5-8
Two-Run Games...3-5
5+-Run Games...2-15
Extra Innings...1-2
Shutouts...0-4

2005 Team Information

Lettermen Returning/Lost...19/7
Newcomers...21
Captain...MIDN 1/C Trevor Thompson
All-Patriot League Returnees...2
(OF Jared Munde and P Burgess Nichols)

Top Returnees/Newcomers

Position Players...('04 stats; Avg., HR, RBI)
Jared Munde (Jr./1B)...(.356, 2, 20)
Ryan McGinn (Jr./OF)...(.349, 2, 8)
Dominic Lopez (So./INF)...(.274, 0, 9)
J.P. Temperilli (So./OF)...(.269, 5, 24)
B.J. Bickel (So./INF)...(.254, 1, 5)

Pitchers...('04 stats; W-L, ERA, IP, SO)
Burgess Nichols (So./R)...(2-0, 3.54, 48.1, 24)
Ryan Hefner (Jr./L)...(3-6, 3.90, 60.0, 31)
Daniel Kovalcik (So./L)...(2-4, 4.01, 33.2, 15)
Jeff Lange (Sr./R)...(3-2, 4.94, 51.0, 51)
Robert Herrick (Jr./L)...(1-3, 6.37, 29.2, 13)

Newcomers...(Hometown/High School)
Thomas Hamilton (INF)...(Houston, Texas/Lamar)
Mitch Harris (INF)...(Mt. Holly, N.C./South Point)
Mark McCoy (P)...(Parkland, Fla./Douglas)


Returning Statistical Leaders

Hitting
Category...Player (Stat)
Average...Jared Munde (.356)
Home runs...J.P. Temperilli (5)
Runs batted in...J.P. Temperilli (24)
Runs scored...Matt Lukevics (21)
Hits...Matt Lukevics (36)
Doubles...D.J. Faldowski and Matt Lukevics (8)
Triples...Dominic Lopez (2)
At-bats...Matt Lukevics (158)
Slugging percentage...Ryan McGinn (.506)
Walks...Matt Lukevics (12)
Strikeouts...Matt Lukevics (44)
Multiple hit game...Matt Lukevics (8)
Multiple RBI games...J.P. Temperilli (6)
Longest hitting streak...Matt Lukevics (10)

Pitching
Category...Player (Stat)
Wins...Ryan Hefner and Jeff Lange (3)
Losses...Ryan Hefner and Rob Molinaro (6)
Earned run average...Burgess Nichols (3.54)
Saves...Burgess Nichols (4)
Appearances...Joe Koessler (27)
Starts...Ryan Hefner (11)
Complete games...Ryan Hefner (2)
Innings pitched...Ryan Hefner (60)

Fielding
Category...Player (Stat)
Percentage...J.P. Temperilli (1.000)
Assists...Matt Lukevics (99)
Errors...Matt Lukevics (27)
Putouts...Jared Munde (196)
Fielding double plays...Jared Munde (17)