Feb. 14, 2011
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After graduating 10 seniors last spring, all of which played an integral role in the team's 30 victories, the Navy baseball team will have a much younger look in 2011. With 16 freshmen and nine sophomores on the roster, the opportunity for newcomers to step up and contribute will be as great as ever.
For the fourth time in the last five years, Navy posted a 30-win season in 2010. The Mids' success was keyed largely by last year's senior class, which accounted for over 50% of both the team's hits and RBIs.
With so much experience having departed, the Mids hope to leverage the passion and eagerness to contribute from the large group of underclassmen.
"A lot of enthusiasm is created by opportunity," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "Sometimes when you settle in for a couple of years, enthusiasm can wane. We might have lost some key contributors, but with the younger players, we have a boost of enthusiasm and we have to use that to be successful."
Navy was certainly the beneficiary of some young, emerging talent last season as Ben Nelson and fellow All-Patriot League selection Alex Azor posted breakout seasons. Among a senior-laden group of starters, the success of Nelson and Azor as underclassmen proved critical to the development and success of the team.
"We need a couple more guys to step up, like Nelson and Azor did last year," said Kostacopoulos. "The sophomore year for our student-athletes is huge. There are transitional qualities that go along with being here at the Naval Academy. So, as sophomores and juniors, that is when you need to pick it up and start playing. We've got some players that given the opportunity, we believe are ready to make an impact."
While the Midshipmen may have lost some of their key offensive contributors, they return a veteran pitching staff that accounted for 23 of their 30 wins from a season ago. Three senior pitchers - Wes Olson, Luke Roberts and Same Long - along with Nelson, make Navy's pitching staff one of the most talented and savvy in the conference.
"I think not only is our starting pitching our strength, but our pitching in general is a real asset of this team," Kostacopoulos said.
With a talented group of young and energetic players, combined with an experienced pitching staff, the Mids enter 2011 with a decided sense of optimism.
Starting Pitchers
The Mids return a total of eight pitchers, including four experienced weekend-starters, the Mids appear to be in solid shape on the hill. Johnny Schoberl and Zach Sipe will join Long and Nelson as the expected weekend starting pitchers.
"All four guys certainly have some ability and legitimate experience," said Kostacopoulos.
Long proved to be one of the top pitchers in the conference in 2010 as his 57 strikeouts led the Patriot League. One of the reasons for Long's exceptional 5.2-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio was his durability as he logged a total of 61.2 innings, which tied Nelson for the most in the Patriot League. The southpaw was a three-time Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and ended the year with a 4.52 ERA, which was ninth best in the conference.
Nelson made his presence known immediately last season and went on to garner Freshman All-America honors from both Collegiate Baseball Magazine and Ping! The Winter Springs, Fla., native posted the Patriot League's best ERA, at 2.34, in a conference-high 14 appearances. Similar to Long, Nelson also proved durable as he lasted at least 6.0 innings in all seven starts and had a team-leading three complete games.
One of the reasons for his terrific success was his ability to limit opponents to base hits; just six of the 55 hits he surrendered on the season were extra-base hits. He finished the season with a 5-2 record
Schoberl made just seven appearances, including five starts, last season before an injury sidelined him at the end of March. In limited action, the sophomore finished the year with 21 strikeouts and just ten walks in 24.2 innings. With the injury now behind him, the Navy staff eagerly anticipates Schoberl's return to the mound.
"We're certainly excited about his stuff," said Kostacopoulos. "He has great ability."
The experience among the starting pitchers continues with Sipe, who enters the year with a staff-leading 22 career starts. The junior started 11 games in each of his first two seasons and tied for the team lead in wins last season with five. Sipe racked up 61.0 innings and he limited opponents to five or fewer hits in seven of his 11 starts. The Huffman, Texas, native held opponents to .268 batting average, which was the second lowest of any Patriot League pitcher that started at least 11 games.
Relief Pitchers
The talent and experience of the Navy pitching staff extends beyond the starters as a veteran-laden bullpen returns for 2011. Seniors Wes Olson and Luke Roberts, along with sophomore Joel Rinehart, all played various key roles on the staff last season and will contribute even more this season.
Olson brings the most experience to the bullpen as he logged 59.1 innings last season, as 10 of his 13 outings were starts. He went at least 5.0 innings in eight of his 10 starts and his 153.0 career innings pitched are the most of any pitcher on the staff. Olson boasted a 4.40 ERA in 2010, which was eighth best in the Patriot League.
While 27 of his 35 career outings were starts, Kostacopoulos is hoping Olson's experience and ability will carry over to success as a reliever.
"We're hoping to move Wes to the bullpen because of his versatility," Kostacopoulos said. "He can give us long or short innings there. He threw close to 60 innings last year, so he has a lot of experience and it's nice to have someone like that out of the bullpen."
Fellow senior Roberts had the second-best ERA on the team last season at 2.53. While he only threw 21.1 innings, the right-hander was effective as he allowed just six earned runs, struck out 12 and walked just three. He also surrendered two or fewer hits in seven of his 10 outings.
"We'll look for Luke to be in more of a set-up role this season," Kostacopoulos said. "Again, he is a guy that has a lot of experience."
Rinehart made 14 appearances last season, including 12 out of the bullpen. He provided some solid innings for the Mids as he picked up three saves and posted a 3.56 ERA.
In addition, the Mids will expect significant contributions from their underclassmen.
"A few new guys - Jordan Heller and Dwayne Gammage - are going to be pretty impactful, we think," said Kostacopoulos. "Stephen Geiss pitched very well for us in fall, and is one of those guys that we hope really improves because he has shown some real potential. There are certainly some other capable freshmen but we'll see what happens this spring."
Josh Elmore, Preston Gainey, Matt Jackson and Harrison Pollard add quality depth to the staff.
Catchers
Behind the plate, captain Jeff Bland will lead the Midshipmen. The senior started 23 of the 29 games in which he appeared last season and posted a career-best .286 batting average. The Basking Ridge, N.J., native boasts strong defensive skills behind the plate as he made just three errors in 132 chances in 2010.
"Jeff is a good defensive catcher," said Kostacopoulos. "He receives well, throws well, blocks well and our guys have a confidence in throwing to him. He is a pretty comfortable guy to throw to. Offensively, hopefully he can improve for us as well."
In addition to Bland, sophomore Dave Milanes will also figure into the mix behind the dish. Milanes saw action in just four games last season, but should get significantly more playing time this spring.
"With the amount of games we play, I think David will get some substantial playing time," Kostacopoulos said. "Our schedule really demands that we have two catchers and he had a very good fall for us.
"We're in a good spot behind the plate."
Freshmen Chance Jones and David Norman will provide depth behind the plate.
Infielders
Playing behind upperclassmen last year, sophomore Greg Dupell saw action in 13 games in 2010. With a year of experience under his belt, Dupell entered fall practice eager to show improvement, but a broken wrist kept him out for a majority of the off-season practices.
Despite the time off due to the injury, Kostacopoulos is confident that Dupell will return to contribute right away this spring.
"Greg is a guy we're certainly looking for to impact our program," said Kostacopoulos. "He played first base last year, but he is versatile, and we can also move him to second or third base."
With Dupell sidelined during the fall, freshman Kash Manzelli got the opportunity to step in and pick up more reps at first base. While the versatility of Dupell could allow him to move around to play other positions in the infield, Manzelli offers the Mids quality depth at first base.
"Kash showed some really good things in the fall," said Kostacopoulos of the left-handed hitter. "We're looking for some good production from him down the road."
Senior Nick Driscoll, who has started a total of 120 games entering 2011, provides the infield with some needed veteran leadership, and could start the season at second base. He started a total of 28 games last season, with those starts being split equally between shortstop and second base. Offensively, Driscoll hit .264 in 87 at-bats and chipped in 18 RBIs last season.
Freshman Nikolai Simonsen could also see some playing time at second base.
Though just a sophomore, another player that provides the Mids with valuable experience is Dylan Wheeler. The Novato, Calif., native played in 44 games, making 37, starts as a freshman.
"Dylan played a lot last year and we hope he can become more consistent, both offensively and defensively," said Kostacopoulos. "We need him to improve in every facet of the game."
Sophomore Chris Campbell and a pair of freshmen in Greg Bryant and Kyle Hackney will provide depth at shortstop.
While none of the infield positions are set in stone heading into the 2011 season, third base is perhaps the one spot most undetermined. Junior Josh Moore, sophomore Craig Veech as well as Dupell, will all vie for time at third base.
"Josh has had some opportunities in the past and has some experience there," Kostacopoulos said. "Craig also has experience there and we can certainly try Greg there as well."
Moore started 16 games at third base last season and hit .321 in 53 at-bats. Veech saw action in 16 games and made six starts in 2010.
Outfielders
While pitching may be Navy's biggest strength entering the season, the talent in the outfield may prove to be just as much of an asset.
"I really think the second strength of our team is defensively in the outfield," said Kostacopoulos. "I think we are especially built very well for our home field."
Leading the way in the outfield is Azor, who was second on the team in batting average (.362), total bases (83) and RBIs (34) last season. The Miami native reached safely in 42 of the 48 games in which he appeared and posted two separate 12-game hitting streaks during the campaign.
"With everything that he can do, Alex is as good of a player we have had in center field," said Kostacopoulos.
Andrew Hahn posted a solid .328 batting average last season and expects to be the everyday left fielder in 2011. Hahn started 19 games and appeared in 38 in 2010.
"Andrew is a very good runner and has worked his way into becoming a pretty darn good defensive fielder," said Kostacopoulos.
The speedy Hahn also stole eight bags last season.
While the center field and left field positions appear to be solidified, right field is a bit more wide open entering the season.
Freshman Brandon Beans was a bright spot at the beginning of the fall, but an injury forced him to miss a balance of the practices.
Senior Jonathan Wright, who has a .310 career batting average, could also step into the starting role in right field.
A host of other freshmen, including Matt Kilby, Tory West and Taylor Cato could also join the mix.
"We certainly have some ability - as well as some depth in the outfield," Kostacopoulos said.
