|
The Infield
The infield
should be the strength of the Cougars this season. USF returns all of its starters in the infield except for
1B Jeff Blair, who graduated last season. The Cougars are strong up the middle with the return of
second basemen Tyler Jackey, shortstop Jon Degitz, and catcher Jeff
O’Keefe. Slick-fielding junior
Brian Butcher is back at third base after a breakout season in 2003. The starting first base position is
still up in the air. Fighting
for playing time are freshmen Jason Beer and Justin Dickason, as well as
junior Tyler Johnson. Dickason
is the only left-handed hitter on the Cougar roster. Freshmen Allan Robbins will provide
depth at both middle infield positions.
Warsaw native Humberto Nunez will compete for playing time at 3rd
base, catcher, and designated hitter.
St. Francis’ infield should be one of the strongest and most
experienced groups in all of the Mid-Central Conference.
The Outfield
The outfield was
an extremely problematic area for the Cougars last season. USF head coach Doug Coate immediately
strengthened the outfield with the signings of a pair of Ohio freshmen (Josh
Widman and Craig Long). Widman
is an extremely talented player with a strong arm and powerful bat. Long has exceptional range in the
outfield. Robert Carroll returns after a stellar freshmen season (.313, 5 HR,
19RBI). Carroll will need to
have similar success at the plate for the Cougars to thrive in the
always-tough MCC play. Also back
in the outfield is senior Nic Nielsen.
Nielsen split time at both the infield and the outfield last
season. The contact must improve
his .226 batting average of a year ago.
Also, Josiah Brown will figure into the mix. Brown possesses an extremely quick first step. The outfield race is wide open. This group must gel for the Cougars
to make the post-season tournament.
2003 Batting Statistics
PLAYER
|
AVG
|
GP
|
AB
|
R
|
H
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
RBI
|
TB
|
SLG %
|
BB
|
HBP
|
K
|
GDP
|
OB%
|
SF
|
SH
|
SB
|
|
CARROLL, Robert
|
.313
|
30
|
83
|
21
|
26
|
7
|
1
|
5
|
19
|
50
|
.602
|
5
|
0
|
14
|
0
|
.348
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
|
BUTCHER,
Brian
DEGI
|
.309
|
32
|
94
|
17
|
29
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
11
|
41
|
.436
|
8
|
9
|
19
|
0
|
.411
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
DEGITZ,
Jon
|
.267
|
30
|
75
|
12
|
20
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
26
|
.347
|
2
|
2
|
15
|
0
|
.300
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
|
O’KEEFE,
Jeff
|
.248
|
34
|
109
|
8
|
27
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
35
|
.321
|
7
|
1
|
20
|
1
|
.299
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
NIELSEN,
Nic
|
.226
|
32
|
84
|
12
|
19
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
23
|
.274
|
4
|
6
|
11
|
0
|
.309
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
|
FOSTER,
Josh
|
.222
|
6
|
9
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
.222
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
.222
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
HOUK,
Nick
J
|
.200
|
8
|
20
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
.200
|
0
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
.200
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
JACKEY,
Tyler
|
.160
|
34
|
94
|
14
|
15
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
21
|
.223
|
2
|
2
|
15
|
0
|
.192
|
1
|
6
|
1
|
|
JOHNSON,
Tyler
|
.125
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
.125
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
.125
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
TOTALS
|
.248
|
34
|
576
|
86
|
143
|
33
|
3
|
7
|
57
|
203
|
.352
|
28
|
20
|
110
|
1
|
.306
|
4
|
18
|
6
|
The Pitching Staff
This year’s pitching must be better than last season (7.56
ERA). Two pitchers in the
starting rotation return in senior Vince Campanale and sophomore Robert
Carroll. These two will be
expected to log a great deal of innings. Campanale was able to complete 5 of his 8 starts last
season. One of last season’s key
relief pitchers, Zach Byard, will be asked to step into the starting
rotation. Byard has all of the
ability to be a very quality pitcher in the MCC. Nick Houk also figures to be in the starting rotation
after coming off of season ending knee surgery a year ago. Freshmen standout Jason Beer should
conclude the starting rotation.
The highly recruited Fort Wayne native should be very successful, once
making the adjustment to college baseball. Senior lefty Ryan Merch |
