Young, talented Cougars aim to turn around disappointing 2005 results

Under the direction of first-year head coach Greg Roberts, the University of Saint Francis baseball team heads into its 43rd season intent on improving on its four-win season of 2005. The Cougars have added more athletic players who will provide more depth, but the pitching staff has emerged as the main question about the 2006 Cougars. Depth will be a key as Roberts has put together one of the Cougars’ most ambitious schedules in the history of the program with 51 games between March 11 and April 29 including 27 non-conference games.

Here’s the breakdown on the 2005 Cougars:

Infield
USF is solid at shortstop with the return of Mickey Cassidy, just a sophomore who flashed some serious leather last season as a freshman starter. “He’s athletic and Mickey has excellent range with a work ethic that should help him to continue to improve,” Roberts said. On offense, Cassidy is the fourth best returning hitter for the Cougars after hitting .262 in 2005.

Jarrod Wehri anchors the infield at first base, another freshman starter in 2005 who has an excellent glove and is the No. 2 returning RBI man with 25 as a freshman. “Don’t be surprised to see Jarrod pick up his production on offense this season,” Roberts said.
Roberts is looking at two contenders at second base – Mike Ybarra and Jason Fazio. “Mike is the frontrunner early in training camp,” Roberts said. “He’s got good speed, can cover some ground and has a good arm.”

At third base, Roberts has several candidates vying for playing time. There is Jon Degitz, a three-year letter-winner who has started at second base and shortstop as well as third base; Berto Nunez, who has started at third base and catcher the last two seasons; and Ty Wannemacher. “All three could some playing time at third this season depending on the situation and their strengths.”

Catcher
Matt Altenberger is new to the USF program, but brings winning experience and a strong arm to the backstop position as a transfer from Ohio Dominican University. He’s got the inside track for the starting position with competition coming from a pair of freshman – Ben Dunlap and Craig Herrberg – as well as Nunez and Phil Schweder. Cougar opposition stole 86 bases in 102 attempts in 2005. “We’re looking at bringing that percentage down a lot in 2006,” Roberts emphasized.

Outfield
Junior Josh Widman and sophomore Jay Bidlack return for the Cougars, Widman a 32-game starter and Bidlack a 17-game starter in 2005. Widman has the most experience among the Cougars’ outfield corps and produced an impressive 2005 season offensively when he led USF in batting average, runs scored, RBI, hits, slugging percentage, doubles, triples and tied Wehri for the team lead in home runs. “He’s a solid, durable player in right field with a strong arm,” Roberts said about Widman. “Jay’s a solid defensive asset in left field with a good arm and he’s got a season of experience in the conference, so he’s expecting a strong senior season,” Roberts said.

Center field is the outfield position up for grabs between newcomer Andy Papagiannis, a senior all-conference wide receiver for the USF football team, and freshman Jake Trahin. “Both Andy and Jake run well and we expect solid defense from both,” Roberts noted. “Andy will have to shake off some rust since he hasn’t played since high school, but he’s a talented athlete.” This will be Papagiannis’ first season playing baseball for USF. Other outfield candidates include Pat O’Neil, Tywan Cole, Darrion White and freshman Andy Smith.

Pitching
Health and depth are the primary concerns for the USF pitching staff. Right-handed pitcher Mark McCarty is coming off a solid 2005 season when he led USF in strikeouts, innings pitched and tied for the most starts. McCarty, Marc Gillig and Kyle Mawer were the only three returning pitchers to escape injury issues either last season or during the off-season. Roberts expects all three to battle for starts in the pitching rotation and is counting on improved play with a year of experience under their belts.

Left-hander Cody Casagrande is recovering from an arm injury while Jason Beer, who tied for starts with McCarty, and Zach Niec are hoping for quick recoveries after off-season surgery. Right-hander Zach Byard is coming back after sustaining an arm injury while playing football for USF.

“If everyone gets healthy, we should be okay,” Roberts said. “If not, we may have to use some position players on the mound. Matt Degitz and Bart Schnur are two freshmen who we are counting on for some innings as well.”

Designated Hitter / Pinch-Hitting
Besides Nunez, Jon Degitz and Wannemacher, Roberts also expects freshman Tony Drysdale to get some at-bats either at designated hitter or as a pinch hitter

Wrap-up
“We’ve got some talented players who I feel it is time for them to step up, show what they can do and prove they can play at this level,” Roberts said. “This is their chance to compete and win some games. We’ve got some pitching issues, but we can take some pressure off our staff by scoring some runs.”

This will be the second season that USF will play in the Mid-Central Conference South Division four times and will play Huntington University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Marian College, and Taylor University four times. Bethel College, Goshen College, Grace College and Spring Arbor comprise the Northern Division. USF will play north division teams just twice. The top three finishers in each division will secure a berth in the MCC playoffs in May.

-- GO USF --