2009 ECU baseball preview

Last June, the ECU baseball team trotted off Vrooman Field in Conway, S.C.--four victories shy of Omaha.

The loss to Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Regionals is fresh on their minds as they get set to open a three-game series with Monmouth this weekend.

"When we ended that loss to Coastal, it hit us hard and we don't want to relive that again," said ECU junior designated hitter/first baseman Kyle Roller. "We're going to come out here every day working our tail off and hopefully get to a Super Regional and reach Omaha."

Roller, who batted .299 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI's last season, is expected to be a key contributor of what should be a fantastic ECU offense that returns six starters from last year.

In fact, all preseason long ECU coach Billy Godwin has made it clear that the overall experience and depth is what separates this current Pirate team from his three previous squads.

"Our experience with our position players is probably our biggest strength," said Godwin, whose team finished with a 41-21 record last season. "We need those guys to come back and be veterans. They need to have the kind of years that we've seen them have [in the past] and we need our young guys to step up. But I feel very good about the talent level."

At first base, senior Brandon Henderson will get the start after setting career-highs in multiple categories last season. In 2008, Henderson batted .347 while hitting 11 home runs and totaling 52 RBI's.

As for the middle infield, senior Ryan Wood returns to his role at second base while sophomore Dustin Harrington will get the start at shortstop. Wood will also compete for the role of closer on the pitching staff along with sophomore Seth Simmons.

Last season, Wood set a career-high with 13 home runs. Harrington, who earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team last season, brings stellar defense to the infield.

Third base will be manned by last year's No. 23 award-winner Drew Schieber, who is hoping to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2008 campaign. Freshman Corey Thompson is also expected to see time at third.

In the outfield, the Pirates are hoping to fill voids left in the center field and right field positions that were helmed by Harrison Eldridge and Jamie Ray. Senior Trent Ashcraft will take over center field after a stellar summer in the Cape Cod League where he hit .327 with 8 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Sophomores Trent Whitehead and Devin Harris will battle for the slot in right field, where Whitehead is expected to be the starter come opening day, mainly due to his speed.

Left field will see the return of Stephen Batts, where he made 32 of his 63 starts last season. Batts, one of four team captains for 2009, had a career-high 10 homeruns last year along with highs of 14 stolen bases and 80 hits.

The biggest position that ECU will be looking to fill is catcher after the departure of 2008 C-USA Player-of-the-Year Corey Kemp. Last year, Kemp led the Pirates in homeruns with 18 and RBIs with 72.

Junior college-transfer Jared Avchen and sophomore Bobby Fowler are still battling for the catcher position.

When if comes to filling holes in the lineup left by graduating seniors, Godwin counts on his team to step up to the challenge.

"Guys step up and emerge out of the shadows," Godwin said. "Who is it going to be this year? We really don't know, but we have guys that are poised to step in and show what they can do. You can't replace good players. You will miss them, but you just roll guys over and prepare them to step in and fill the void."

Pitching will be the most important aspect of the 2009 Diamond Bucs. Last season, current sophomores Seth Maness, Sthil Sowers, Seth Simmons and Brad Mincey gave the Pirates 18 wins in their rookie campaigns.

While the pitching unit seems to be a strong point, Godwin sees it as a concern.

"Our pitching staff is very talented," Godwin said. "But if there is a concern that I have right now, it would be their youth and inexperience."

Maness highlights the pitching unit after being named to five preseason All-American Squads. The talented Pinehurst native posted a 9-2 record last season along with 81 strikeouts to 20 walks. He is currently slated to be the Friday night starter.

Saturday night will belong to junior college transfer Chris Heston who had an 8-9 record during his stay at Seminole Community College.

The Sunday starter has yet to be determined but is expected to go to either Mike Anderson or Sowers, both of who are sophomores. Anderson returns to the rotation after having to sit out last season due to Tommy John surgery, but as a freshman posted a 1-1 record in six starts. Last season, Sowers posted a 4-4 record with one save in 15 appearances.

Also expected to see playing time in the rotation are freshmen RHP Shawn Armstrong, RHP Lance Honeycutt, RHP Michael Wright and LHP Patrick Somers. Sophomore RHP Mincey and senior RHP Britton Cole round out the starting pitching unit.

As for relief pitchers, senior RHP Bailey Daniels will be the Pirates set-up man after posting a 1-0 record last season in 15 appearances with 11 strikeouts and six walks. The versatile Mincey will also be used in late innings situations as well as freshman lefties Mark Wilder and Kevin Brandt.

The closing role has come down to Simmons, who contributed two saves last season, and second baseman Wood who is expected to make his debut on the mound.

"We're very deep," Anderson said of the pitching staff. "We have a lot of new guys coming in that are ready to take a major role this season and a lot of returners that are ready to go. I think it is going to be a good year."

In order for the Pirates to have a great season, they first have to make their way through a treacherous schedule that includes 11 schools that earned a bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament with North Carolina and conference foe Rice making it to the College World Series.

"I'm not the type of guy that likes going out and playing small schools," said Batts. "I want to go out there and play the best of the best. It helps you week after week. It will prepare us for the next level."

ECU, predicted to finish second in C-USA behind Rice, finished fifth last season in the conference, but many think this year the Pirates are prepared to win their first C-USA title since 2002.

"Conference USA is a tough conference," Roller said. "Any team can win on any day. All you can do is go out there and compete. I think with the team we got, we have a spot of being number one in the conference."

Friday's first pitch against the Hawks is scheduled for 3 p.m.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.