20

09

pre

vie

w

11 2009 Preview 11..... Preview

13..... Roster

2 0 0 9 l e a t h e r n e c k B a s e B a l l

2009 preview

12 WESTERN ILLINOIS BASEBALL

he 2009 Western Illinois baseball teamlookstobuilduponthesuccessinrecentyearsoftheprogram.Withsevenpositionplayersreturningtothelineup,experience

bothattheplateandinthefieldcouldprovetobethedrivingforcefortheseason.

DefenseThe Leathernecks return a group defensively,that is anchored behind the plate by seniorCooperStewart.Inhisthreeseasonsbehindthedish,hehashelpedguidefourdifferentpitcherstoall-conferenceawards.

Around the horn, Western returns all of itsstartersfromayearago.TylerMetcalfreturnsatfirstaftercommittingjustfiveerrorsin2008.Upthe middle, Cole Waddell and Lorenzo Gallagagive both experience and flexibility, as eithercan play both positions. With all-league thirdbasemen Drew Laidig back at the hot corner,experiencecouldpaydividendsintheinfield.

Alongwith that experience comes depth at allspots.A.J.Whitten andDan Johnsonhave thepotentialtoplayanyspotontheinfield.Behindtheplate,JohnKoszulinski,JosephWaropayandCurtMyerscanassisttheworkloadwithStewart,inadditiontoprovidingbackupsupportateithercornerontheinfield.LaidigalsoprovidesanotheroptionatcatcherforheadcoachStanHyman.

The outfield has the only gap to fill in thedefensivestartinglineup,asformercenterfielderBrett Pendell graduated. Jared Wolf returns inleftfieldwhileKennyPriceshiftstocenterfromrighttofillthespotvacatedinthelineup.RightfieldremainstheonespotupforgrabsenteringtheseasonasseniorTylerTilburywill competewith junior transferAndrewHagins.AgroupoffourfreshmanandjuniorChrisAndersonprovideampledepthbehindtheveterans.

“Defensively, this is a sound infield,” saysWestern IllinoisheadcoachStanHyman.“Ourdefensivepriorityistotakeawaytheextrabaseand to minimize poor throws. Our strength ispickingtheballup.”

OffenseLast season the offense for Western came onstrong at the end of the year, and that lineupreturnsallbuttwospotsforHyman.

Laidig,Gallaga,WaddellandPriceledthe2008squadinbatting,afterallhitabove.300.Wolfwas not far off their pace as he batted .290,whileMetcalfprovidedpowerfromtherightsidewith five home runs to lead the team.Stewartbrings back the experience and patience. Lastyearheledtheteaminwalksandfinishedasthe23rdtoughestplayertostrikeoutinthenation.

Junior-transfer Darren Spicer gives a powerhitting option after he belted 11 homers atKirkwoodCommunityCollege.

Hagins,MyersandJohnsonprovideleftyoptionsinthe lineuptogoalongwithversatility in thefield.

“Thisisaveteranclubwithsevensolidoffensiveplayersreturning,”Hymanstatesoftheoffense.“Our priority is to execute situational hittingandtolooktotaketwobasesallthetime.Ourstrengthiseveryoneunderstandstheirroles.”

PitchingEric Eden returns as No. 1 in the rotation forWestern after guiding the team to its first oftwo top-10upsetwins in2008.Making a fullrecovery froman injury thatcuthis junioryearshort.

ChrisFuchsshould transition fromthebullpento the rotation after gaining experience on themoundasatruefreshman.AustinBroughcouldgivealeft-handedoptioninthestartingrotationthatwaslackinglastyear.

Thesouthpawsonlygetdeeperintothebullpenas Brock Simon, John Sneegas, Jordan Faller,ChrisDuguayandMitchellSleadjointheclub.

Agroupofyoungbutinexperiencedrightyarmsjoin the staff in the likes of David Hill, RyanCheekandRandonLingle.

4Wins (2008) 40+........................... 2 30+........................... 9 20+........................... 5 0-20........................... 5

4Post season Participcation NCAATournament........ 5 NAIATournament......... 1

4Preseason national rankings BaseballAmerica......... 3 CollegiateBaseball....... 2

cole Waddell should help anchor the lineup this season after leading the team in batting during summit league games last season.

IF tyler Metcalf

opponent breakdown

2009 preview

t

players to watch 4collegiate Baseball EricEden................RHP LorenzoGallaga......... SS DrewLaidig............... 3B KennyPrice............... OF DarrenSpicer.......1B/DH ColeWaddell............. 2B

2009 preview

WWW.WIuAThLETIcS.cOm 13

Themiddlerelief,setupandcloserroleswillbedeterminedbycommitteeearlyintheyearduetothelackofreturningarms.

“We’ve gotten physically bigger on the moundbut we need guys who will work ahead in thecount to be successful,” Hyman said of hispitchers.“Ourstrengthisnooneknowsanythingaboutthisgroupofyoungarms.”

the scheduleIt has become tradition for Hyman to puttogetherastoughofascheduleaspossibleforhis Leathernecks, and2009 is going to be noexception.

NinestraightgamesontheroadagainstrankedopponentsoutoftheBig12andSECopentheseasonforWestern.Back-to-backweekendseriesatNo.16OklahomaandNo.22ArkansascomeinFebruarybeforemid-weekcontestswithNo.10Missouri.

A pair of home games come in earlyMarch tostartplayatAlfredD.BoyerStadiumasLewisUniversityandClarkeCollegecome to townonconsecutivedays.

WesternheadstoFloridaduringspringbreakforcontests with ..... before a doubleheader withOklahomaState,March18.

Followingthosegames,theLeatherneckstraveltoIowaCity,March21,foradoubleheaderwithIowa,beforetheHawkeyescometoMacombthefollowingday.

AnotherBig12matchupcomesduringtheweekasWesterngoestoLawrence,Kan.,tobattletheJayhawks.

The final tuneup before the start of SummitLeagueplaycomesinaweekendserieswithSt.Ambrose,March28-29,athome.

Forthesecond-straightyear,SummitLeagueplayopenswithOakland,thisyearbeingontheroadforthefourgamesetattheGoldenGrizzlies.

ThenextfivegamescomeathomeasCoeCollegecomestotownApril7beforeCentenarytravelsinthefour-gameconferencesetontheweekend.

Western looks to avenge its final loss of the2008 seasonwhen it travels toSouthernUtahApril 16-18 for a four-game series with theThunderbirds.

OnApril21,IowaandtheLeathernecksmeetforthefourthtimeontheyear,thiscontesttakingplace at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport,Iowa.

Another five-game homestand begins the nextafternoon with Iowa Wesleyan before SouthDakotaStateheadsinforaSummitLeagueset,April24-25.

Thenext11games seesWesternhit the road,startingwithanApril29gameatIndiana.May2seesthetravelmoveeast,butstayinIndiana,asIPFWhoststhefour-gameset.

May5and6bringsseparategameswiththeBigTenastheLeatherneckstraveltoIllinoisbeforewrapping up a five-game season series withIowa.

Fargo, N.D., concludes the 11 road games forWestern as the Bison of North Dakota Statewelcomes the Leathernecks in for a SummitLeagueweekend.

Regular season play wraps up with defendingchampionOralRobertscomingtoBoyerStadiumMay15-17.

The Summit League Tournament returns toJ.L. Johnson Stadium on the campus of OralRoberts University for the 10th year. Only thetopfourteamsintheconferencequalifyforthetournament. Western looks to make it sevenconsecutivetournamentappearances.

eric eden is the top returner for the pitching rotation this season.

kenny Price returns for his senior season after being the only leatherneck to appear in all 54 games during 2008.

2009 preview

2009 preview

14 WESTERN ILLINOIS BASEBALL

leatherneck roster

pronunciation guideAustin Brough ............................................................................. BROchris Dronzek ................................................................. DROWN-zeckchris Duguay...........................................................................DO-gaychris Fuchs .................................................................................. FOXLorenzo Gallaga................................................................GAh-la-gahJohn Koszulinski ........................................................kah-zuh-LIN-skicole Waddell ........................................................................WAh-dell

No. Name Pos. B/T Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/HighSchool/PreviousSchool30 MatthewAbernathy RHP R/R 6-0 200 Fr. Vermont,Ill./V.I.T.31 ChrisAnderson OF L/L 6-1 205 Jr. Woodstock,Ill./Woodstock/McHenryCountyCollege25 AustinBrough LHP R/L 6-4 190 Jr. Clifton,Ill./Central/LakelandC.C.8 RyanCheek RHP/OF L/R 6-4 200 Fr. Monmouth,Ill./Monmouth-Roseville13 ChrisDronzek RHP R/R 6-0 175 Fr. Chicago,Ill./St.Laurence28 ChrisDuguay LHP L/L 6-4 215 Fr. MelbourneFla./Melbourne16 EricEden RHP R/R 6-5 200 Sr. Hillsborough,N.J./Hillsborough/FloridaC.C.27 JordanFaller LHP L/L 6-1 180 Jr. FallsCity,Neb./FallsCity/HighlandC.C.10 ChrisFuchs RHP R/R 6-1 190 So. PembrokePines,Fla./Charter4 LorenzoGallaga IF R/R 6-1 190 Sr. Frankfort,Ill./Lincoln-WayEast/RobertMorris21 AndrewHagins OF L/R 6-2 210 Jr. OakPark,Ill./OakParkandRiverForest/OaktonC.C. 39 DavidHill RHP R/R 6-5 225 Jr. Leavenworth,Kan./Leavenworth/HighlandC.C.18 DanJohnson IF L/R 6-2 170 Jr. Oglesby,Ill./Lasalle-Peru2 RyanJordan OF R/R 5-9 155 Fr. VernonHills,Ill./VernonHills9 JohnKoszulinski C R/R 6-0 225 So. Frankfort,Ill./LincolnWay-East12 DrewLaidig IF R/R 5-7 190 Sr. Pleasantville,Iowa/Carlisle/IndianHillsC.C.26 TomLilja OF R/R 6-0 230 Fr. Mokena,Ill./Lincoln-WayEast20 RandonLingle RHP R/R 6-3 230 Jr. Manhattan,Ill./Lincoln-WayCentral/SouthSuburbanC.C.44 BrianLoconsole RHP R/R 6-2 190 Fr. CarolStream,Ill./GlenbardNorth15 TylerMetcalf IF R/R 6-4 215 Sr. Wamego,Kan./Wamego/BartonCountyC.C.42 CurtMyers C/1B L/R 5-10 220 Fr. Macomb,Ill./Macomb23 KennyPrice OF R/R 6-1 205 Sr. Texarkana,Texas/Liberty-Eylau/NortheastTexasC.C.38 BrianRudy RHP R/R 6-2 165 Jr. Burlington,Iowa/West/SoutheasternC.C.7 BrockSimon LHP/OF L/L 6-0 175 Fr. LakeZurich,Ill./LakeZurich36 MitchellSlead LHP L/L 6-7 210 Jr. RockIsland,Ill./RockIsland/BlackhawkCollege22 JohnSneegas LHP L/L 5-11 165 Jr. Lawrence,Kan./LawrenceFreeState/Highland C.C.32 DarrenSpicer IF R/R 6-4 255 Jr. TroyMills,Iowa/NorthLinn/KirkwoodC.C.6 MitchStevens RHP R/R 6-1 185 Fr. TinleyPark,Ill./TinleyPark17 CooperStewart C/RHP R/R 5-8 170 Sr. Sterling,Ill./Sterling33 JordanTassio IF/OF R/R 6-0 215 Fr. Naperville,Ill./NapervilleNorth35 TylerTilbury OF R/R 5-11185 Sr. Winnipeg,Manitoba/Glenlawn3 ColeWaddell IF R/R 5-9 185 Sr. Derby,Kan./Derby/CowleyC.C.19 JosephWaropay C R/R 5-10 190 Fr. Bloomington,Ill./University29 JaredWolf OF R/R 6-0 175 Sr. St.Thomas,Ont./CentralElgin

Headcoach: 1 StanHyman(Franklin&Marshall,1981) 352-344-1(16thseasonoverall) 174-238(8thseasonatWesternIllinois)

Assistantcoaches:24 TomRadz-Pitching/Catching/Infield11 BrockBainter-Hitting/Outfield/ThirdBase34 SteveBarry-Bullpen/FirstBase

numerical roster

roster breakdownBy PositionInfield ....................7Outfield .................9catchers................4RhP .....................11LhP........................6

By classSenior ....................9Junior ..................11Sophomore ............2Freshman ............12

By stateIllinois .................20Kansas ..................4Iowa ......................3Florida ...................2New Jersey .............1Texas .....................1Nebraska ...............1

Ontario ..................1manitoba ...............1

No. Name Pos.2 RyanJordan OF3 ColeWaddell IF4 LorenzoGallaga IF6 MitchStevens RHP7 BrockSimon LHP/OF8 RyanCheek RHP/OF9 JohnKoszulinski C10 ChrisFuchs RHP12 DrewLaidig IF13 ChrisDronzek RHP15 TylerMetcalf IF16 EricEden RHP17 CooperStewart C/RHP18 DanJohnson IF19 JosephWaropay C20 RandonLingle RHP21 AndrewHagins OF22 JohnSneegas LHP23 KennyPrice OF25 AustinBrough LHP26 TomLilja OF27 JordanFaller LHP28 ChrisDuguay LHP29 JaredWolf OF30 MatthewAbernathy RHP31 ChrisAnderson OF32 DarrenSpicer IF33 JordanTassio IF/OF35 TylerTilbury OF36 MitchellSlead LHP38 BrianRudy RHP39 DavidHill RHP42 CurtMyers C/1B44 BrianLoconsole RHP

Coaches:1 StanHyman11 BrockBainter24 TomRadz34 SteveBarry