2004 Baseball Outlook
January 14, 2004 | Baseball
While ECU's offense and position defense return in tack, the Pirate pitching is the only question mark. ECU lost 18 wins on the mound with the graduation of four seniors. A mix of junior college transfers and true freshmen are expected to fill the void.
The Pirates' 2004 schedule will be a challenging one with games against seven NCAA Regional participants and three Super Regional Participants in conference foe Houston, Arizona State and N.C. State.
If ECU's pitching situation can be solidified early, the 2004 schedule may not be as daunting. With experience and a host of talent, the Pirates could be "goin'" to the big series in Omaha.
PITCHERS
ECU had to say goodbye to four talented seniors in 2003 in Will Brinson, Glenn Tucker, Neal Sears and Davey Penny. With only five pitchers with game experience returning, the Pirates will have to depend upon their junior college signees as well as some talented freshmen to help replace a staff which set a school record with 480 strikeouts last season.
"This team will have a completely different look this year because we have so many unproven pitchers," Mazey said. "We do not return many conference wins from last season with our returning guys so the entire staff will be basically new but they are very talented and are going to have to grow up quickly."
Junior Greg Bunn is ECU's top returner after serving as the closer the past two seasons. Bunn looks to make the transition to a full-time starter in 2004. He has a good repertoire of pitches and coaches will try to see what role he fits into best. A hard-throwing right-hander, he led the team with nine saves and added four wins and 66 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings last season. ECU also has experience in sophomore right-hander Kevin Rhodes, sophomore left-handers Scott Andrews and Jason Neitz and junior Matt Bishop.
Rhodes emerged from the fall as the top candidate for the closer spot. Rhodes, who made 10 appearances in 2003 including a start against Southern Miss, was turned into a side-armer and Mazey hopes he can follow in the footsteps of Tucker. Andrews has showed the ability to get outs while Neitz pitched well at the beginning of last season and can be an asset as can sophomore right-hander Phillip Powell. Powell red-shirted last season and, when healthy has showed he has great stuff that would allow him to win some games. Bishop is coming off Tommy John surgery and should be able to get ready by the end of the spring. He made seven appearances and went 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA recording 19 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings last season. ECU's pitching success may lie in the hands of its newcomers.
"We have a very good mix of junior college and high school pitchers with the junior college guys adding some college experience and the freshmen being an outstanding group," Mazey said.
The Pirates have three very quality junior college transfers in Brody Taylor, P.J. Connelly and Carter Harrell. Taylor and Connelly are both southpaws who throw hard while Harrell is a talented right-hander.
Taylor originally signed with North Carolina for the 2004 season, but has found a home at ECU. He enjoyed a successful career at Louisburg College which saw him finish 21-2 including a perfect 10-0 season last season. In his first season for the Hurricanes, he finished 11-2 with a 2.01 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 85 innings. Last season, he finished with a 2.75 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings in helping lead Louisburg to the Junior College World Series.
Connelly had a good fall and showed he has a chance to win some games at this level. He helped Triton College to a NJCAA Region IV championship and was selected in the 20th round by the Florida Marlins.
Harrell had a great record as a freshman at North Carolina before transferring to Louisburg. While at North Carolina, the state's former Gatorade North Carolina High School Player of the Year led the staff in wins finishing 8-4. At Louisburg, he started 13-of-18 contests finishing with a 4.15 ERA in helping the Hurricanes to the Junior College World Series.
Other junior college transfers who should see action are right-hander Ken Huffmaster, who played with Connelly at Triton and left-hander John Westbrooks from Southeastern Community College.
The freshman class of pitchers is outstanding with right-handers Ricky Brooks, Shane Mathews and Mike Flye who all will fight for a lot of innings this season. Brooks became the first player from his high school in North Tonawanda, N.Y., to be drafted after being selected in the 11th round of the 2003 draft by the Chicago White Sox.
Mathews was also a draft selection of the Cleveland Indians in the 20th round while Flye, a local product, helped Greenville's J.H. Rose High School to the Class 4-A state championship and a No. 13 finish in the Collegiate Baseball Easton High School Poll.
Freshman left-handers Dustin Sasser and John Emmert are capable of winning games as well. Emmert prepped at Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, the same high school that produced Bishop and Bunn. Other newcomers who should see some action are Brett Braxton, Chris Powell and Will Anderson.
CATCHERS
ECU is fortunate to have two great catchers in sophomore Jake Smith and senior John Poppert.
"Every good team has two good catchers. Jake Smith and John Poppert are a great compliment to each other. Jake is the offensive guy and John has always been the defensive guy. Poppert catches and throws as well as anybody out there and really solidifies our defense," Mazey said.
Smith hit 10 home runs as a true freshman in 2003 to lead all C-USA freshmen in home runs and earn a spot on the 2003 C-USA All-Freshman team. He finished the season hitting .284 with the 10 homers, 10 doubles and 26 RBI.
Poppert knocked in 12 runs and added nine doubles on 24 hits. He posted a .981 fielding percentage, led the team in pickoffs with four and caught 31 base runners stealing.
INFIELD
Mazey thinks his infield will be one of the best in the country anchored by sophomore Mark Minicozzi, whom he feels is one of the best third basemen he's ever coached. Minicozzi started 61 games at third base in 2003 and earned C-USA All-Freshman team honors after hitting .262 with seven doubles, seven home runs and 34 RBI.
The Pirates will have to break in an entirely new middle infield but have three strong players in junior college transfers Billy Richardson and Brett Lindgren and sophomore transfer Trevor Lawhorn who are three guys that can play both positions very well.
Lawhorn is the twin brother of right fielder Darryl Lawhorn. He sat out the 2003 season after transferring to ECU from Barton College where he was named the Freshman of the Year in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference.
Richardson and Lindgren both helped Fresno City College to the 2003 Central Valley Conference title. Lindgren hit .360 with 30 RBI while Richardson finished the season hitting .281 with four triples, four home runs, 25 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
At first base, junior Ryan Norwood is expected to add some big power numbers. He ranked second on the team in home runs (13) and RBI (46) last season.
Senior Mike Harrington and sophomore transfer Lee Allen will also see some time in the infield. Harrington is one of four seniors. He worked out some at third base in the fall and could see action at either position on the corner. Allen is a transfer from the College of Charleston where he started 15-of-22 games as a true freshman and hit .361.
OUTFIELD
Most of ECU's experience will come from the outfield. Seniors Ryan Jones and Jamie Paige have 221 starts between the two of them. Both provide good defense and a lot of offense.
Paige ranked second on the team in 2003 hitting .307 with 71 hits producing 33 RBI. He will wear the No. 23 jersey in 2004 in honor of former ECU head coach Keith LeClair.
Jones ranked second on the team in doubles with 10 and led the team with eight stolen bases. Joining Jones and Paige is junior Darryl Lawhorn who moves back out to right field after spending the 2003 season playing in the infield. Besides being the 2004 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, he was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Preseason All-American second team and the Louisville Slugger preseason All-American baseball team by Collegiate Baseball. Lawhorn led the ECU offense in 2003 hitting .332 with a team-high 14 home runs.
Newcomer Drew Costanzo will get some spot starts and fight for the starting spot as the designated hitter. A junior college All-American from Louisburg College, Costanzo finished his junior college career hitting .394 with 129 RBI, 25 home runs and 28 home runs in two seasons.
Junior Brian Cavanaugh is one of the best defensive outfielders in the conference and should fight for some time.
Red-shirt freshman Mike Grace and sophomore Adam Witter will try to make the transition to the outfield. Witter will also be used as a utility player during the season. Both spent last season as catchers. Witter saw valuable time as the designated hitter delivering 17 RBI on 30 hits.
