Countdown to Opening Day 2016: The Battery
February 16, 2016 | Baseball
Pirate Nation, we are three days away from the start of the 2016 East Carolina Baseball season, where the Pirates will play host to the Longwood Lancers at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. Over the next three days, ECUPirates.com will highlight each position of second year head coach Cliff Godwin's squad leading up to first pitch on Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. (EST).
Starting Pitching:
ECU returns two-thirds of its weekend rotation from a team that posted a 40-22 record, captured the American Athletic Conference tournament title and earned a No. 2 seed in the Coral Gables Regional. Slotted in the Friday night role is junior Evan Kruczynski, who prior to last season had pitched just one inning.
With a preseason injury in 2015 to Reid Love, Kruczynski took over the Friday spot and got his first career start against eventual National Champion Virginia allowing two runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings or work. Over the course of the season, he would start a team-best 16 games, post an 8-4 record with a 3.17 ERA. The lefty tossed a pair of complete games (Monmouth and Memphis) and recorded a staff-best 10 quality starts (6.0 IP/3 earned runs or less).
Fellow classmate Jacob Wolfe will take the hill as the Saturday starter when the season opens. The left-hander appeared in 17 games (15 starts) posting a 5-2 record with one save and a 3.35 ERA. Just like Kruczynski, Wolfe was limited in his innings as a freshman working just 7.2 frames in 2014. His first career start also came against the Cavaliers last season where he allowed eight runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings. In all, Wolfe tallied eight quality starts and worked into the sixth inning nine times with a career-high seven frames against Connecticut on two occasions.
Rounding out the weekend rotation will likely be senior Jimmy Boyd, who spent time in both a starter and reliever role in 2015. He appeared in 28 games (four starts) going 5-7 with a 4.73 ERA while striking out 39 batters and walking five in 59.0 frames. Against Tulane (April 3), he struck out a career-high nine batters in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen, which earned him his third win of the season.
When the Pirates move to four and five game weeks, Godwin will look to returners Mason Keen, Davis Kirkpatrick and Evan Voliva to fill in as potential starters as the season gets underway. Kirkpatrick, who sat out last year recovering from Tommy John surgery, posted a 2-1 record with a 5.87 ERA in nine games (five starts) in 2014.
Keen logged just six innings as a true freshman in 2015 pitching in five games. The right-hander made his collegiate debut against the second-ranked Cavaliers tossing a career-high two innings where he surrendered one run.
Voliva appeared in a 17 games (all out of the bullpen) posting a 2-0 record with one save, while allowing 19 runs (17 earned) in 15.1 innings. Other arms in the mix for starting roles are freshmen Matt Bridges (RHP), Chris Holba (RHP) and Sam Lanier (RHP).
Relief Pitching:
The Pirates have a number of talented pitchers available out of the bullpen for the 2016 season mixing a bunch of old faces with some new ones that could play a big role as the season unfolds. Sixth-year pitching coach Dan Roszel will turn to 2015 Freshman All-America selection Joe Ingle to once again anchor his bullpen.
Ingle, who was named to the 2016 Stopper-of-the-Year Watch List, appeared in a team and conference-best 32 games out of the bullpen posting a 1-0 record with eight saves in 31.2 innings of work -- all ECU freshman records. He allowed just five runs (four earned) on 17 hits sporting a team-best 1.14 ERA with 41 strikeouts to 23 walks.
Lefties Luke Bolka and Nick Durazo along with right-hander Kirk Morgan all return as potential set-up men for Ingle. Bolka, a two-way player, will likely be a situational hurler to start the season. A year ago he made 14 relief appearances allowing five runs (four earned) in 11.1 innings and sporting a 3.18 ERA.
Durazo, who has seen action as a starter and reliever in his three seasons, could be used as a situational-lefty or in long stints of relief. A year ago he recorded a 5-1 ledger with two saves and a 2.77 ERA in 26 games. For much of the season, Durazo sported a sub-1.00 ERA surrendering just six runs in his first 16 outings, which included a pair of starts. Over his final 10 appearances, he gave up 11 runs but tossed five scoreless frames against No. 18 Houston in the AAC Championship Game picking up is fifth win.
Morgan, another two-way player, will likely be the opening day third baseman but will also see time in the Pirates' bullpen. The right-hander made nine appearances (one start) posting a 4-0 record with all four wins coming in consecutive relief outings from Mar. 1-24. A strike-thrower, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 19 hits with 14 strikeouts to three walks in 20.1 innings, while sporting a 3.10 ERA.
Roszel also has freshmen Denny Brady (RHP), Cam Colmore (RHP), Zack Mozingo (RHP) and Shelton Perkins, Jr. (RHP) in the bullpen to call on throughout the season. Junior college transfer West Covington (RHP) will be sidelined for the year following Tommy John surgery last spring.
Catchers:
Travis Watkins, one of the top all-around catchers in the country, returns for his redshirt junior season after starting 58 games behind the plate. The two-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List candidate and 2015 semifinalist batted .292 (62-for-212) with three home runs and 36 RBI, while throwing out 40.0 percent of would-be base stealers.
Backing up Watkins this season will be super-utility man Eric Tyler. As a sophomore, Tyler started 59 games (third most on the club) playing four different positions (1B/3 games, LF/21, RF/27, C/4) and was penciled in as the designated hitter on four occasions. Tyler batted .268 (55-for-205) with three home runs, 11 doubles, 27 RBI and scored 33 runs -- all career-highs.
Jake Washer could also experience action behind the dish this season. The freshman from West Stoke High School helped the Wildcats to three regular season Western Piedmont Athletic Conference titles (2012-14) and the conference tournament crown in 2014. A two-time WPAC Player-of-the-Year selection, Washer closed out his prep career batting .540 with five home runs.
Check back tomorrow when we take a look at the Pirate infield.
