2005 Baseball
Outlook
A youthful Lake Erie baseball squad enters the 2005 campaign with high expectations for improving in both league and non-conference play. After tallying a school record six wins last season and losing only two utility seniors, the Storm will look to challenge the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's best.
"It takes time to build a college baseball program," second-year head coach Ken Krsolovic commented, He added, "The ground work has been laid for Lake Erie to begin to make solid improvement."
In addition to replacing the two seniors (who totaled a mere nine at-bats in 17 combined appearances), Lake Erie must replace outfielder John Sullivan, the team's only all-conference selection last season. The Storm can rely on the return of 10 letterwinners and junior infielder Matt McNany (Franklin, Pa./Franklin), who missed all but three games of the 2004 season due to injury, to fill some need, while an incoming class of 14 freshman and three transfers will also help.
McNany will likely start the season at second base, while last year's starter, Terry Bailey (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw), moves to shortstop. Bailey, a junior, started all 34 games in 2004 and tied for a team-best four home runs while also turning in a respectable .908 fielding percentage. The remainder of the infield will not likely be set until opening day.
Sophomore Bob White (Chardon, Ohio/Berkshire), who started at shortstop last season, will vie with junior Anthony Beckham (East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw) and freshman Derek Devloo (Waldron, Mich./Waldron Area) for the third base job. Freshman Eric Singer (St. Mary's, Pa./St. Mary's), meanwhile, will challenge seniors Dan Purcell (Burton, Ohio/Berkshire) and Robb Waller (Spencerport, N.Y./Spencerport) for the starting nod at first base. Purcell started 27 games at the corner position last season and committed only two errors in 179 chances.
The starting outfield will also enable Krsolovic to try a variety of options. With sophomore Brad Crail (Florence, Ky./Boone County) being moved to full-time catching duties, senior Steve Bell (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) and sophomore Jon Gibson (DeMossville, Ky./Pendleton County), who will both also see time as a relief pitchers, are the top returning outfield prospects. The duo will compete with a multitude of freshman, with Rocky Pfisterer (Akron, Ohio/Green), Bill Sweet (Baberton, Ohio/Coventry) and Nate Duplain (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) leading the list of challengers.
"Our returning players carried a thin roster through last season," Krsolovic said. "Our newcomers will combine to make the team get better as the season progresses."
That depth will be evident in the day-to-day battery as well. Junior James Knight (Conneaut, Ohio/Conneaut) and his younger brother Dawson head a talented mix of pitchers and catchers. The elder Knight will reassume a spot in the new-look Storm rotation. The right-hander led Lake Erie with a 5.12 earned run average in 12 appearances last season, during which he pitched a league-high 62.1 innings. He also finished third in the AMCC in strikeouts, fanning 58 batters. With Knight set as the staff's anchor, freshmen left-handers Mike Allen (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), Seth Baumberger (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville) and Adam Haas (Akron, Ohio/Green) will battle with righties Zach Frailly (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) and Keith Trumbauer (Huber Hts., Ohio/Wayne) to fill the rotation. In addition, Bell, Gibson, Waller, sophomore Jon Thompson (West Harrison, Ind./East Central) and sophomore transfer Todd McCurry (Akron, Ohio/Coventry) will be available for relief efforts.
Meanwhile, the younger Knight, who is also a junior, will share the catching duties with Crail after starting 32 games behind the plate last season. Freshman John Martorell (Cleveland, Ohio/Central Catholic) will also vie for time at the position.
"The larger pitching staff offers us many more options that we had last year," Krsolovic said. "With three viable lefties on the staff, we will be much more competitive."
Knight and Bell will captain the squad, looking to lead Lake Erie into 2005 against a much-improved schedule. The Storm open their season in Kentucky, where they will face Transylvania on Feb. 26 and Thomas More on Feb. 27. Lake Erie will travel to Arizona for a week to play six games, including contests with 2004 NCAA Championship qualifiers Juniata and DeSales.
Other key non-conference foes include Otterbein, Capital, Mount St. Joseph, Thiel, Obelrin, John Carroll, Hiram and Westminster. AMCC action, which was expanded to an 18-game season, begins on March 26 at Penn State-Altoona.
The 2005 campaign will also feature Lake Erie's second annual home contest at Eastlake Ballpark on Apr. 30. The Storm will take on Case Western Reserve.
"Our entire team is anxious to improve," Krsolovic noted. "The pieces for that to happen are coming into place."
