2006 Baseball Outlook
With the basics of a solid program now in place, the Lake Erie College baseball team seeks to begin to show some on-field success as the program enters its fifth season, third under head coach Ken Krsolovic. The 2006 LEC squad is just the second with the full effect of the extended recruiting efforts of Krsolovic and his staff.
The team showed solid improvement last year, despite a final record of just 7-33. Over the course of the season, the team became highly competitive with a lineup usually consisting of as many as seven freshmen. That inexperience led to a number of close losses, especially late in the campaign. The team finished with a mark of 1-10 in one-run decisions.
This year, a still-young overall lineup should be bolstered by the experience gained in 2005. Also, six seniors will lend a core of guidance. Senior captain Jimmy Knight anchors the pitching staff. The diminutive, hard-throwing righty did not win a game last year, going 0-8 with a 5.37 ERA. He was usually matched up with opposing aces, however, and pitched in tough luck throughout the season. Things should balance out for him in his final collegiate year. Knight’s brother, catcher Dawson, who led the regulars with a .297 average last year, will see time again behind the plate and as designated hitter. Matt McNany, whose injury-riddled career was highlighted by a .417 batting mark as a freshman, will serve as a jack-of-all-trades for the Storm, backing up in both the infield and outfield. Anthony Beckham, who recovered from a slow start at the plate to hit .277 last year, will see time at third base and as a DH. Speedster Terry Bailey, who hit .206 last year, has converted from infield to outfield and will be in the battle for the center field spot. Steve Bell rounds out the senior six, and will be counted on as a key middle reliever. He posted a 4.97 ERA over 12 appearances last year.
In the outfield, two of last year’s top hitting freshmen, Rocky Pfisterer and Bill Sweet, return to right and left field, respectively. Pfisterer hit .296 with a team-high 11 doubles. Sweet hit .279 and had a team-best .412 on-base percentage. In center, Bailey will be in a battle with junior Brad Crail for the starting spot. Crail hit just .196 as a sophomore after a .267 freshman campaign when he set the school record with 10 steals.
The infield will feature returnees Keith Trumbauer at shortstop and Bob White at first base. Trumbauer, a sophomore, won the shortstop job midway through the 2005 season. He wound up hitting .308 with 7 doubles in 19 games in the field. White, a junior, converts to first base after playing elsewhere in the infield and at DH in his first two seasons. He hit .239 last year. A pair of newcomers will round out the infield, junior transfer Steve Walczak at second base and freshman John Shaposka at third. Walczak, who starred for two years at nearby Lakeland Community College, will also be a key relief pitcher for the Storm. Shaposka, also a local product, led a fledgling program at Cornerstone Christian Academy and brings excellent power potential to the hot corner.
Backing up in the infield is sophomore transfer Justin Drapp, who comes to LEC from Thiel College, as well as sophomore John Martorell and freshmen Danny Caraballo and Ben Willis. Caraballo follows Martorell to Painesville from Cleveland Central Catholic High. Willis continues the strong Akron connection which produced Pfisterer and Sweet a year ago.
Returning with senior Jimmy Knight on the pitching staff is sophomore lefty Seth Baumberger, who had several encouraging outings as a frosh, going 2-7 with a 7.46 ERA. Also back are starter Jon Gibson and relievers Zach Frailly, Pete Bircher and Jon Thompson. Newcomers Dan Mason, Paul Roskos and Jared Sziber round out the pitching staff. Mason, who also plays first base, and Roskos both hail from Eastlake North High, not far from Lake Erie. Sziber transferred from Youngstown State.
Freshman Harry Konrad, who comes to the Storm from close-by Mentor High, is expected to see time behind the plate along with senior Dawson Knight.
The team looks to challenge for a first-ever Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference playoff spot. After a season-opening doubleheader at Thomas More in Kentucky, the team will travel to Arizona for its Spring Break trip for the second consecutive year. An outstanding non-conference schedule compliments the 18-game AMCC slate.
