Jan. 23, 2006
SAN DIEGO - If, as they say, pitching and defense win championships, the 2006 San Diego State baseball team could find itself possessing two of the vital ingredients for success as it prepares for a new season.
Last year, the Aztecs struggled at one time or another with all three phases of the game: hitting, pitching and defense. On several occasions, it seemed that the team couldn't get a hit, make a good pitch, or execute defensively at a crucial point, leading to some near misses and "what ifs" in a number of contests.
"Last year, for some reason, we couldn't make a play when we needed to," noted head coach Tony Gwynn. "Games we could have and should have won, we didn't because we'd have an error or we couldn't make a pitch and we couldn't get a hit. We probably lost 15-20 games in situations like that, going back to the season-opening series against Texas when we had 13 errors in three games."
"This year we have some experienced guys who now know what it takes to be successful at this level. That should translate into helping us improve both offensively and defensively as well as in the pitching department over last season."
That experience begins with a 2006 SDSU roster that features a majority of upper classmen for the first time in some years. Of the 38 athletes, 13 are seniors while 10 are juniors. Only three true freshmen appear on that list with just one of them expected to play a major role this season.
Despite the return of 27 players from a year ago, there were some losses from the 2005 squad. Among that group were a trio of all-conference performers that included outfielder Jake McLintock, shortstop James Guerrero and starting pitcher Alex Hinshaw. All three were drafted by pro clubs last June with Guerrero and Hinshaw departing after their junior year.
What the Aztecs do return from last season are four all-conference players including the league's pitcher of the year plus a number of role players who are ready to step up and contribute.
"We've got a good foundation with the returning players," said Gwynn. "Guys like Quintin Berry, Bruce Billings, Brock Ungricht, Lance Zawadzki and Jordan Swaydan will be the heart of this squad.
"I think pitching will be our strength this season. I was very happy with the way we threw the ball in the fall and also how we looked defensively. We have a few question marks offensively, but I think that part of the game will get going once the season begins."
PITCHINGSan Diego State's pitching depth begins with junior right-hander Bruce Billings, the team's number-one starter a year ago who was honored as the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2005. Billings was also named the league's pitcher of the week on two occasions last season as he earned all-conference accolades. His 112 strikeouts during the season was the fifth-highest total ever for an Aztec hurler.
Joining Billings in the starting rotation will be transfer Justin Masterson, who played the past two seasons at Bethel College in Indiana. The hard-throwing right-hander was a first-team all-conference, all-region, and NCCAA All-American both years at Bethel while compiling a career mark of 20-8 with a 1.85 earned run average. He was listed by Baseball America 11th among the top 30 prospects from the 2005 Cape Cod League.
Also joining the Aztecs this spring is senior Adam Simon, who served as both a starter and reliever at UCLA the past three years. He will likely be utilized as a reliever at SDSU, either in a late-inning setup role or possibly as a closer.
"It's good to have the conference pitcher of the year back in Billings, who had a fine season in 2005," said Gwynn. "A couple hits here or there or a few less errors would have seen him finish with a better record, but he was solid on the mound all year long.
"Bruce is still our number-one guy when it comes to pitching, but Masterson is right there with him. When he (Masterson) decided to leave Bethel, a lot of big schools wanted him, but we got him and he's going to be one of the top pitchers in the league in 2006. And the addition of Simon to our pitching staff will also help us. He's got three years of Pac-10 experience and he should be one of our main guys when the season starts."
Two other newcomers expected to contribute immediately are sophomore Mike Koons and redshirt freshman Lance Sewell, both of whom transferred to San Diego State from the University of Arizona. Koons made 19 relief appearances for the Wildcats a year ago while Sewell was an all-state hurler from Highland High in Gilbert, Ariz..
Although the addition of newcomers Masterson, Simon, Koons and Sewell will bolster the SDSU pitching staff, there are a number of returnees who will be counted on to make their presence felt in 2006 as well. Foremost among them is senior Ben Coon, one of three lefties on the Aztec roster this season. The only fourth-year Aztec pitcher on the 2006 roster, he could see action both as a starter and reliever this year after an excellent showing during fall workouts.
Two other returnees who will be counted on to step up are senior Will Miller and junior Cody Campbell. Miller was impressive during inter-squad workouts in the fall and appears ready to emerge in his final season as an Aztec. Campbell posted good numbers a year ago in his first season at SDSU when he went 2-0 with a save and a 4.20 ERA.
Among the other veterans adding to San Diego State's pitching depth are Brett Douglas, Dan Bruckart, Jared Suwyn and Anthony Ybarra. Douglas moved between starting and relief roles last year, and was one of three Aztec hurlers to earn MWC pitcher of the week honors. Bruckart, meanwhile, was impressive in short middle relief last season while showing he can be effective in longer outings as he threw four or more innings on three occasions.
Suwyn and Ybarra combined to appear in 27 games, all in relief, in their first season on the mound at SDSU. Suwyn was a redshirt freshman in 2005 while Ybarra was in his first season out of high school last year. Both made good strides as middle relievers and will continue in that role this spring.
Sophomore Joel Matthews made a dozen relief appearances as a freshman before turning in a complete-game effort in the win over Air Force at the conference tournament last May. The Aztecs will also welcome back Charles Nolte and Ronnie Lindsey, neither of whom threw last year due to injury. Nolte was one of the top prep hurlers in San Diego County in 2004 while Lindsey has been sidelined since enjoying a fine freshman campaign at San Diego State in 2003.
"We have enough pitching - good pitching - to challenge every team we play this year, even in our mid-week games where we are usually scrambling," noted Gwynn. "This will be the strongest part of our club. We just need to stay healthy and throw it like we did in fall ball."
CATCHINGThe catching position should be an area of strength for the Aztecs this season with the return of senior starter Jordan Swaydan and sophomore back-up Chris Anderson.
Swaydan earned all-Mountain West Conference honors for the second straight season in 2005 after hitting .343 in league play. He committed only three errors in 53 games a year ago for a .992 fielding percentage with no miscues in conference contests.
With Swaydan seeing the bulk of the action behind the plate, Anderson appeared in only 13 games during his freshman season. However, even with limited playing time he demonstrated solid defensive fundamentals and could be the catcher of the future for the Aztecs.
Adding depth at this position is senior Joey Huskins, a California native who returns to his home state after one season at Auburn. Huskins also has two years of junior college experience under his belt and was named the all-Orange Empire Conference catcher in 2004 while playing at Cypress JC.
Another newcomer with catching experience is Paul Smyth, a senior transfer from the University of New Orleans, who will probably see most of his playing time in the outfield. In addition, junior Brock Ungircht is available here if needed.
"Jordan had a great year last season and we're happy to have him back for his senior year," commented Gwynn. "He'll be our primary catcher, but I have confidence that there are others who can fill in there as necessary. We also have Brock Ungricht, who has caught a little each of the last two years, available although I expect him to be play mainly in the infield this spring."
INFIELDAlthough there will be some familiar faces around the infield in 2006, a few will be at new positions as the coaching staff makes adjustments for some personnel losses and to maximize the defensive abilities of several athletes.
Heading into the season, the starting role at first base is being contested by the threesome of Brock Ungricht, Brian Kinsman and Brent Spirnak.
Ungricht has caught, played first and third base, and also served as SDSU's designated hitter in his previous two seasons at SDSU, but the 2004 freshman All-American appears destined to settle in at first this season. The coaching staff hopes a permanent transition to that position will enable some players who are fighting for playing time at other positions to be utilized in the DH role.
Kinsman, a fourth-year senior, and Spirnak, a junior, have seen limited duty during their time at San Diego State. Both are good defensive players, but unproven offensively.
At second base, a senior and a true freshman are vying for playing time entering the 2006 campaign. Fifth-year Aztec Sam Pepper has been a versatile athlete during his time at SDSU, playing at both second, third and even in the outfield when needed. He started almost a third of the team's games last season, hitting .323 overall and .357 in league play.
Challenging him at second will be freshman Nick Romero, last year's South County Athlete of the Year in San Diego. The switch-hitting infielder played in the 2004 AFLAC All-American Game and was an all-CIF selection as a senior. Redshirt freshman Omar Sealey will also look for playing time here. Senior Kevin Perry, who played well in spot duty as a starter at second last year, will redshirt this season (along with brother Kasey, an outfielder) in order to take some advanced academic courses for his major.
A late addition to the second base battle is sophomore Mike Willeford, who joined the Aztecs in January after one season at American River JC where he earned all-league honorable mention honors as a shortstop. Willeford is a solid offensive threat who could see action at second, third or short.
The departure of all-conference shortstop James Guerrero has paved the way for junior Lance Zawadzki to move into the starter's spot at that position. Zawadzki began as the Aztecs' starting second baseman as a freshman in 2004, then moved to third base last year and earned all-MWC honors at that position. SDSU will look to him for another good offensive year after batting .335 and leading the team in home runs in 2005.
Heading into the season opener, the role of third baseman will fall to senior Tim O'Brien, who was the Aztecs' starting first baseman in 50 games last year. O'Brien showed an ability to play third in the fall after Zawadzki's move to shortstop opened up the position. Others who could get a look here include Pepper and Willeford.
"We've made some position changes in the infield that will hopefully make us a better defensive club this season," said Gwynn. "We've penciled in a few guys for starting roles where they haven't been regulars recently. We should improve each time out as these guys get used to their new roles and assignments.
"There's always the possibility of changes at some spots, but this was our best look during the fall and our plan is to start the season this way. We can make adjustments if we need to, but we're confident these guys can get it done. One nice thing is that we have some good depth and some guys who have played multiple positions that we can count on if necessary."
OUTFIELD> Although San Diego State can boast of three talented athletes as starters, depth in the outfield has the potential to be an area of concern.
SDSU lists only five outfielders on it preseason roster. However, one of them (Kasey Perry) is expected to redshirt this year. Another, senior transfer Paul Smyth, has limited experience at the position having played primarily as a catcher or designated hitter during his post-high school career.
The good news here is that the three projected starters are experienced players who have proven themselves to be solid both offensively and defensively.
In left field, sophomore Joseph Scapperota will get the nod after an inaugural collegiate campaign that saw him play flawlessly in the field (no errors in 31 games). After adjusting to Division I pitching, he hit .316 over his final seven games of the season and batted .300 as a pinch hitter
Junior Quintin Berry will patrol center field as he did in 54 games in 2005, his first season at SDSU. An all-conference selection last year, Berry is coming off a stellar offensive campaign that saw him hit .419 and lead the team in doubles (18), runs (60) and stolen bases (18). He was the first Aztecs to hit .400 or better since 1992 and earned all-West Region honors in the process.
Right field will feature another veteran in senior Curt Mendoza, a power hitter who had eight home runs and drove in 25 runs last season. Mendoza came on at the end of last season, hitting .400 over the final three weeks, and the Aztecs will need that kind of offensive production from the big right fielder this spring.
Paul Smyth, who played two season at Cypress JC before moving on to New Orleans last season, earned all-league honors in junior college as a designated hitter after batting .352 during his sophomore campaign. He could also see time at the DH position at SDSU.
In addition to Smyth, others such as Tim O'Brien, Sam Pepper and Joey Huskins have seen some playing time in the outfield although none of the three could be termed experienced at the position. Yet each may be called upon at some point if circumstances dictate.
"The outfield is where some guys are going to get an opportunity to play," noted Gwynn. "We may need to platoon players depending on pitching match-up, so guys like Smyth and Huskins could be utilized in the outfield at times. There may be a couple of others called upon as well, but it shouldn't be a big deal with the athletes we have."
SCHEDULESan Diego State's 2006 schedule will see it face a total of six teams ranked among Collegiate Baseball's preseason Top 40: Cal State Fullerton (8), Pepperdine (13), Long Beach State (16), USC (21), TCU (27) and San Diego (36). In addition, four other foes also received votes in that same poll (Cal Poly SLO, UC Irvine, UCLA and UNLV). Other non-conference foes include Hawai'i, Santa Clara and Oklahoma State on the road plus Pacific and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home.
With the addition of TCU to the Mountain West Conference this season, the league will hold a tournament of sorts to kick off the MWC season. SDSU will host that inaugural event with all seven teams playing four games against conference foes at Tony Gwynn Stadium in late March. The Aztecs will face New Mexico, Utah, TCU and UNLV during that stretch with the games counting in the league standings. Each team will also play one three-game series (three home - three away) against the other six schools for a total of 22 league contests.
"Once again we don't have any weak teams on our schedule," commented the coach. "There's a good mix of opponents in there that will help us prepare for conference play. Since we're playing fewer league games starting this season, each one becomes more important in the standings and seeding for the MWC tournament.
"We have a stretch in late March and the first half of April where we're home for almost a month and play 15 games over that span. That's something we can hopefully take advantage of as we kick off the home portion of our conference schedule with 10 games on our field."
SUMMARYAs the Aztec baseball team prepares for its 2006 season, the general feeling is that pitching and defense will carry the squad in the early going. The offensive potential is there, but SDSU returns only five players who hit .300 or better a year ago.
"We know our pitching will be good, probably our primary area of strength," commented Gwynn. "Defensively we'll be better and that will hopefully turn into a strength as the year goes on.
"Offensively, we've got some things we need to work on, but I have enough experienced hitters coming back that I think it will start to click for them once the season gets underway. The key for us will be how well we pitch it and how well we catch it.
"I like this club. Our pitching is good enough that I think we have a chance to win a lot of games and be among the top couple of teams in the conference."
With a strong mound staff, a few players at new positions and a challenging schedule ahead of them, San Diego State will enter the season looking ahead to another successful campaign.