Although picked to finish last in the WCC, athleticism and defensive talent keep the Pilots optimistic
By Kyle Cape-Lindelin
After finishing last year's season 25-26 and 7-14 in conference play, University of Portland baseball looks to take another step in the right direction under Head Coach Chris Sperry. This will be his 12th year as head coach.
The 2010 baseball season gets started at home against Concordia University on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.
Although the Pilots were picked to finish last in the WCC AP coaches' poll for the upcoming season, Sperry is optimistic.
"It doesn't bother me, you can't pick the season before it plays itself out," he said. "We have our own expectations and I'm excited about the upcoming season and looking forward to what we can accomplish."
Assistant Coach Larry Casian agrees.
"Since they haven't seen us play and because we have a young team, most coaches can't evaluate us," Casian said. "We were also picked to finish last the last few seasons and we proved that wasn't the case so I think we can use it as motivation to get us to be successful."
This year the Pilots return 22 letterwinners including eight starters from last season. Coach Sperry believes his team will benefit from their leadership.
"We have a nice group of returning veteran players who we are going to depend on to take good strides this season and get us to where we want to be," Sperry said.
Defense and pitching will be important for the Pilots to have a successful season and their success on the mound will depend heavily on junior right-hander Zach Varce, who was named to the preseason Stopper of the Year watch list.
The Stopper of the Year award is chosen by AP writers across the country and is given to the best relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball at the end of the season.
Varce earned the right to be selected to the list by leading the WCC with the lowest ERA of 2.69 and tied the league high with nine saves, also setting a school record.
Varce also held opponents to a 2.49 batting average, striking out 62 batters in 60 innings pitched while also going for a 3-5 record overall.
With Varce as the Pilots' relief pitcher, they can be sure they have their best pitcher in the game during clutch situations. Varce has the ability to shut down opposing team's offense with his dynamic pitching, a factor which will be huge in late-game situations.
Varce is helped out on the mound by right-handed sophomore Kyle Kraus, who held a 4-6 record and threw a 4.0 ERA while striking out 31 batters and holding batters to a .307 batting average.
Left-handers junior Scott Burris and senior Ed Wakefield also are figured to play heavily in the rotation as well.
Burris posted a 4.7 ERA, holding batters to .258 batting average while having 31 strikeouts and going for a 5-4 record.
Wakefield maintained a 4.86 ERA with 20 strikeouts, going 3-1 overall and holding players to .231 batting average.
All of the Pilots returning pitchers had productive moments last season and will be the spear-head of their defense. Middle infield figures to be locked down for the Pilots this year as well.
Junior second-basemen Riley Henricks and sophomore shortstop Kris Kauppila both were named to the Preseason All-WCC team for their efforts last season, which garnered them All-WCC honorable mentions.
Henricks had a team high .344 batting average last season while knocking in four homeruns and 31 RBI's.
Kauppila maintained a .336 batting average last season as well as also hitting in four homeruns, 21 RBI's and scoring a team-high 46 runs. Kauppila also hit a team-high 20 doubles for the season as well.
Both Henricks and Kauppila will be the driving force for the Pilot's offense with their hitting ability and Kauppila's speed, but their defensive abilities will be key to stopping opponent's offense with their double-play ability.
"We're going to depend on our pitching and defense to win us ball games, especially players like Varce and Hendricks," Assistant Coach Casian said.
Although the Pilots plan to be competitive this season, they also look ahead toward the future as well. Twenty of the 32 players on the Pilots are either freshman or sophomores.
The Pilots are bringing in two freshman outfielders in Nick Armenta and Chet Thompson, who should work their way into the defensive rotation based off their athleticism and experience coming from winning high school programs.
While both players have room to grow, both figure to work their way into the lineup over the course of the season, particularly from their defensive abilities.
"I feel good about this year," Armenta said. "We have some young hungry players, great veterans and captains returning this year who will take us far and our pitching and defense will be strong, we'll surprise some people."
UP also is bringing in freshman Chris Johnson, a right-handed pitcher who expects to get time on the hill with his change-up and dependable fast-ball.
Freshman Benjamin Ruff hopes to get time on the field as a utility player, since he can play multiple positions and pitch as well.
The WCC conference appears to be very top heavy this year. Power house San Diego University will defend their WCC championship crown from last year after losing to eventual College World Series champion, Fresno State University in the regional championship game.
Pepperdine University is also in the hunt for the WCC championship. Last year the team lost in the regional championship round of the NCAA tournament and was runner up in the WCC conference.
Both Santa Clara University and Gonzaga University will be challengers for the crown as well with both teams returning several starters.
Any of these tough inter-conference programs may even appear to be geared for another NCAA tournament run like years past. But Sperry believes the Pilots can find success this year.
"With our proven veteran players and a number of good quality baseball players we will use a team effort to win games and be successful as well as building a winning program," Sperry said.
