Boston College Athletics
Baseball Opens 2009 Season Friday Night
February 19, 2009 | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College baseball team will open its 2009 campaign with a trip to DeLand, Florida to take on Stetson in a four-game series. The Eagles and Hatters will open the season on Friday night at 6:30 before playing two on Saturday. The series will conclude on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
The Eagles feature a pair of national award contenders in juniors Tony Sanchez and Mike Belfiore. Sanchez is a member of the Brooks Wallace Award watch list for the second-straight season while Belfiore was named to the watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award.
The following is an outlook and position-by-position breakdown for the 2009 season.
2009 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Boston College baseball team enters its fourth season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and its third under head coach Mik Aoki with a young but experienced line up and a bevy of talented pitchers that will get their chance to shine through the course of the season.
The Eagles went 26-27 last year and finished with a 9-21 record in the ACC Atlantic Division which was tied for fifth place with Maryland.
BC returns eight starters to its lineup with the only loss being Eric Campbell, who was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round. In fact, the top 10 hitters (by batting average) on the Eagles' roster are still just juniors or sophomores. With the juniors well experienced already and the sophomores adjusting to the ACC game, the lineup could be an exciting one to watch as the year progresses.
"We are young from a class standpoint but some of those young guys have had the opportunity to play a lot," head coach Mik Aoki said. "Juniors Barry Butera, Mike Belfiore and Tony Sanchez have all played almost everyday since they were freshmen. Sophomores Garret Smith, Mickey Wiswall and Matt Hamlet were starters for us last year as freshman, and we have a lot of guys like Sam Shaughnessy, John Spatola, and Marc Perdios who will play important roles for us and have had a lot of at bats and playing time in our program. We also have a couple of guys who have been important role players for us in the past and will get their first opportunity to be everyday guys this year in Robbie Anston and Mike Sudol. So, although the only senior in our lineup looks to be our DH, Harry Darling, we are not young in the classic sense - we have a lineup with a lot of game experience who just happen to be primarily sophomores and juniors."
"On the mound, we have some significant holes to fill," Aoki said. Dan Houston left the Eagles early after being selected by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round, Terry Doyle went to the Chicago White Sox in the 37th round, and Nick Asselin signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent.
"I think we have some very talented young men that will do a great job filling the holes left by the draft and graduation," Aoki said. "Their maturation will determine in large part what type of season we will have."
One place the Eagles are very solid, however, is the back of their bullpen. Belfiore, who registered eight saves last year, will again be the closer and according to Aoki is one of the premier closers in the nation.
"There is nothing automatic about closing out a tight ballgame in college baseball, but Mike gives our team a great sense of security back there."
STARTING PITCHERS
The one question mark entering the season is who will be taking the mound for BC. Senior captain JB MacDonald is the lone returning starter - he made 11 last year and finished with a 4-7 record, and will more than likely fill the number 1 spot.
Sophomore John Leonard will most likely fill the No. 2 spot for the Eagles. Leonard made 14 appearances and started four games in 2008. He went 4-0 with a 5.27 ERA in 41.0 innings pitched.
Freshman Mike Dennhardt will look to make a splash in the ACC as the likely No. 3 starter. As a captain of the New Jersey state champions Don Bosco Prep in 2008, which went 33-0, Dennhardt had a 10-0 record on the mound and finished with a 0.56 ERA.
"The pitching staff is our biggest question mark entering the season, but we have a lot of arms with talent," Aoki said. "However, they are untested in the ACC. From a pure tools standpoint, though, we are much improved from last year."
A couple of other returning hurlers - both sophomores - started games for the Eagles last year, including Kevin Moran who started six games as a freshman. He ended up with a 2-1 record. Pat Dean also made a start to go along with 17 appearances, the most of any freshman.
RELIEF PITCHERS
Belfiore was one of the most productive pitchers on the staff last year and will serve as the Eagles' closer again in 2009. He made 18 appearances in 2008 and recorded eight saves to go along with a 2-0 record. He allowed five runs in 18.1 innings of work for a 2.45 ERA and had 19 strikeouts to just five walks.
He spent the summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League and made 11 relief appearances. He finished with a 3.21 ERA in 14.0 innings and fanned 21 batters while walking just four.
Belfiore was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award watch list during the preseason.
"We have an established closer in Mike Belfiore," Aoki said. "It gives our team confidence that we will nail down the win if we hand the ball to him and have the lead."
One of the first pitchers out of the bullpen will most likely be the tall right-hander, junior Chris Kowalski, who stands at 6-6. He made 23 relief appearances, the second-most on the team, and finished with a 4.31 ERA in 2008.
Moran will be mainly used out of the pen and freshman Taylor Lasko from Stratford, Conn. will also see a lot of time in relief. Also bolstering the depth in the bullpen is junior Geoff Oxley, sophomores Nate Bayuk, Dane Clemens, Dave Laufer and Kyle Prohovich, freshmen Matt Brazis and Tim O'Keefe and senior Matt O'Brien - a transfer from Holy Cross.
CATCHERS
Junior Tony Sanchez will call the signals behind the plate again after leading the BC offense last season. He led the team in eight different categories including batting average (.313), slugging (.517), on-base percentage (.394), hits (66), RBI (45), home runs (9), total bases (109) and hit by pitch (18).
"Tony has worked as hard as anyone in the program to improve himself," Aoki said. "He had a great summer and two really good seasons here at BC. I give him a lot of credit for the amount of work he has put in. He's worked extremely hard on his game and in the weight room to improve his strength, speed and athleticism. He is one of the premier catchers in the nation and we are lucky to have him."
Over the summer, Sanchez also played for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and was named the starting catcher for the East team in the All-Star Game. Sanchez started a team-high 53 games last year and has 91 in his career. He was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the second time during the preseason.
Senior Harry Darling, who is serving his second year as a captain, will spell Sanchez behind the plate and be the primary DH. He started 14 games in 2008. Redshirt freshman Jim Laufer will add depth at the position as well.
FIRST BASE
Belfiore will return as the starting first baseman for Boston College after starting all 53 games last season. He finished with a .274 batting average with 10 doubles, two homers, and 26 RBI. He was also stellar on defense, committing just four errors during the season.
Senior Mike Augustine also brings a lot of experience to the right side of the infield and is a capable backup. Prohovich and junior John Spatola will also battle for time during the season.
SECOND BASE
Freshman Brad Zapenas won the starting job at second base and will look to make an immediate impact. Zapenas, out of Nashua North High School in New Hampshire, had an impressive high school career. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state as a senior shortstop and was the New Hampshire Class L Player of the Year. He also gained Player of the Year honors from the Nashua Telegraph, New Hampshire Union Leader and Louisville Slugger. He was a three-time All-State Class L choice who hit .533 with 27 RBI as a senior.
Sophomore Matt Hamlet will be an important part to the infield and will fill in when needed after an impressive freshman campaign last year. He was second on the team in hitting with a .306 average, fourth in on-base percentage (.378) and fifth in slugging (.424). He is also a valuable "small ball" tool as he led the team with seven sacrifice bunts and stole all six bases he attempted which was second on the squad.
SHORTSTOP
Another sophomore will command the infield at this important spot when Garret Smith takes the field. Last year, he started 44 games and batted .285 with 27 RBI in his first season in the tough ACC.
THIRD BASE
Sophomore Mickey Wiswall will get the nod at the hot corner to replace Eric Campbell. Wiswall batted .306 as a freshman with 12 doubles, four homers, and 28 RBI in 47 starts last year.
Freshman Anthony Melchionda out of Braintree will spell Wiswall at third. He was the Independent School League (ISL) MVP as a senior shortstop at Thayer Academy after hitting .500 with five home runs, 16 RBI and 22 runs. He was also an All-ISL selection as a junior.
OUTFIELD
From left to right, the projected starting outfielders will be sophomores Mike Sudol and Robbie Anston and junior Barry Butera.
Sudol played in 22 games and started eight as a freshman but came on strong in the spring to earn the starting spot in left. Anston appeared in 31 games in 2008 and earned 14 starts, batting .246. Butera started 51 games as a sophomore and batted .268 with 10 doubles, six home runs, 32 RBI, and a team-high 11 stole bases.
Spatola, sophomores Marc Perdios and Sam Shaughnessy and redshirt freshman Andrew Lawrence will all see significant time in the outfield as well. Newcomers that will add depth to the position will be freshmen Nate Izzo, Rob Moir and Spenser Payne.
