After failing to reach the National Club Baseball Association World Series for the first time in six seasons last year, the University club baseball team has one clear motive for their 2010 campaign.
“As always, our goals and expectations are to reach the NCBA World Series,” senior outfielder and pitcher Cam Gaulke said. “We have gone five of the last six years, so we aren’t tempering expectations at all.”
If the Ducks are to accomplish that feat, they need to have several of the team’s younger players step up and fill the void left by the departure of a number of the last year’s top players.
Outfielder Kevin Cannon, the 2009 team’s leader in home runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage (among players with at least 10 at bats); outfielder Vincent Hulstrom, last year’s team leader in stolen bases; starting shortstop Scott Marchione and starting catcher Geb Bumpas have all moved on, leaving several glaring holes in the lineup.
Accordingly, University senior and baseball coach Chad Franke said he would tinker with the lineup to mask several soft spots and give his players better matchups.
“The batting order will fluctuate depending on who we face and what pitchers we face,” Franke said.
A few players have earned permanent roles, though.
“Leadoff is outfielder (and) second baseman Ryan Redding,” Franke said. “Hitting third is Gaulke and hitting cleanup is freshman third baseman Pat Canepa,”
The Ducks hope to find a mix of bats to join Gaulke, Redding and Canepa in the lineup to create a versatile offensive attack.
“We have a lot of speed, so probably tying to take advantage of the hit and run and stealing and all that (would be an offensive strategy),” club coordinator and starting pitcher Sean Susa said. “We can rely on getting big hits and going station to station but also using our speed to our advantage.”
The pitching staff appears a bit more settled than the batting order, but still has roles to be filled.
Susa, Evan Coller, and Carlos Borromeo look to be the team’s top three starters with Logan Cooper serving as a swingman role. Redding will vacate his field position in save situations to serve as the club’s closer and will be joined by Andrew Seaton and Gaulke in the bullpen.
Franke expects the remaining bullpen spots to be filled by position players, but admits depth could be a concern.
“One weakness we have is depth,” Franke said. “But we overcome that by having almost every player be ready to play two, maybe three positions in a weekend if we need them to.”
Fortunately, the pitching staff will likely have some help in their quest to prevent runs. One of the main strengths of this Duck squad is their defense, especially at critical positions like shortstop and in the outfield.
“We have fast outfielders who cover a lot of ground and quick infielders with a lot of range,” Franke said
With that type of dynamic defense and a versatile offensive attack, the Ducks should have more than enough talent to reach their goal of getting back to the College World Series. Aside from injuries, the main barrier to a return trip to the Series could be a lack of focus.
“Focus really is key to our success,” Gaulke said. “No knock on our team from last year, but we dropped a couple games to teams less talented than ourselves. Attention to detail and really just playing smart baseball will help us improve and reach our goals.”
And while the season is still in its infant stages, the Ducks have heeded that advice through the first three games of the year.
The Ducks swept their season-opening three-game series against Central Oregon Community College last weekend, winning 4-2, 3-1 and 5-2. Coller, Borromeo and Susa picked up the wins while Redding and Canepa were key to the club’s offensive output.
Oregon will next take on Southwest Oregon Community College in a doubleheader this Friday starting at 11 a.m. in Coos Bay before taking a break for finals and spring vacation.
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