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2002 Season Outlook The Cedarville University baseball program continues to show improvement and the Yellow Jackets hope to take their game up a notch this spring. After taking over a squad that won just twice during the season prior to his arrival, Greg Hughes has guided the Jackets to nine wins in 2000 and 17 victories last year. The talent is present to achieve more. "I think we're a much improved team," Hughes proclaimed. "We have more experience than we've had in recent years and we have depth. Those factors should pay off." Five seniors dot the roster and all are four-year players in the program. Ben Saturley and Drew Bennett will serve as team captains. Saturley, who is one of four catchers on the squad, batted a career-high .300 last spring. Bennett was used primarily as a defensive replacement at first base and handled 47 fielding chances without an error. Anchoring the pitching staff is three-year starter Scott VanDerAa. He was 5-6 last year and is Cedarville's all-time leader in innings pitched with 215.
Bryan Mangin has played multiple positions during his career especially behind the plate and at shortstop. Consistently one of the Jackets' top hitters, he batted a career-high .377 as a junior with team-highs of three homers and 25 RBI's. Chad Hofstetter is coming off of a junior season in which he batted a career-best .371. All but one of his 23 starts were at third base. Junior outfielder Samuel Hutchins returns for his third season after hitting .240 a year ago. Classmate and pinch hitting specialist Jameson Adams batted .333 in his initial season last spring at CU and hopes to see more playing time. Chris Grimm, a junior catcher and designated hitter, will have an immediate impact upon the offense as a transfer from NCAA Division I Wright State. John Myers returns to the Yellow Jacket pitching staff after taking a year off.
No less than 13 sophomores add depth to the line-up in all areas of the game. T.J. Couch earned a spot on the American Mideast Conference First Team as a freshman by being voted the top reliever in the league. He was 1-2 in 17 appearances, 15 of which were in relief, with a 3.67 ERA. Classmates Josh Smith (4-5, 3.77 ERA) and Jacob Richardson (4-5, 4.41 ERA) help to shore up the pitching staff. Six other sophomores played in more than half of the games as rookies and will be expected to contribute again. That list includes Forest Greetham, Kurt Hopkins, Jon Oren, Dave Terrill, Jason Williams, and Justin Zenn. Jamie Brightwell, Eric Carroll, and O.J. Skiles will challenge for more playing time as will Barry Chamberlin, who sat out his freshman season due to shoulder surgery, and now brings his talents from the basketball hardwood to the diamond. Only three freshmen are on the roster, but that won't diminish their chances of playing. Jeff Lowe will see time at third base, Ryan Zenn can either pitch or play first, and Daniel Giddings is a pitcher/outfielder. Eight home dates are on the schedule including assignments with American Mideast Conference opponents Saint Vincent, Malone, Point Park, Geneva, and Urbana. The Jackets will also face NCAA Division I foes Dayton and Morehead State as well as face NAIA powers Embry-Riddle and Flagler in Florida. | |||||||||||||||
