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2005 Season Outlook The Cedarville University baseball squad is looking forward to even better things in 2005. The Yellow Jackets have finished strong in the past two years with back-to-back NCCAA Midwest Region championships followed by appearances at the NCCAA National Tournament. They would like to enjoy that late-season success over the course of the entire campaign and it’s a distinct possibility with more power at the plate and stronger pitching in place. “We have the possibility to make significant strides in our program this year,” stated sixth-year head coach Greg Hughes. “Many of our players come from successful backgrounds so they have experience at winning. I think we’ll definitely be better.” Senior Jeff Lowe is recognized as the leader of the offense. The lefthanded hitter was voted to the American Mideast Conference South Division 1st Team and All-NCCAA Midwest Region Team as a catcher last spring after batting .342 with 13 doubles and a team-high 29 runs batted in.
Senior outfielder Travis Allen led the 2004 squad with a .370 batting average from the leadoff position to go along with 12 stolen bases. He earned spots on the All-AMC South Division 2nd Team, NCCAA Midwest Region Team, and the NCCAA National All-Tournament Team. Junior first baseman Andrew Noble hit .247 coupled with a team-high 14 walks. Sophomore infielder Richie Reeder batted .323 during his rookie season with 17 RBI’s. The pitching starts with Matt Bonin and the staff is as deep as it’s ever been. The junior lefthander earned All-AMC South Division 2nd Team honors last year after going 5-4 with eight complete games and a 2.67 ERA. Other lefties include Josh Smith, who returns for his fourth season in the rotation, and Scott Tarvin, who was 2-4 with a 4.47 ERA as a freshman. Among projected righthanded starters, David Snow, who split time between the bullpen and starting rotation, is back for his second season. Sophomore Derek Woloshyn will provide immediate help after transferring from NCAA Division I Texas Christian and freshman Matt Houchin may also crack the rotation.
The bullpen may not be as experienced as Hughes would like, but that does not dampen the enthusiasm for his staff as whole. “We have definitely improved the pitching staff,” he said. “The starting rotation is good and we have some depth which is something we haven’t had in the past.” Defensively, the Jackets will have a new look in the middle of the infield with sophomore Tim Hubler at second base, freshman Eric Marvin at shortstop, and rookie Matt Totten coming off the bench to help. The Jackets can turn to any one of five players who have experience working behind the plate to handle the catching duties. Hughes summarized the outlook by saying, “We have some good athletes on this roster and at times will have six lefthanded hitters in the line-up. As usual the conference is tough, but we are very excited to see how well we can compete this year.” | ||||||||
