Once again the Pitt-Bradford baseball team has the horses to be
a front-runner in the race for the 2006 Allegheny Mountain
Collegiate Conference title and an automatic NCAA Division III
Tournament bid.
Last year the 26-16 Panthers galloped down the home stretch for
their third AMCC crown in the past five years and then posted their
first-ever victory in the NCAA tourney.
“We had a good year even though we were a tough-luck club,” said
Bret Butler, Pitt-Bradford’s eighth-year (152-112-1) head coach.
“We had a lot of injuries and were the walking wounded at the end
of the season.
But we persevered, played hard and never believed for a second
we weren’t the best team in the conference. We won the conference
championship and that got us to the NCAA tournament. We’ve played
in the conference final in four of the last five years and that’s a
testimony to our kids.”
Any discussion of a successful Pitt-Bradford season always
starts with its stellar pitching and defense.
“We have decent pitching numbers and now we have to put the
pieces together,” Butler stated. “We will win with good pitching
and good defense.”
The starting pitching should be solid with senior left-hander
Ben Miller of Evans City, junior transfers Jeremy Gulich and Nate
Jones both of Horseheads, N.Y., freshman Jesse Yano of Fairport
Harbor, Ohio, and sophomore Tanner Bechtel of Conneautville. Miller
is 13-8 in his Pitt-Bradford career, and was 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA
and fired a nine-inning shutout in the NCAA playoffs last year.
“Ben Miller has learned how to pitch and hurled a huge game in
the NCAA tournament,” Butler recalled. “Ben has the ability to be
an outstanding, overpowering pitcher. Jeremy (Gulich) and Nate
(Jones) are hard-throwing right-handers who have the stuff to be in
the rotation. Jesse Yano has very good stuff and is in the top five
as far as the rotation goes.
Tanner Bechtel was going to be one of our starting pitchers and
outfielders, but he hurt a knee in practice and we are waiting for
the results of an MRI.”
The relievers are senior closer Chad Yohe of Bradford, sophomore
Jake Wells of Bradford, senior Steve Phillips of Warren, senior
Ryne Wight of Bolivar (N.Y.), sophomore left-hander Tim Wright of
Ridgway, freshman Andy Lipps of Conneaut, Ohio, freshman Zach
Foster of Bradford, freshman Ben McCracken of Bradford, freshman
Vince Keeney of Warren and junior Sean DePue of Wellsville,
N.Y.
Yohe made 19 appearances a year ago and was 2-1 with two saves.
Wells was called on seven times and registered a 1-0 mark and a
save.
“Those two guys (Yohe and Wells) pitched a lot of innings (43
combined) last year and garnered some confidence,” Butler offered.
“Jake (Wells) is more of a finesse pitcher and Chad (Yohe) has
transformed into a power pitcher with four legitimate pitches.”
The Panthers are in great shape behind the plate as junior Dom
Morelli of DuBois and sophomore Shawn Manning of Bradford return to
share the catching duties. Morelli hit .324 with four home runs and
19 runs batted in, and Manning stroked .333 with nine RBIs and had
a .984 fielding average. Junior Zach Hetrick of Coudersport is the
third catcher on the squad.
“We feel we have the best catching tandem in the league,” Butler
beamed.
“Dom (Morelli) is a very good hitting catcher and will provide
some runs for us. Shawn (Manning) is a hard-nosed kid who is very
good with his hands and feet, and will be in the lineup somewhere
at catcher or third base.”
The rest of the infield is very iffy at this juncture. Firstbase
is a battle between junior Brandon LaBrozzi of Bradford, junior
Ryan Hoglund of Pittsburgh and starting rightfielder Justin
Schoening of DuBois.
LaBrozzi hit .286 with a dinger and 11 RBIs last season.
“We have some options at firstbase, but we haven’t made any
decisions yet,” Butler admitted. “We need consistent offense from
whoever wins that position.”
It’s the same deal at second base, shortstop and third base as
sophomore Jimmer Colestro of Bradford, sophomore Tim Johnson of
Ridgway, freshman Kody Wolf of Clarion, Foster, McCracken and
Manning are the main components in the mix. Colestro hit .264 with
13 RBIs and Johnson was a .355 hitter a year ago.
“We’re not sure who is going to be where at this time,” Butler
confessed. “We have so many interchangeable parts.”
Before Bechtel went down, the outfield was going to be a trio of
gap-to-gap coverage specialists in Bechtel, junior Corey Smock of
Guy Mills and Schoening from left to right.
Bechtel led the team last year with a .395 average and also
drilled three long balls and 18 RBIs. Smock finished at .349 with
22 RBIs and a team-leading nine stolen bases. Schoening (.339) led
the Panthers with six homers and also plated 29 runs in 2005.
“Tanner (Bechtel) is one of our fastest players, Smock covers a
lot of ground and Schoening has a great arm,” Butler boasted. “I’ll
put them up against any outfield in the league.”
With Bechtel’s injury relegating him to the mound only, left
field is up for grabs among junior John Callahan of Schenectady,
N.Y., Johnson, freshman Justin Jones of Bradford or freshman Geoff
Brabham of Oswayo.
Freshmen Kyle McClement of Warren, Greg Cook of North East and
Torrey Means are the newest outfielders.
“The new guys need some time to adjust to the college game,”
Butler warned. “Jones and Brabham could be great outfielders for us
before it’s over.”
The incumbent designated hitter is Ryan Snyder, but guess what?
The senior from Aliquippa who hit .333 with five home runs and a
team-leading 32 RBIs is also nursing an injury.
“Ryan Snyder is having some back problems and we’re waiting for
him to get healthy,” Butler said. “Injury-wise we’re starting the
year like we ended up last season. In an ideal situation, Ryan
Snyder is one of the premier left-hand hitters in the league. Tim
Wright is the leading candidate until Snyder is healthy.”
As is the case with most of the defensive positions, the batting
order will also be decided within the next few days leading up to
Friday’s opener at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg,
Va.).
“Smock is the leading candidate to lead off,” Butler surmised.
“We expect some run production from guys like Schoening, Morelli
and Snyder.
Those guys will be somewhere in the middle of the order and
we’ll try to put some speed near the bottom.”
The 40-game schedule is demanding. After the first four games in
Virginia, the Panthers will play nine more in Arizona, three in
Ohio and then begin the 18-game AMCC portion of the slate in late
March.
“With the NCAA expanding the at-large bids in Pool C from three
teams to 11, there will be a lot of second-place conference teams
getting in and it’s to our advantage to strengthen our schedule,”
Butler explained. “We are playing Aurora, DeSales, Brockport State
and Marietta, who have all been to the NCAA tournament. In the
conference we know Frostburg (State) and (Penn State) Behrend will
be tough. Pitt-Greensburg will be better and La Roche has
improved.”
Butler will be aided once again by eight-year assistant coach
Jim Colestro, third-year assistant Eric Ezzolo and first-year
assistant Andy Carlson.
“Coach Colestro has been here since Day 1 and I’ve never made
out a lineup in my eight years here without his input,” Butler
declared.
“There is no better teacher of the game in these parts than
coach Colestro. Coach Ezzolo is doing a great job with our catchers
and coach Carlson has done a phenomenal job helping out with all
aspects of coaching. I’m very lucky to have this staff.
“The keys to the season are staying healthy,” Butler added. “We
have to keep our vision and refuse anything less than the
conference championship. We have good racehorses and the coaches
will have to be the best jockeys possible to win this race.”
