2007 Washburn Baseball Season Outlook

March 1, 2007
Media Guide

With 15 letterwinners returning, including seven seniors and two all-conference picks, the Ichabods will enter 2007 hoping to build on the success of last year and finish strong in the MIAA with another chance at making it into the NCAA tournament.

Washburn went 29-25 last year and finished fourth in the conference standings with a 16-12 record. The Ichabods played in their first MIAA tournament in five years and went 1-2 in the event to finish third. Their two losses were by a combined three runs.

The Ichabods will return first team all-MIAA designated hitter Mark Stoltz and honorable mention pitcher Jeff LaCerte. Stoltz will be a junior after earning all-conference honors as a designated hitter. He also split time as catcher and batted .348 with a team-leading 10 home runs. LaCerte had a 6-3 record as a starter for WU with a 5.36 ERA.

On defense the Ichabods return their two catchers and their starting shortstop and on the mound WU returns three starters and the top reliever. With the 15 letterwinners, five returning redshirts and 13 newcomers, head coach Steve Anson feels that his 2007 team has the capabilities to have another winning season and to be in a spot to advance far into the postseason.

The Pitchers
Washburn will enter the year with a deep pitching staff as Anson will have 14 righties at his disposal and three lefties. Returning to the starting rotation for the Ichabods will be seniors Randy Wild, Jake Loveless and LaCerte. Wild started nine games and went 2-4 with a 5.43 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Over the summer he pitched in the Northwoods League with the Rochester Honkers, going 2-3 in 19 games as he helped the team to a league championship. He brings a 7-9 career record at WU and a 4.48 ERA into his senior year. LaCerte earned honorable mention all-conference honors with a 6-3 record last year. He struck out 37 and walked just eight. Loveless started six games last year and went 1-3 with 32 strikeouts.

Anson will also look to work senior Eric Dales, junior transfer Zach Engelken and freshman Danny Cook into the rotation. Dales pitched in seven games out of the bullpen last year. Other guys who will be given a chance to start are junior Bryan Stroth and freshmen Steve Kinderknecht and Jake Iverson. Kinderknecht and Iverson both missed the fall season as Kinderknecht was injured and Iverson, a leftie was a member of the football team. Stroth will look for his first WU action after taking a redshirt last year.

Senior reliever Keith Barkemeyer returns after leading the Washburn bullpen, as well as the entire staff last year with a 2.92 ERA. In 12 appearances he went 2-2, struck out 25 and walked five in 24 and 2/3 innings. Junior Sam Keim will also look to work from the pen after having a 4.20 ERA in nine outings last year. Junior Drew Tucker and Matt Traxler are two lefties who combined for 13 appearances last year. Traxler was fourth on the team in ERA at 4.76.

Anson will also have returning redshirt Chris Contee, senior Tyler Frazee, transfer Ryan Faflick and freshman Brian Shively to work with.

The Infielders
Washburn’s only returning starter in the infield will be junior shortstop Tyler Blankenship. He started all but five games and led WU with 145 assists and was involved in 35 of the 46 WU double plays. Also looking to play at short is freshman Wes Joy. He earned all-state honors his final two years of high school as a utility player.

At first base junior transfer Zach Walton is the preseason favorite. He played mostly in the outfield in junior college but saw some time at first. Sophomore Jeff Maxon may also get a look after breaking his leg before last year and missing the season.

At second base Joy will join freshman Ryan Vande Velde and junior Robert Dolan as they battle for the starting spot there. Dolan played in 11 games mostly as an outfielder and Vande Velde took a redshirt last year.
Third base was a question mark for Anson coming into the season. Kinderknecht, junior transfer Nathan Proctor and senior Tommy Mangino could all get a chance to play there. Mangino was Washburn’s starting catcher in 31 games last year and he also was the designated hitter. Proctor and Kinderknecht could be used in the spot while adding a left-handed bat.

The Catchers
Anson will start the year with his two starting catchers from last year as Mangino and Stoltz will look to get back behind the plate while junior transfer Dustin Flentie will also look to work into the mix. Though he earned his all-conference honors as a designated hitter, Stoltz actually batted .414 while catching and just .241 while in the DH spot. Mangino hit .314 last year and .333 as a catcher.

The Outfielders
Anson believes he will enter the season with a lot of depth and speed in the outfield and he feels that this year’s crop will provide one of the better defenses he’s seen in a while. That being said, it will all come down to who can step up and earn a spot since the Ichabods only return three letterwinners with little starting experience in the outfield.

Sophomore Calvin Iversen will look to play in centerfield after seeing action in 50 games last year with 21 starts. Junior transfers Dan Egan and Kyle Peter will also look for action in center. As Washburn’s potential leadoff hitter, Anson believes Peter can make a big difference as he can turn a single into a double and when he does get on base he will have a green light to try and steal.

Top candidates to fill in the corner spots of the outfield are junior Nick Barnes, redshirt freshman Reed Howard and junior transfer Michael Williams. Barnes played in 28 games with 20 starts and batted .308. Williams played basketball over the winter for Washburn and will look to join the team and provide speed and depth to the position.

The Designated Hitters
The designated hitter spot will depend on a few things but Anson hopes it will sort itself out as the season progresses. Stoltz, Mangino and Wild all return after doing almost all of the designated hitting. Stoltz will probably continue to DH when he’s not catching but Mangino’s spot in the lineup depends on if he plays at third base while Wild’s hitting depends on how much his pitching is affected.