courtesy niu
Although the 2009 season did not go exactly as planned, mainly due to injuries, as Northern Illinois missed out on postseason play for the first time since 2006, it set up the Huskies for what could be a stellar 2010 season despite losing some historic production to graduation.
"We lost some guys that have been contributors for a few years, which is never an easy, but it happens all the time," said eighth-year head coach Ed Mathey, the school's all-time wins leader. "It will provide an opportunity for other guys to step up and improve their playing time. We have brought in some new faces to help make it a competitive environment and fill some of the needs that we have."
While the Huskies did not want to rely as heavily as they did on their underclassmen last season, they were forced to, and will reap the benefits this season with the invaluable experience gained by forcing the youngsters to learn on the fly, as just over 50 percent of NIU's innings were pitched by underclassmen.
Youth was also felt in the field with freshmen Alex Jones, Troy White and Alex Beckmann all starting in more than 30 of NIU's 53 games, soaking in and adjusting to the college game.
With 21 lettermen returning, including the top two most destructive bats in the lineup in seniors Jordin Hood and Dave Reynolds, and workhorse southpaw senior Chuck Lukanen, along with the recovered arms of two of NIU's best pitchers over the past few years in seniors Andy Deain and Brian Smith, the Huskies seem poised to return to Chillicothe, Ohio, site of the Mid-American Conference tournament, and perhaps beyond.
ROTATION
This year's rotation will see the largest upgrade from a year ago with the return of former ace Brian Smith, who brings 10 career wins and an ERA of 4.37 to the fold. Throw in last season's top starter Chuck Lukanen, who registered seven wins and led the team with 79.2 innings thrown, and you have two thirds of a weekend rotation that are seniors with plenty of innings and success under their belts. When combined, the two have 17 wins returning to a team that had 19 wins in 2009.
"When you look at the returning guys, Chuck Lukanen established himself as a pretty reliable weekend starter and had a winning record on a losing team last year," Mathey said. "He's our top returning workhorse-type-of-guy. The return of Brian Smith is huge too. At one time, he was our number one pitcher on the staff. So, with the return of Andy Deain as well, now we will have three guys on our staff that have been Friday starters for us. That's a really nice thing to have."
The third spot in the weekend rotation is still up for grabs, as are the week day starting spots. Bakersfield College transfer Jeremy Gonzales is a strong contender to get the nod for the third slot. The junior righty brings nearly 200 innings of experience at the junior college level.
"Jeremy has already had a lot of success and brings good experience as an already proven player," said Mathey. "He has put up good numbers in the past and we hope for him to continue to do good things here at NIU."
However with all the experience gained from learning on the run last season, several solid returning arms will get a chance to show what they have as well, being a year better and wiser. Sophomores Tom Barry, Jake Hermsen and Zach Badgley all picked up their first career wins last season, and all will likely get an opportunity to excel, as will sophomore Kyle Glancy, who led NIU rookies in 2009 with 23 appearances.
"With the injuries we had last year, we were forced to use some young arms," Mathey said. "That's a tough task to put that type of workload on young arms. The positive of that is they all gained good experience. The adjustments they make this year will make them better. Along with the two injured guys returning, we will be improved on the mound, but it's just to what degree."
"We still have to fill a final spot in the weekend rotation," Mathey said. "Kyle Glancy and Tom Barry logged innings last year and Jake Hermsen overcame early season injuries to learn on the fly. Jake is in a better spot than he was last year with his health. Also, Zach Oates has developed a third pitch and worked hard during the offseason. He deserves a shot at that spot. If he doesn't get the chance, he will be a valuable component of the bullpen."
BULLPEN
Last season, the Huskie staff decided to put Deain into the rotation to help solidify it. With a solid rotation mostly in place already, the Huskie staff has decided to return Deain to closing duty, as he led the MAC in saves in 2008 and was a second team All-MAC selection.
"The return of Andy Deain to our staff is huge," said Mathey. "He was a second team All-MAC closer before he got hurt last year in a freak accident and we are planning on moving him back to the bullpen. Andy is proven back there. We lost too many games in the last at-bat last year. Andy's a guy who has been at the back end of the bullpen and knows what to expect. He's not afraid of it. He wants it. He has good stuff, and prior to being all-conference, he was the setup guy for our all-time saves leader Matt German and learned a lot from him. As a starting pitcher or middle reliever, having a guy like that behind you makes it easier."
The comeback to the back end for Deain just adds to the depth of the bullpen, as it puts 2009 closer Tom Zelasko into the set-up role. The junior lefty is coming off his best season, in which he led the team with a 3.26 ERA, four saves and was the toughest pitcher to get a hit off of with a .256 opponent batting average.
"Tom's experience last year will help him a lot," said Mathey. "It will be a matter of getting the guys who aren't in the rotation acclimated to the bullpen role."
The trickle-down effect will continue in favor of the bullpen depth if Oates ends up there as well. The junior enjoyed a rise in workload last year to lead all NIU relievers in strikeouts (36) and was nearly as tough to hit as Zelasko with a .257 opponent batting average.
CATCHERS
One of the wildcards in the lineup this season will be at the catcher position after the Huskies lost a pair of backstops to graduation. This year's squad has five options to fill the void in senior Sam Kapacinskas, junior Kevin Smith, sophomores Brian Riegler (transfer) and Brett Frantini and freshman Ben Etcheverry. Of the five, only Frantini saw a decent amount of playing time for a backup. In 18 games, he made eight starts, totaling six hits in only 26 at-bats while throwing out two of eight base stealers.
"We lost some guys back there that performed well for us in the past," Mathey said. "We knew it would be the case coming into this year. We have some guys in here that our working at that opportunity. We've added two new faces in Riegler and Ben Etcheverry. If you look at what we need to improve on, which is mainly defense, Riegler and Frantini give us the best opportunity to do that. However, we may find out later in the season that we need a little bit more offense. It's not final by any means, but we are looking at Brian and Brett to see the most time back there."
"Brett has as good an arm as any kid I've ever coached," Mathey said. "Now he needs to put it together with the other situational skills at the catcher position, and if it all comes together, he could be one of the best defensive catchers in this league."
INFIELD
Another solid unit in 2010 will be the infield, as only second base needs to be figured out. The group will be headed by co-RBI (46 - tied with Hood) leader first baseman Dave Reynolds, who will be back for his senior campaign after a career season in 2009. Joining Reynolds at first will be junior Joe Etcheverry, as he looks to improve upon a powerful season in which he hit five homers and drove in 30 runs in only 121 at-bats.
"Dave has a great glove and helps the defense out a lot," said Mathey. "He's a middle of the lineup hitter and does a great job out there."
"Joe has improved vastly on the defensive side, and on offense, we expect him to be in the middle of the lineup and look for him to continue to be a productive hitter," Mathey said.
A pair of sophomores will stabilize the left side of the infield in shortstop Alex Jones and third baseman Troy White, both of which started nearly every game at their respective positions as rookies. Both played solid defense and sparked the lineup. Jones helped set the table as the leadoff hitter for most of the season, totaling 16 extra base hits and nine steals, while White had 53 hits and 29 RBI.
"Troy White and Alex Jones were both thrown into the fire as freshmen, and both did a very good job," said Mathey. "That experience is invaluable. They are a year stronger, older and their expectations have risen. They should do a good job."
The Huskies will have a few options at second base, led by senior Joe Buonavolanto, who saw most of the playing time there last season with 34 starts. Sophomore Alex Beckmann also saw significant time at second and could figure into the mix again this year, along with juniors Marvin Sanchez and Wes Shryock and the very athletic freshman Jamison Wells.
"Second base will be a battle," Mathey said. "A lot of guys will have an opportunity out there. Joe Buonavolanto played more innings there than anyone last year and it bodes well for him to win it this year. Marvin is a good glove man, and if he plays defense to his ability, he will be a great asset to the team and can play shortstop too. Wes is kind of our utility guy that can play a little bit of everything. He has a great attitude and approach to the game. He is relatively a new face because he was a middle of the year transfer last season."
"Jamison Wells is a freshman that is very talented, the fastest on the team, and has a strong enough arm to play the left side of the infield," Mathey said. "He had a lot of success in high school. He's a wonderful athlete and we are trying to figure out ways to get him on the field to use him. We've been working him at shortstop, second and outfield. If his bat continues to improve as we have been working with him, he could see a lot of places in the field."
OUTFIELD
The outfield will more than likely be anchored by Hood, as the Huskies will have to search for the right duo to put around him after losing some depth to graduation. The prolific senior is coming off a monster year that earned him a second consecutive second team All-MAC selection, as he led the team in nearly every offensive category, significantly damaging the NIU record book. While he may be moving positions a bit in 2010, his bat will continue to do even more work on the program record book to more than likely end his career as one of the best Huskies ever.
"We lost some significant contribution in the outfield that is never easy to replace, but we feel like we have a pretty good group in the mix," Mathey said. "We moved Jordin to the outfield last year and he had a lot of success. He can play all three spots out there. He will be in our lineup somewhere."
Junior transfer Cory Krupp, who broke the Santa Barbara City College single season steals record, figures to get a chance in the outfield, along with Hermsen, Beckmann, Wells, and possibly even Reynolds.
"Krupp has been a great addition to our team," said Mathey. "He has a great approach and attitude. He's a good runner and stealer. He understands the game and is a mature hitter. We anticipate him to be in center or left because he can run, cover and get the ball as well as anyone on our team."
"Hermsen is a sophomore that played center extensively in high school," Mathey said. "He has the best arm strength in the outfield and will probably be looking at right field. How much he gets in will really depend on how he is doing offensively because he has all the tools."
"Beckmann is best suited as a left fielder," said Mathey. "He does a nice job, runs good routes, has a strong, accurate arm and does the right things. A lot of the outfield composition will be about who the best fit for the lineup is with the matchups on a given day."
OFFENSE
The 2010 lineup has a good chance to be very versatile and productive with the all-around good bats of Hood from the right side and Reynolds from the left to solidify the middle of the order. The top of the lineup could also be very fast with lefty Jones' extra base ability and Krupp's speed. Additionally, the rest of the order has a chance to provide production from alternating sides of the plate with the lefty power bat of Joe Etcheverry and solid right-handed bat of White to make pitching matchups tough on opponents.
"Alex Jones had a really nice freshman year for us," said Mathey. "He has continued to work hard and hopefully he will be a bit wiser and more mature, naturally, and set the table like he did last year."
"Krupp is a speedster and could hit in the top of the lineup as well," Mathey said. "Those are two guys that will be at or near the top of the lineup."
"Beckmann does a good job of working the count and can hit near the top or bottom," Mathey said.
"The middle of the order will be anchored by Hood," said Mathey. "He's the prototypical three hitter. He does it all. Jordin has had a wonderful three years here, and if he goes out and follows what he's been doing, he will leave here with many, many records that have been well earned. He has really improved his physical strength this year."
"Reynolds has hit in the middle in the past and we anticipate him being there again," said Mathey. "He's a good hitter, understands the game, hits for average and power."
"Joe Etcheverry is another guy that provides good pop in the middle," Mathey said. "He is a solid RBI guy that understands situations. He is a mature college hitter."
"Another guy that I'd like to see in the middle is Troy White," said Mathey. "If he's in that mix, we can go right-left-right-left in the order and that will be a nice thing to do."
"The lower half will involve any of the catchers, probably in the seventh or eighth spot," said Mathey. "Frantini is the lead guy on that now. Our second baseman, depending on what we do, will be down there along with our other outfielder because we are looking for some speed at the nine spot."