courtesy of collegebaseball
Well guess what? The Eagles went screaming to another Summit title in 2009 and then to a second place finish in the Tempe Regional. And if you bet against them pulling the trick again in 2010, you’re making a fool’s bet. Despite the heavy losses to his pitching staff, coach Rob Walton is reloading again with a stack of recruits that will keep the hardware at the Tulsa campus of the perpetual champs. But watch for the Jackrabbits and Thunderbirds to attack from the ground and sky and maybe - dare I say - make things interesting this season. One thing is for sure, for the first time in the history of my writing these previews, I can finally write some team names on the “Contenders” line below, instead of just writing “none” again.
Colby Pierce will be a steady glove in the field and a lead-by-example guy at the plate for ORU.
Favorite: Oral Roberts
Contenders: South Dakota State, Southern Utah
Darkhorse: Western Illinois
WESTERN ILLINOIS (13-33, 8-16)
2009 RPI: 280
Starters Returning: 2
Weekend Starters: 3
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2
All Conference Candidate:
OF Andrew Hagins (.292-10-37)
C John Koszulinski (.339)
The Good News:
Mike Villano, a former Florida Marlin, comes to Macomb and takes the reigns of the program. He was an assistant coach at Central Michigan for six years prior to. There are a handful of senior pitchers that should post better numbers, including three weekend returnees in RHP Randon Lingle (2-2, 9.07), LHP John Sneegas (2-5, 9.27) and LHP Austin Brough (4-8, 9.91).
The Bad News:
The Leatherneck family is obviously still dealing with the stunning death of head coach - and all-around great guy - Stan Hyman, who passed away in September after a two-month battle with leukemia. On the field, losing senior talents like Cooper Stewart (.337) and Drew Laidig (WIU’s 9th best hitter ever) are big losses. The pitching staff got rocked pretty roundly all season, ending with a 10.27 ERA, which included a pair of losses where opponents scored 30+ runs.