2010 Baseball Season Outlook

The 2010 Southeastern baseball season promises to be a historic year for the Fire as the team begins its inaugural season within the NAIA's Sun Conference.

The Fire returns 18 players from last year's team, a squad that won over 40 games.  It was the fifth straight season of 40 wins or more for Head Coach Jason Beck, who enters his sixth season with a record of 227-99 at Southeastern.

On the Fire's schedule this season are a number of challenging opponents, including the Lakeland Tigers and the University of Illinois.

Southeastern will play the Lakeland Tigers on April 7, in Tigertown, for the second time in three years. Southeastern will play the University of Illinois for the first time in school history on March 23 in Winter Haven, Florida. The Fire will also take on NCAA D-II schools Palm Beach Atlantic, St. Leo University, and Eckerd College.

PITCHERS

The Fire will return its top starter from last season, junior right-hander Branden Patterson. Patterson went 10-2 last year with a 2.32 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 73.2 innings pitched. He also led the Fire with five complete games.

Also returning to the rotation this season will be right-handers Adam Osteen and Alex Barron. Osteen went 4-4 with a 4.75 ERA in 2009. He pitched 60.2 innings and had four complete games with 43 strikeouts. Barron finished 2009 with a 6-3 record and a 3.27 ERA. He led the team in innings pitched with 74.1 innings, and he recorded the program's first ever no-hitter in 2009.

Newcomers to the Fire rotation include Justin Mauldin, Nate Young, and Kyle Young. Mauldin, a sophomore transfer from Santa Fe Community College, is expected to be a front end starter for pitching coach Eric Haynes. Nate Young and Kyle Young are two highly touted freshmen from Kalamazoo High School and 2A Florida State Champions Westminster Christian.

The Fire bullpen will return their setup man and closer last season. Eric Iglesias made 26 appearances and went 5-3 with 40 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched. Closer Gabe Grinder led all NAIA independents in saves last season with 14. He went 2-2 in full games with a 2.81 ERA and had 34 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Converted infielders Matt Tomlinson and Josh Estridge will compete for innings with two incoming transfers. Gerard D'Angelo pitched last year for Polk State College, while Mark Rose pitched out of the bullpen for Lee University.

Colin Harris and Brandon Floyd will give the Southeastern bullpen some much-needed depth.

INFIELD

Southeastern returns junior Kyle Petrick at first base. Petrick was an NCCAA II First Team All-American and First Team All-Region player in 2009. He led the team with 61 games played and hit .309 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs.

Backing up Petrick at first will be senior Derek Cone. Cone will get most of his playing time as the team's everyday designated hitter, on the strength of his .384 batting average with 11 doubles, 27 RBIs and 29 runs in just 35 games played in 2009. Cone was limited last season after breaking his wrist midway through the year.

Hector Echemendia and Pace Simpson return to the hot corner, and both should receive playing time. Echemendia has also spent time at second base throughout his career, and he also led the Fire with 44 walks a year ago. He hit .317 with four homers and 40 RBIs. Simpson saw the most playing time of his career last season and took advantage of the opportunity, hitting .390 in 39 games. He also made 27 starts at third with a .505 on-base percentage.

Anchoring the middle infield will be two transfers. Junior Auburn Donaldson will start at shortstop after playing the past two years at the College of Marin in California. Second base will be patrolled by Dominican College transfer Armando Alvarez.

The ever-versatile sophomore Brandon DeRespiris will see time at each of the infield positions throughout the year.

OUTFIELD

Returning to the outfield will be junior Tyler Ruehlman. Ruehlman was the NCCAA II National Player of the Year after having a monster season in 2009. He hit .464 with 27 doubles, 16 home runs, 63 runs scored and 71 RBIs in 59 games. Ruehlman will be moved to right field this season after patrolling center field for the Fire the past two years.

Starting in center field will be Emmanuel College transfer Tyler Langford. Langford played in 54 games last year and batted .414 with 15 doubles, seven home runs, and 40 RBIs for the Lions.

Senior Jim Latorre returns and will start in left field. Latorre hit .399 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2009. He was an NCCAA II First Team All-American and First Team All-Region Player. His count of 17 home runs is the second most ever in a single season at Southeastern.

Senior Ray Grant will also see time this season after hitting .302 with five home runs, 49 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases. Also in the outfield will be red-shirt freshman Gabby Ruffino and freshman Eric Rodriguez from La Salle High School in Miami.

CATCHER

Fighting for the starting catcher position will be Bethune-Cookman transfer Vincente Castro along with junior transfer Bryan Sparrow from Lake Sumter Community College. Castro appeared in 19 games with Bethune-Cookman and hit .313 on the year. Sparrow batted .281 in 32 games with six home runs and 22 RBIs.