2008 Baseball Season Outlook

The 2007 season was a very good year for Southeastern baseball. A number of milestones and feats marked Coach Beck’s third season as head coach of the Fire.


Coach Beck and the Fire won the program’s third NCCAA II National Championship in a row.

The Fire tied the school record for wins in a season with 48. The team also had six players named to the NCCAA II All-American Team, including National Pitcher of the Year Tommy Sutton and National Player of the Year Craig Maddox.

With many of those players graduating and moving on to play professionally, Southeastern was forced to hit the recruiting trail. In fact, Coach Beck brought in 21 new players for the 2008 season.

The Fire will play a 56-game schedule against some of the best teams in the country, including games against 17 NAIA schools, with two of those teams being ranked in the NAIA preseason top 15.

SEU will also play two NCAA II opponents as well as a three game set against NCAA I Florida Gulf Coast University, of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

All of these games add up to a very tough schedule for the Fire. SEU will play 27 games away from home while playing 29 games in the friendly confines of Ted Broer Stadium. The season will conclude once again with Southeastern University hosting the NCCAA II National Championships in May.


Pitchers

The strength of this year’s team may once again be pitching. Having lost National Pitcher of the Year Tommy Sutton and Dan Quackenbush to graduation, The Fire will look to rebuild with a number of young players.

Grant Berman is looking forward to his second full season on the mound. This hard-throwing right-hander was 5-0 on the year in 2007 with over 40 innings pitched.

Berman has worked hard in the off-season, and the coaching staff is excited about this year for him.

Former Judson College pitcher John Cuhna transferred in for his senior season and should get plenty of innings in 2008.

Rounding out the top three will be freshman Clay Rideout. Rideout had an exceptional fall season and has gained the weekend starting role so far.

The rest of the starting rotation will be two newcomers and a player back from injury.

Freshman pitchers Alex Baron and Brandon Patterson will see significant innings on the mound to help stabilize the rotation, while senior Russ Steinhorn is now fully recovered from elbow injuries. Steinhorn went 5-1 last year with a 2.70 ERA in just 30 innings pitched. He will also be asked to mentor this year's very young pitching staff.

Sophomore pitcher Drew Schock will anchor the bullpen after being named an NCCAA II All-American as a closer in 2007. Schock had a 5-2 record with two saves in a team-high 22 appearances.

Helping in the bullpen will be two returners, Chad Masters and Josh Lyons. These two combined for over 50 innings pitched in 2007.

Three freshman pitchers, Tyler Willis, Sammy Hayyim, and Shawn Donovan, will help solidify the Fire bullpen for the 2008 campaign.

CATCHERS

For the first time in three years, the Fire will have a new catcher behind the plate. With Craig Maddox now in the Detroit Tigers organization, Coach Beck spent most of his offseason trying to find a player to fill Maddox's shoes.

Matt Hester, who was a red-shirt freshman in 2007, spent a year being mentored by Maddox and is looking to fight for that starting spot.


Two freshman catchers also came to Southeastern to compete for that vacant spot.

A.J. Diaz from Lake Gibson High entered Southeastern after a successful senior season. Primarily playing the corner infield spots, Diaz also played limited time behind the plate. The Fire coaching staff has worked with him during the fall season and look for Diaz to get some innings behind the plate this year.

Ridge Community High standout Logan Adams seems to be a bit more polished and prepared for college baseball. He led his high school team in every offensive category his senior year, making him a very valuable recruit to the Fire coaching staff.


Lastly, a transfer from NAIA Northwood University, red-shirt sophomore Edwin McPhee is from the Bahamas.

At 6’3, he is an intimidating figure behind the plate and has been recorded doing a pop time of 2.0 second and running the 60 in 6.8 seconds.

McPhee could land himself a starting role by the time the season is over with.

FIRST BASE

First base will see a new starter for the first time in three years. With the departure of 6’5 Tim Dodd, first base has become a wide open position with three players fighting for the starting spot.

Red-shirt freshman Kyle Petrick made the transition from behind the plate to first base last year and has worked hard all year to become better defensively.


Junior Derek Cone, from Lakeland, transfers in from a college in South Carolina. The coaching staff believes he can be a good player at first with his skills with the bat. Defensively, he is working hard to compete and improving daily.


Freshman Alex Wood, from Palm Beach Gardens High, played first base orginally back in high school. All fall he worked hard to compete for an outfield position, but this spring the coaching staff thought he might be better suited to return to his natural position. He is a left handed batter with some power and is learning to hit to all fields.

SECOND BASE

Second base is another position where the Fire will have to replace a consistent hitter and defender, Will Gonzalez, who left Southeastern as the school's all-time leader in hits, stolen bases, and runs scored.

Freshman Hector Echemendia will be competing for the everyday role at second. He comes to SEU from LaSalle High, in the South Florida area. Echemendia has good power with a knack for getting on base. The coaching staff is optimistic that Echemendia could be a starter at second base for years to come.

Other players competing for the second base job are Geoffrey Goldsberry and junior transfer Andrew Sawyer.

Goldsberry is coming back from last year bigger and with more power, but he is still fighting off a wrist injury that may require surgery.

Sawyer comes to SEU from Alabama, where he played second base the past two years in college. Sawyer is a scrappy player with good hands and speed, and the coaches look for him to serve as a defensive replacement in late innings.


SHORTSTOP

Once again for the sixth straight season Southeastern will introduce a new shortstop. Senior Marcos Arias has transferred in from Judson College to take over the position.

Arias has NCAA I experience from his time at Charleston Southern his freshman year, where he compiled over 100 at-bats. Arias is a smooth fielder and hits from the left side with some pop. The coaching staff is projecting that he will be their new leadoff hitter in 2008.

THIRD BASE

The third base position is being sought by three capable suitors.

Sophomore Pace Simpson, from Lakeland, is the sole returner. Simpson is a solid defender with a very good arm. He is also working very hard to improve his hitting and will contribute more offensively this season.


Sophomore transfer Anthony Francis and junior transfer Matt Royce are also competing for the hot corner.

Francis is a wiry player with good range and a very strong arm. He can hit anywhere in the lineup and can play every infield position. He will probably see time all over the infield.

Royce has a great glove and a strong, effortless throw across the diamond.


OUTFIELD

Only one starter will return for Coach Beck in the outfield this season, and that will be senior right-fielder David Moskovits.

Moskovits is already on the all-time list for hits, walks, RBIs, and on-base percentage. He has a good arm, as shown by his eight assists in 2007, and, hopefully, can build on last year's success, a year in which he batted .357 with an on-base percentage of .496.


Junior returner Ricky Wood will be competing for a spot in the outfield this year after playing mostly as a reserve at first base the past two seasons. Wood excelled in the pinch-hitting role the past two years and has a batting average of over .300 the past two seasons.

Four new players will all be in the mix for a position in the outfield this season.

Transfer Tyler Ruehlman is a big kid with a great arm. Ruehlman plays well defensively and has great power.

Jared Phillips is an outfielder with good speed. The coaching staff has moved him to center field, where his range can best be utilized.

Clint Saenz transferred in this January. Saenz has very good pop in his bat from the left side and should help with pitching matchups for the Fire. He can play all three outfield positions, and the coaching staff feels comfortable with him at every spot.

Lastly is freshman Josh Estridge, from Lakeland. The coaching staff is raving about his athleticism, and Estridge will compete for the center field position. He could also end up being the Fire's main closer because of his above-average arm. Estridge is also very versatile and could play every position on the field for the Fire.

designated hitter

The DH role will continue to be filled by returning NCCAA II All-American Matt Braly. Braly had a career year in 2007, batting .412 with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs. Braly is the school's all-time leader in doubles and could finish at the very top in home runs, RBIs, and career batting average by the end of his career this season. With his knees still tender from two surgeries, he will not see much action defensively in 2008.