With the start of the season just around the corner, the West Chester University baseball team is ready for what they hope will be a huge rebound season.
The Rams, who were tied for last in the PSAC East last year at 22-21, missed out on their first PSAC Tournament appearance since the 2004 season.
They are ready to make sure they do not miss out again.
West Chester was picked in a pre-season poll to finish second in the East this season, behind only the 2010 PSAC East champion Millersville Marauders. They were also nationally ranked at No. 30 by Collegiate Baseball Magazine earlier in the year.
The Golden Rams roster looks much like it did last year, led by co-captains Joe Wendle, Josh Heyne, and Justin Lamborn, and a slough of young but experienced talent.
Wendle, one of five current players who was on the 2009 College World Series team, is coming off an incredibly strong season. An extremely talented player, he batted .346 last season with two round-trippers and 32 RBI, in addition to going 6-7 in stolen base attempts and having 13 multi-hit games. He also struck out only three times last season, despite having 136 at bats.
“Wendle is a well-rounded player, who can help you win games in all facets. He competes at a high level on every play and I think that is infectious to our team,” first year head coach Jad Prachniak said.
Wendle is far from the only offensive threat on the team, however. Senior outfielder Jack Provine and sophomore infielder Chris Pula are two others who are expected to continue their success from last year.
Provine batted .333 in 2011 and finished third on the team in RBI with 24. Pula led the Rams last year with 13 doubles, three home runs, and 70 total bases.
“Provine has done a nice job to this point, he has shown the ability to make all the plays in the outfield and he handles the bat really well,” Prachniak said. “He is a pretty dynamic player who works really hard. Pula had a strong freshman season and continues to develop. He has the ability to change the game with one swing and projects as our starting first basemen.”
Dylan Zigman, Mike Raimo and Matt Baer are three other players who should have no trouble continuing to produce at the plate. Zigman and Raimo had incredible years last year, hitting .347 and .323, while Baer chipped in at a respectable .261 clip.
Co-captains Heyne and Lamborn will look to improve mediocre offensive showings last year, as they batted just .262 and .223 respectively, with a combined 24 RBI.
Though the offense was there most of the time, West Chester did struggle on the mound last year. The Golden Rams’ hurlers had a combined 4.50 ERA last season, so look for improvement from the staff this year.
One pitcher who will most assuredly come out strong in 2012 is Jordan Lehman. Lehman struggled last year, going 3-5 with a 5.18 ERA and a team high 26 walks. The 6-foot-5 right hander has been working hard this offseason on his control, the most important aspect of pitching.
“Jordan has looked good leading up to the season; he is attacking the strike zone with quality stuff,” Prachniak said. “He has had a lot of success at this level and we are counting on him to have a strong senior year.”
Joe Gunkel and Dylan Porter, two other tall righthanders are also pitchers to look out for, as they both put together solid campaigns last season.
Gunkel went 4-2 with a 4.01 ERA and 44 strikeouts, and Porter finished out the season 4-3, a 3.86 ERA, and a team best 58 strikeouts.
Look for these three pitchers, and southpaw Conor Kerins to be fixtures on the staff this year.
The Golden Rams will also welcome back Breidy Breidenbach, who won 11 games in 2010, and Dave Steig, both of whom missed time last season due to injury.
“We have some key guys coming back…both of those guys have been relentless at getting themselves healthy to compete,” Prachniak said.
The remainder of the squad will look very similar to 2011, as the Rams lost only a few players to graduation.
With the season fast approaching, Prachniak is impressed with what he has seen from his players and thinks they can live up to their expectations if they work hard and play smart baseball.
“I’ve been pleased with the energy level and overall development of the team up to this point, we understand that we need to improve every day and continue to stay focused,” Prachniak said. “I like our overall depth as a team and in each area of the game, we have good depth on the mound, a balanced offense and solid defense…we have a good group of guys that all have worked hard and make it enjoyable to come to the field each day.”
The Golden Rams hard work in the offseason will finally be put to the test on Feb. 25, when they hit the road to open up their 2012 campaign with a doubleheader against West Virginia State. The games are scheduled to start at noon and 2:30 p.m.
Kenny Ayres is a second-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at KA739433@wcupa.edu.