Baseball Ready To Live Up To Preseason No. 1 Ranking
Jan 27, 2005 | Baseball
Jan. 27, 2005
NEW ORLEANS, La. - A certain buzz has been building around the Green Wave community since early in the summer of 2004. As summer faded into autumn, and autumn gave way to winter, the buzz steadily grew louder. Now, as winter begins to melt into spring, the buzz has become a deafening roar.
The roar, however, is not as much about the changing of the seasons, but the season that approaches - baseball season, that is.
The 2005 Tulane baseball team returns seven of the top nine hitters and four of the top five pitchers from last year's team that finished second in the Conference USA regular season race, won the NCAA Oxford Regional and advanced to the NCAA Fullerton Super Regional. They will join forces with a recruiting class that ranks among the nation's elite, and as a result, the buzz has gone nationwide. So much so that the Green Wave rank in the Top 5 in all three major preseason polls.
And anyone who had not heard the roar before became well aware of it when Baseball America released its College Preview edition. The Green Wave adorned the cover of the periodical after claiming the No. 1 spot in their preseason poll to mark the program's first-ever top ranking.
"It's a unique situation in that we bring back quite a bit of talent and experience, and have added some quality depth with our recruiting class," head coach Rick Jones said. "Normally, when you have a talented junior class as we did last year, you lose quite a few of them to professional ball. Most teams that advance deep into the post season must have experience in key areas.
"For us, the biggest plus is that we had seniors that had opportunities to leave, but did not. Couple that with a very deep and experienced junior class, then add an impressive recruiting class, and what that says is that going into the season, we could have the kind of experience, depth and talent that you need to play deep into the postseason."
Included on the 2005 roster are preseason All-Americans Brian Bogusevic and Micah Owings, as well as preseason All-Conference USA selections Matt Barket, J.R. Crowel, Greg Dini and Tommy Manzella.
Highlighting the list of talented newcomers is Owings, a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and a 2003 All-American as a two-way star at Georgia Tech. Also joining the team for the 2005 season is junior college All-Star Matt Riser, high school All-American Warren McFadden and 2004 Major League draft picks Brad Emaus and Sean Morgan.
"We knew we had an experienced and talented club prior to Micah's decision to transfer here, but with Micah, you really get two players - a pitcher and a position player - and that allows you to put other players in roles where they have a better opportunity to flourish," Jones said. "So there's a domino effect there. He's not only a talented player, he's also a very experienced one."
And while the buzz has raised expectations for the Green Wave in 2005, Jones said his team understands that the team still has to prove itself on the field each and every day.
"I know this team is going to have a lot of external expectations thrust upon it, but that's something we can't be concerned with," Jones said. "We've always had lofty expectations here at Tulane, but you can't be about expectations because those are unrealistic in most cases. It's got to be about what you want to accomplish as a team. To do that, we've got to do all of the little things on a daily basis. It's a lot easier said than done, but that's the goal.
"If it's based only on perception, there would be no reason to play the games. You have to maintain a certain level of consistency to be the kind of club we want to be. Our goals are always the same - play as well as we can during the regular season, get as high of a seeding as we can, make the NCAA tournament, and hopefully host. Then once we get into the postseason, we hope to be playing our best baseball at that point."
PITCHERS
One of the strengths of the Tulane team over the past three years has been a deep and talented pitching staff, and that does not figure to change in 2005. The Green Wave feature three returning starters in juniors Brian Bogusevic, J.R. Crowel and Billy Mohl, as well as the talents of 2004 C-USA All-Freshman Team honoree Daniel Latham, who paced the squad with six saves in 2004. Other returners are juniors Ricky Fairchild, Matt Goebel and Tyler Kimmons, sophomore Brandon Gomes and redshirt-freshman Chris Worster.
The returning arms combined to post 30 of Tulane's 41 victories in 2004. The starting trio of Bogusevic, Crowel and Mohl joined forces to toss 215.2 innings a year ago, and the returning bullpen compiled five wins and seven saves while holding foes to a .281 batting average.
Joining the mix for the 2005 season are transfers Micah Owings (Georgia Tech) and Devin Barnett (UMass), and freshmen Sean Morgan, Stephen Porlier, Peter Connick, Jonathan Garrett, and Greg Young.
Owings won a combined 18 games in his two years with the Yellow Jackets, and Barnett won a pair of games last year as a freshman with the Minutemen. Morgan was a two-time all-state performer at Clements (Texas) High and was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 25th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. Porlier was a member of the 2003 U.S. Junior National Team, and Young posted a 1.51 ERA with 72 strikeouts as a senior at Harvard-Westlake School in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Local product Connick was part of a very successful Jesuit High team that won a pair of district titles and finished runner-up in the state in 2004, state-grown arm Garrett was a two-time all-district selection while at Mandeville High.
A key for the Green Wave staff in 2005 is the healthy return of Fairchild, Gomes and Worster, who all missed time due to injury. Fairchild, who earned All-Alaska Baseball League honors in the summer of 2003, missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Gomes appeared in just one game in 2004 before having the surgery himself. Worster saw action in just three games as a rookie before sitting out the remainder of the year after having shoulder surgery, and Porlier missed a portion of his prep senior season after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
"I think the key to our pitching staff is that the healthy guys need to stay healthy and have the type of year that they're capable of. Then to really take us to the next level, we need to have the guys coming off injuries get back to where they were prior to getting hurt," Jones said. "If that can happen, we have not just a very talented staff, but the deepest since I've been here."
INFIELD
The Green Wave return a pair of full-time starters in the infield in shortstop Tommy Manzella and Joe Holland, as well as an experienced first baseman in Mark Hamilton. In addition, part-time starter Tim Guidry has seen a lot of time at the hot corner during his first two years with the Green Wave, and will provide depth at second and third as a junior.
 One of two seniors expected to line up every day in the middle infield, Joe Holland led all Tulane infielders with a .973 fielding percentage in 2004.  | |
Joining the infield group in 2005 are junior Micah Owings, redshirt-freshmen Rustin Rebowe and Robbie Whitman, and true freshmen Brad Emaus, Cat Everett and Sean Morgan. Owings, who can also play in the outfield, hammered 30 home runs in two years at Georgia Tech, Rebowe earned a starting spot on the Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game over the summer, and Whitman proved to be a solid glove and flashed some pop during fall ball.
Emaus - who figures to be the opening-day starter at third - was a 18th round pick of the Atlanta Braves during last spring's MLB draft. He joins the Green Wave with impressive prep credentials that include four consecutive appearances on Georgia's All-Region 4-4A team. Everett was a Texas 5A All-Star as a senior at Lamar High, and Morgan was named District 20-5A MVP honors all three years as a prepster.
"Having two seniors in the middle is huge," Jones said. "Both of them (Holland and Manzella) had very good seasons last year, and they've been together for 62 games. Strength up the middle is important to every ball club, and these guys are not only very talented, but they're also seniors. Hamilton is poised to take that next step and should become a real force in the middle of our lineup.
"Emaus was stellar with the glove in the fall, he hit for average and with power, he runs well, has good instincts and has a chance to be one of the premier freshmen in the country. I also expect Owings and Morgan to provide power in the middle of our lineup."
CATCHERS
Behind the plate, Tulane returns a pair of seniors in Greg Dini and Scott Madden while also adding the talents of redshirt-freshman Grayden Griener and rookie Marc Robèrt.
Dini was a first-team All-Louisiana selection as a junior after leading the Green Wave with 11 home runs and finishing third on the squad with a .354 batting average. Defensively, he started 46 games at catcher and showed a strong arm by throwing out 13 would-be base stealers and picking off a pair of runners at first. Madden, meanwhile, is the Green Wave's lone holdover from the 2001 College World Series team, and provided some power in the middle of the lineup last season with a career-best five home runs in just 46 at-bats.
Griener spent the 2004 season as the bullpen catcher, and arrived at Tulane as a three-time all-district and all-metro honoree while earning all-state honors as a senior in 2003. Robèrt, meanwhile, joins the Green Wave after helping Jesuit High to a pair of state championship games, including the Louisiana title in 2002, and infielder Cat Everett could see time behind the dish as well.
"Just like in the infield, we are very lucky to have a pair of seniors behind the plate," Jones said. "Both can really hit and they both bring a lot of experience. Dini had options to sign professionally over the summer, but chose to come back for his senior year. He can catch, he can throw, and he's a clutch hitter with power. Scott is a veteran of the College World Series team, and showed last year that he can provide a spark with real power at the plate."
OUTFIELD
Tulane's deepest position may be in the outfield as the Green Wave returns all three starters from a year ago - senior Matt Barket and juniors Brian Bogusevic and Nathan Southard - as well as redshirt freshmen Grayden Griener, Rustin Rebowe, Will Rice and Robbie Whitman. Factor in junior college all-star Matt Riser, prep All-American Warren McFadden and local talent Scott Powell, plus the availability of utility athlete Micah Owings, and Tulane may have the deepest outfield in all of college baseball.
 Senior Matt Barket returns after manning all three outfield positions at some point during the 2004 season, and leading the team with a .370 batting average. | |
McFadden comes to Tulane after an outstanding senior season at Nova (Fla.) High School where he hit .571 with 19 homers and 52 RBI. Powell, a former standout at nearby Newman High who spent the 2003-04 school year at The Hotchkiss School (Lakeville, Conn.), never hit lower than .380 in any of the past five seasons, including a .440 clip last year at Hotchkiss. Riser, meanwhile, joins the fold after two standout seasons at Pearl River Community College where he twice earned all-state honors and helped guide the squad to the state title last season.
"There's a lot of talent and quality depth in the outfield," Jones said. "Matt Barket is a proven clutch hitter, Brian Bogusevic is a catalyst with his power and speed, and Nathan Southard's a junior who's started for two years. One of the most improved players from a year ago is Will Rice, and he's going to figure in the mix.
"On top of that we've got the Florida High School Player of the Year in McFadden, and Matt Riser really came on late in fall practice."
SCHEDULE
Four games at Zephyr Field and three-game home series versus defending national champion Cal State Fullerton and 2004 national seed Arizona State highlight the 2005 Tulane University baseball schedule.
The Green Wave will play 36 home games, with 32 being played at the on-campus Turchin Stadium. As has been the norm under Jones, Tulane will travel to the West Coast once again where they will take on 2004 NCAA Regional finalist Pepperdine. In addition, the Wave will play a three-game midweek series with cross-town foe UNO and a home-and-home versus state rival LSU.
"As in past years, we always try to play as tough a schedule as we can in the preconference portion of our season," Jones said. "This year may be our toughest. Our three premier weekends are against teams that rank in the Top 5 or 10 in Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton, and then we go out west to play a very good Pepperdine team for a weekend series. When you factor in our in-state rivals, there's no question that it's a schedule that's going to test us, but this team needs that kind of test."
Tulane will begin the 2005 season with a three-game series versus Southeast Missouri State beginning on Friday, Feb. 11, and will also host three-game non-conference tilts against ASU, Marist (March 4-6) and Cal State Fullerton. In Conference USA play, the Green Wave will host East Carolina (March 18-20), UAB (April 1-3), Houston (April 15-17), Memphis (May 6-8) and TCU (March 19-21).
In-state foes McNeese State (Feb. 15), UNO (March 1), Northwestern State (March 22) and Nicholls State (April 12 and 26) also make trips to Turchin Stadium.
The Green Wave's road slate is highlighted by a trip to the state capitol to take on LSU on March 8, and a weekend trip to Malibu, Calif., to battle Pepperdine from Feb. 25-27. Tulane will also hit the road for league showdowns versus Louisville (March 25-27), Charlotte (April 8-10), Southern Miss (April 22-24), USF (April 29-May 1) and Saint Louis (May 13-15).
