Season Preview: Sea Gulls aiming for second straight College World Series in 2012

SALISBURY, Md. – At the 2011 NCAA Division III College World Series in Grand Chute, Wis., Head Coach Doug Fleetwood asked a few questions of his Salisbury University baseball team, which won four consecutive elimination games in the regional at Millington, Tenn., to advance to the program's third College World Series.

"Are you satisfied?" Fleetwood, entering his 12th season as head coach, asked. "Or, are you in a position where you want to win the thing?"

The answer was clear.

"They've told me that they want to win the thing," he said. "And, I think from what I've seen from a good bit of the returners, from conditioning and those kinds of things, it looks like they've worked pretty hard."

With that said, the road to the Sea Gulls' 13th straight NCAA tournament berth and second World Series appearance in a row won't exactly be easy. SU, which finished the season with a 34-14 record, graduated three starting pitchers, closer and starting third baseman in All-CAC players Chris Greiner, Dustin Herbert, Nathan Young, Drew Baldwin and Brian Green, respectively.

Fleetwood, whose team comes into 2012 ranked No. 9 in the Preseason D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 and returns 20 letter winners, believes he still has the talent to make it happen.

"We've got some really good players so hopefully we can go out here and work hard every day and make a run," he said.

PITCHING

While SU did lose arguably the most on the mound, the cupboard is not bare.

Junior and senior right-handers Andrew Levy and Devin Gardner enter the season as the top two starters. Levy made 10 appearances and four starts a year ago, going 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 30 innings. Gardner came out of the bullpen in 12 games, compiling a 2-1 mark and 5.00 ERA in 18 innings of work.

The back end of the rotation is up for grabs.

"We really like a freshman named Brett Collacchi, he could possibly be in the mix," said Fleetwood. "A kid named Danny Druzgala is a community college transfer from the Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville we really like and he could be in the mix. Jeff Hoffman is a kid who was a reliever last year, he's in the mix for that thing."

Senior righties Bill Morton and Stephen Miller will be counted on more in the bullpen in 2012. Junior Matt Beck, the Sea Gulls' starting first baseman last season, will see added time in the bullpen this year.

"The bulk of our losses obviously were on the pitching staff," said Fleetwood. "So, it's going to take pretty much a new group to come out there and do those things and that's going to be the key. If we pitch well, and I think we have the talent to do so, I think we'll be in a good situation."

CATCHING

Senior Tyler Bennett, a second team All-CAC selection in 2011, returns behind the plate for Salisbury. Bennett led the team in home runs (six), doubles (16) and RBIs (36) and was second in runs scored (37), slugging percentage (.549) and total bases (90).

"He's our leader," said Fleetwood of Bennett. "He's a very smart ballplayer; he knows the game extremely well. He's a good player to go along with it but he's a tough kid, a worker and our players will follow him with his work ethic and the way he does things."

Junior Bobby Hite will spell Bennett when needed. Hite appeared in 11 games, making two starts last season.

INFIELD

Fleetwood is high on his middle infield of shortstop Ken O'Neill and second baseman Johnny Schiotis, who are back for their sophomore seasons.

O'Neill was third on the team in batting average (.342), fourth in on-base percentage (.432) and tied for third in stolen bases (seven). Schiotis led the team in walks (20) and was third in OBP (.435), fourth in runs (28) and RBIs (26) and fifth in batting average (.318), hits (35) and fifth in doubles (seven).

The pair committed just 19 errors in a combined 300 defensive chances.

"They are as good as anybody in the country," said Fleetwood.

Sophomore Quinn Griffith takes over at third base this season after the departure of Green. Griffith appeared in 11 games, making five starts in 2011.

"He's probably one of our most improved players from last season as far as doing the work he had to do to get ready," Fleetwood said of Griffith. "We feel really good there."

Beck will play first when not on the mound but there will be several new faces there this season.

OUTFIELD

Back for his sophomore season is center fielder Bill Root, who was the CAC Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection as well as being named to the ABCA All-South Rawlings Gold Glove team. Root made his mark as one of the fastest players in program history last season, covering a lot of ground in the outfield while stealing a team-leading 27 bases in 30 attempts. In all, he led the team in seven statistical categories.

"He has the ability to be a big-time player here in his career," Fleetwood said of Root.

Senior Nick Walls will patrol right field after hitting .298 in 29 games there last season, while the job in left field is open. Junior Nick Gentry may share time with newcomer Eric Weiser. Weiser, a senior, spent time at CCBC-Catonsville and NCAA Division II Texas A&M International University. Gentry batted .259 in 30 games with one home run and six RBIs last season.

"We're going to have some good people out there, there's a lot of competition we're trying to bring in," said Fleetwood.

"There's going to be a lot of really good players who don't get to play a lot and the key there is how do they handle that? I think there are some guys here that want to be counted on and maybe feel like they didn't get as many opportunities in the past," he said. "Now they've got them and I think you're going to see them run with it a little bit."

SCHEDULE

The season opens on Feb. 15 when Salisbury hosts Virginia Wesleyan College at the SU Baseball Field at 2 p.m., in the first game on a challenging 39-game slate.

The Sea Gulls will play seven teams that advanced to the 2011 NCAA tournament. The preseason No. 5-ranked State University of New York at Cortland visits Salisbury for one game on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m., while the CAC champion and NCAA-tournament-qualifier Frostburg State University comes in for three, March 10-11.

No. 7 Christopher Newport University and SU will play a home-and-home March 21 (at home) and 29 (in Newport News, Va.) before the Sea Gulls play NCAA-tournament teams in Catholic University of America and Messiah College April 4 and 9, respectively, both at home.

The Gulls will also face No. 21 Shenandoah University and Johns Hopkins University, both schools that also advanced to the NCAA tournament, in back-to-back games in Salisbury on April 28 and 30.

"The schedule is a good one," Fleetwood said. "It's all strong and it looks like each year it continues to get stronger. Our out-of-conference schedule – playing Cortland, Christopher Newport, Shenandoah – it isn't easy. You have to be at the top of your game every day. But I think, for the kids, that's the way it should be. It should be exciting to go out and play the best people in the country and put yourself in situations to say are you one of the best in the country?"