By: Ricky Hazel, Associate AD

Pitching Goes From Strength to Question

Replacing Hale Behind the Plate Also Key

No Strangers in the 2019 Lineup

DH Role Open For Competition

Schedule Choked Full of Challenges

The 2018 Stetson baseball season went down in Hatters history for many reasons and will be remembered fondly for years to come.Despite all of the great things that team accomplished, and there were many, those accomplishments will have exactly zero impact on what the 2019 Stetson baseball team accomplishes.The only thing that carries over from last year to this spring are the expectations. Those have only grown in the shadow of a 48-13 season, ASUN regular season and tournament titles, an NCAA Regional title and all of the individual honors that came as a result."We are not going to sneak up on anyone this year," Hatters coach, who enters his third season at Stetson in 2019, said. "We have addressed that with the team. We have lot of guys back from that team, and we believe we have more depth and some very good arms on the mound, but this is a new day and a new season. You have to try to one-up what you did and prove it again."The fact that Stetson lost six players to the MLB draft, plus another that signed to play professionally, obviously carries more weight to folks voting on preseason polls than the large number of starters the Hatters return from 2018. Of the everyday lineup from 2018, the only positions that will have new starters this year are catcher and designated hitter. The other seven spots will be manned by returning players who were key parts of the 18-game win streak that was a highlight from 2018.After finishing among the top 10 to 15 in every major poll to end 2018, the Hatters have barely been a blip on the preseason radar."That is OK because the preseason polls don't mean much," Trimper said. "Maybe that gives us a little chip on our shoulders again. It's all about 'what have you done lately.'"The 2019 Hatters will have plenty of chances to earn their stripes on the field, just as the 2018 team did. The schedule is more difficult with national power Texas Tech on the road, a neutral site game against Michigan as well as home games against perennial NCAA tournament teams like Sam Houston State, Saint Louis and Yale joining with the regular cast of non-conference foes such as South Florida, Florida State, FIU, Bethune-Cookman and UCF.The ASUN race will also be tougher with a veteran Jacksonville club back from an at-large NCAA selection, a FGCU team looking to bounce back from a bad finish and with new ASUN members Liberty and North Alabama adding to the league's depth."Last year our league was ranked as high as sixth in the country, and that is big," Trimper said. "When you look at the leagues in front of us, it was all Power Five conferences. Adding Liberty, which may be fighting for the league title in year one, and a North Alabama program that was very successful in Division II, only helps our league."But the thing the 2019 team has to remember, and it was something the 2018 squad did very well, is to play the game the right way every day."We try to play the game as hard as we can every day," Trimper said. "You have to have that mind-set, no matter who the opponent is. If you go in with a different attitude when it is Florida State versus when it is Manhattan, you run into trouble quick. You just execute the baseball plays that you practice and you practice them well. When you put them into the games, good things will happen if you limit the mistakes."First in the nation in earned run average. First in the nation in strikeouts. Two-time ASUN Pitcher of the Year. NCAA leader in both strikeouts and saves. Five pitchers selected in the MLB Draft.There is no question that, for Stetson, 2018 was the year of the pitcher, and the players weren't the only ones who collected hardware. Pitching coachwas also a unanimous selection as the Division I Pitching Coach of the Year.The question for 2019 is what can the Hatters do for an encore? Gone are three of the four primary starters, the best closer in the country and the primary setup man. That group accounted for 71 percent of the innings pitched and more than 73 percent of the strikeouts accumulated in 2018.But that doesn't mean the cupboard is bare. Far from it.The focus for the Hatters during the preseason has been on junior left-hander, who was second on the club with 114 strikeouts while posting a 9-2 record and a 2.51 ERA. His sophomore season included a no-hitter, a complete game shutout in the ASUN Tournament championship game and three ASUN Pitcher of the Week awards.His post-season included a term with the USA Baseball Collegiate National team and eight innings in a combined no-hitter as a member of the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League. His preseason has included numerous preseason All-America honors and selection to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list.While he was a big part of the 2018 staff, Senger is the man in 2019. He is the ace, a team captain and a guy the rest of the pitching staff will look to. There is only one other pitcher on the staff with as many as 20 innings of work in Division I, junior right-hander, who had a total of 5.1 innings of game action last year."Coach Therneau does such a great job of developing these guys on the mound, but a big part of what he does is mental, being able to handle tough situations," Trimper said. "We try to prepare these guys for what is to come. There is failure coming. There will be bad starts and strikeouts. There will be lost games and errors coming, so we try to prepare for when those failures happen to not let them snowball into something bigger."For Senger, performance on the mound in his start each Friday is just part of his job."Mitch has been a pretty vocal leader with the pitching staff, but that is a challenge for him," Trimper said. "He has to look out for his own career and his own season while looking ahead to becoming a professional with scouts looking at everything he does. He also has to manage having a bigger role as a team leader. There are challenges he will have to tackle to deal with the organized chaos because he is going to have so many balls in the air."Beyond Senger, the pitching staff will have a lot more moving pieces this year. There are a total of 17 pitchers on the roster for 2019, including junior, who will also start in left field and hit in the middle of the batting order. All 17 guys will have opportunities to contribute this spring, meaning Therneau will have a bigger challenge every day."Last year there was a set rotation, a closer and some bullpen guys," Trimper said. "There were not a lot of moves to make. It was pretty easy to coach. There will be a lot more pieces to the puzzle and a lot more moves to make this year. We are going to have to figure things out quickly, but I don't want to rush into it and just throw guys out there to see if they can make it in these roles."The first piece of the puzzle is the starting rotation. Behind Senger the Hatters have sophomore, a former North Carolina signee who played the 2018 season at the State College of Florida in Manatee. A hard-throwing right-hander from New Jersey, Peto was brought in specifically to replaceas a power right-hander at the front of the rotation.The third weekend spot, as well as the all-important job of mid-week starter that launched the star ofand was a key to the Hatters rising to as high as No. 4 in the RPI last year, are up for grabs. Returnees like seniorand sophomorewill compete with freshmenandwithand sophomoresandwaiting in the wings."You hope those guys can make the same kind of progression this year thatandboth made in their second season and Mitchell made last year," Trimper said. "They are all a year older and a year better. You hope that you get the same kinds of stories from those guys this year that you got from Logan and Jack."Once the rotation is settled, then the rest of the roles on the pitching staff can fall into place. Replacingat the back end of games is obviously a priority, but the Hatters will likely have a closer by committee, at least early in the year.Wood, Nunez and Garcia are all candidates to pitch at the end of games, as is freshmanand sophomore left-hander, a transfer from Miami-Dade College."I want to get through the first week of the season, the first four games, then pump the brakes a little to evaluate before we start the next series," Trimper said. "For a freshman, closing games takes such a toll on the body. We like Neilan in that role, but we will have to see if he can handle the kind of work load that Brooks did last year."Other hurlers on the 2019 staff looking to solidify roles include junior, and freshmenandWith the sheer number of pitchers at his disposal, Therneau will likely be able to play matchups more often during the 2019 season. For certain, fans will need a scorecard to know who the Hatters have on the mound almost every day.While the cast of characters on the mound for Stetson in 2019 will be vastly different, the player who will call the pitches will also be new.was a three-year starter for the Hatters, but his collegiate career is over. In his place, sophomorewill likely get most of the work with junior, who returned to the Stetson program after two years away, along with sophomoreserving in a backup role."Yes, we lost, butmay be just as good defensively," Trimper said. "Cardi got some good innings last year, and he got to learn behind Austin. That is going to be big for our program and those guys are going to have to improve as they go along."To me, the catching position is the most important on the field. I don't care if the catcher hits .100, he has to be a defensive mainstay, and we feel good about the guys we have."Therneau believes in allowing the catchers to call pitches in order to control the tempo of the game. Trimper said all of the work Cardieri and Martin got last year catching in the bullpen helped the returning hurlers develop confidence in their abilities."Cardi got some playing time last year, but he was also the guy down in the pen catching those guys every day," Trimper said. "He is a very smart player, very intelligent, and he knows how to work a guy. He does an extremely good job with the scouting reports, and Dave does a great job with those guys on the mental side of things."Fans who saw the Hatters play more than a handful of games in 2018 will know all of the names in the 2019 lineup. The outfield trio of seniorand juniorsandreturns as does the quartet of infielders, led by seniorat third base, junior captainat short and sophomoresat second andat first.Add in senior, who can play second base or shortstop, and the Hatters have a solid core group of returners."I think that is our strength," Trimper said of the returning lineup. "Last year, we were hoping to hit .260 and score four runs a game, but this is a more veteran team. Guys came back a year older and a year better. Physically, they are a lot bigger and have better legs. I am not talking about stealing bases, I am talking about going from first to third, advancing on a ball in the dirt, the little things."They are also very good defensively. They get to ground balls better and get into better position to throw. There are a lot of things with the physicality of the game, and that also comes with experience."To aid a pitching staff that led the nation in strikeouts and ERA, the Hatters also broke the modern program record with a .975 fielding percentage last year. Both Koos and Meola made appearances on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 for defensive plays, Arenas is sure handed at short and the corner outfielders – Bogart and MacNeil – cover ground like center fielders, and have very strong arms."They are all great defenders who throw well," Trimper said of his outfield trio. "Koos will be at the top of the lineup, even though he showed he is able to slide to the three hole, as he did last year when we needed more offense. MacNeil is healthy and has a chance to be one of our best hitters and Bogey will hit in the three hole."Following the three outfielders at the top of the order, Foggo will slide into the cleanup sport after a freshman season that saw him go from little playing time early, to ASUN Tournament MVP."He is a good example of how difficult it is to be a high-impact player right away as a freshman," Trimper said. "He is going to have to be able to outwit his opponents because they are going to know how to pitch him better this year. He has to work on staying focused because he puts a lot of pressure on himself. We are working on getting him to relax, go pitch-to-pitch, and deal with his failures and successes in a good way."The second base position was a revolving door in 2018 with Ball, Martin andall taking turns at the position. By the end of the year, Ball had taken control of the job, and will enter 2019 as the starter."Obviously defense is always going to be a big part of our team, but we want some production from that spot," Trimper said. "Kyle was a little lost early, but grew into a starter on a regional champion. Right now, he has been one of our better hitters in the fall and has really stepped up his defense. I'd probably give the nod to him, but those guys are going to have to hit to stay in the lineup."For Meola and Arenas on the left side, defense is not in doubt. Both will be looked to for more offensive production this year and work they put in during the off season should lead to that result."They are both very good defensive guys, just stellar," Trimper said. "John revamped his swing and is more upright so that he can make better contact and not hit as many pop ups. We have seen some good improvements there."With Jorge, we recognized that he likes the high pitch, but he has to learn how to lay off that pitch. His swing, if you look at the videos, is built more for the low part of the zone. We need him to attack that lowest part of the zone and stay off those pitches that are high. He is a very good low ball hitter."Replacing the John Olerud Award winner in the designated hitter role for Stetson is going to be a challenge in the best of circumstances.became the anchor in the middle of the Hatters' batting order last year, earning ASUN Player of the Year honors in addition to being named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Regional at Melching Field.The expectation was that freshman, a big (6-foot-7) left-handed power-hitting freshman from New Jersey, would get a lot of the at bats that Wilson took last year. That changed the first week of February when Hylton went down with a season-ending knee injury.While it is impossible to know what impact Hylton's loss will have on the Hatters, it opens the door for competition for those at bats. Senior, who opened the 2018 season as the starter at first base, will be in the mix along with a group of freshmen that will start withandand may also include outfieldersandalong with catcher. Varela could also be in the mix.Doskow will likely get the first chance at the job, and he will also get some time at first base, giving Foggo some turns at DH. Townsend is a switch-hitter who can play second, third and in the outfield. Dilbert, a speedster, and Dickerson, a highly touted prospect that turned down significant money from the Cincinnati Reds, who were likely to find at bats in the outfield hard to find, could get some turns as well.The other options, catchers Varela and, are both more offensive minded players. Steinhart was not likely to see playing time behind the plate this year while continuing to recover from an arm injury, but showed in the fall he has the ability to swing the bat.From the very start, the 2019 Hatters will be challenged. The opening weekend includes a team from the ACC, Virginia Tech, and two perennial conference title contenders in Sam Houston State and Manhattan in the RyCass Classic.The first weekend of March brings the Westin Lake Mary Stetson Invitational with three more foes – Georgetown from the Big East, Saint Louis from the Atlantic 10 and Sacred Heart from the Northeast Conference – that are regular challengers for conference titles and NCAA bids.Stetson will host a Maryland team from the Big Ten that was one of just three teams to beat the Hatters twice last year the next weekend before Ivy League power Yale visits for a three-game series.Then comes the trip to Texas Tech that will include two games against the Red Raiders and one against another Big Ten team, Michigan.The Hatters will open ASUN play the weekend of March 29-31 at North Alabama. Stetson also travel for series at Liberty, Lipscomb and Jacksonville while hosting series against NJIT, Kennesaw State, FGCU and North Florida.The midweek schedule includes home-and-home series against UCF, USF, Bethune-Cookman, FIU and Florida State."At the end of the day, we are excited about our club and the conference we are in," Trimper said. "We hope we can live up to the potential we see, but we also want Jacksonville to win a lot of games, and we want FGCU to win. I would love to see four teams from our league in the NCAA Tournament, and I think that is possible."If the Hatters, who were picked to win the 2019 ASUN title by the league's coaches, have the kind of success they expect, then they will get to host at least one extra weekend of play when the ASUN Tournament returns to Melching Field for the 12time."We have to play well enough to make the tournament because you never know how seasons are going to go," Trimper said. "Having the home field advantage and knowing how to play well here and win here, if we do what we are supposed to do, is great."We have goals of winning the conference championship, and we are not going to sit here and hide from that. If we do the things we are supposed to, then we are going to be excited to play in front of our home crowd for another weekend."Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.