The Terrapin baseball program issued a press release yesterday announcing the start of fall practice for the baseball team, the first under new head coach Erik Bakich and his staff.
In reality the team has been working out and getting repetitions since the start of school. But with all programs operating under the universal start date the NCAA adopted last year, the “official” start only happened yesterday.
I haven’t had a whole lot of news to post about the program since my story on the rebuilding of the program ran. And most of the stories, since Bakich was hired in May, revolved around the new coach and the rest of his staff.
The season is a very long way away (I am already excited about the thought of college baseball at Shipley Field in February) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too early to talk about the actual team and its expectations for this season.
Rest assured the 2010 version of the Terps will be markedly different. Take a look at some of the interesting storylines to follow as Bakich and the Terps will try to reach their goal of the ACC Tournament.
1. Looking for offense
David Poutier will be counted on to pace the Terps' offense. Photo Credit: Matthew Creger
The Terps will have an very experienced pitching staff this season. In fact, they return 92% of the innings from last season (kudos to new SID Justin Moore for doing the math). But the team also will have to replace five regular starters, including three of its top five hitters.
The news gets worse. Even with solid seasons from departed standouts such as Mike Murphy and A.J. Casario, the Terps still finished last in the conference in runs scored and next-to-last in batting average. Bakich talked all summer about how important development is in order to see improvement, and development is what will have to happen in order for the Terps to score runs consistently.
Versatile infielder David Poutier (.321/.403/.839) was arguably the team’s best all-around hitter last year and a catalyst at the top of the order. He led the team in runs and was second on the team in stolen bases (8) and doubles (14). But he can’t do it by himself.
Sophomore catcher Tyler Bennett will be asked to fill the power vacuum in the lineup. He started last season stuck as the No. 2 catcher. By the end of the season he had hit eight home runs in just 99 at-bats, including four in the conference finale series against Wake Forest. By comparison, Murphy led the team with 12 dingers and he finished with 198 at-bats. Bennett was still too often fooled by off-speed pitches and didn’t work very many counts. But if he can improve his discipline before the spring, he could be exciting to watch.
The other already proven hitter is sophomore infielder Matt Murakami. Murakami was another player who played more as the season progressed. He finished with a .307 mark and 12 RBI in ACC play and proved to be a solid defender at either second or third.
Aside from those three, the rest of the offensive identity is unknown. First baseman Curtis Lazar faltered last season after success as a freshman, and senior Mike Rozak was solid in limited opportunities. But the team will likely need production right away from some of its freshmen if it wants to improve on last season.
2. Will the real Scott Swinson please stand up?
ACC Tournament hopes may rest on ace Scott Swinson regaining his 2008 form. Photo credit: Jaclyn Borowski
Scouts I talked to last season all agreed, staff ace Scott Swinson is the Terps’ most talented pitcher. As a sophomore Swinson was the team’s workhorse, logging 85.1 innings, finishing 5-4 with a 4.96 ERA. Swinson often saved his best for conference play, including eight innings and seven strikeouts in a win against North Carolina.
It seemed logical he would build on that heading into last season. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Swinson was suspended to begin the season and just couldn’t seem to put it back together. He finished with similar strikeout and walk totals, but in the ACC he was just 2-6 with a 6.49 ERA often as the Friday night starter. He still showed flashes, like his near-complete game shutout against Duke, but seemed disinterested at times.
As I noted above, the Terps’ return a ton of pitching experience, but Swinson is still the best of the bunch, and the pace-setter. He had a good summer in the Cal Ripken Senior League and if he focuses during the fall and winter workouts, he will be the Terps’ best shot at victory against the ACC powers.
3. Winning the ones they should
Sorry Terp fans, despite Bakich’s best hopes, the team is not going to finish in the top third of the ACC. Conference heavyweights such as North Carolina, Miami, and Florida State has too much talent and depth for Maryland. But that doesn’t mean the ACC Tournament is out of the question either. The Terps’ finished just 3-6 against Duke, BC, and Virginia Tech, the three teams that finished right ahead of them in the ACC.
While the team will feel great if they sneak out of Tallahassee with a victory, in order to get back to the ACC Tournament, the Terps will not be able to afford losing series to the teams in the middle of the pack. Last season 13 conference wins were enough to make it into the tournament. The Terps had 10. After watching last season, three more ACC wins wasn’t unattainable.
It will start with winning the close games. Last season the team lost 11 conference games by four runs or less. That number will have to improve if the Terps are going to get back to the conference tournament. The good news is that the end of the bullpen may be the best aspect of the team heading into the fall. The bad news is it won’t matter if the offense doesn’t score any runs.
Michael Lemaire is the Terrapin baseball beat writer. He can be reach at lemairedbk@gmail.com