The three-game finale of Fall practice for the Terrapin Baseball team took place this weekend as the Black team defeated the Red team 10-3 on Sunday to win the rubber match.

While the series is just for fun, there was something to play for. The Black team will now get to dine on steak at the team’s holiday dinner and the Red team will be eating beans. I would love to get the chance to see Bakich enforce that. 

But that is not all this weekend accomplished. It ended the opening third of season No. 1 of the Erik Bakich era. Before he was even on campus, Bakich stressed building a team identity through hard work and solid fundamentals, and this Fall was Bakich’s first chance to implement that.

The season is still months away but that doesn’t mean Fall baseball isn’t important. Nothing is set in stone, but Bakich had a great chance to evaluate the talent on this team, and  he came away feeling more confident the team can achieve its first goal and make the ACC Tournament this season. He was been impressed with the way the team has adapted quickly to his style.

They aren’t going to be able to play station-to-station baseball with this offensive makeup of this team, so Bakich spent much of the Fall preaching and practicing the basics, such as stealing bases and bunting. They may seem insignificant, but the Terps will need to be perfect defensively and on the bases if they are going to steal games in what should be a brutal ACC.

That is just one of many storylines that came out of my long chat with the Terps’ head coach. Read on for the rest of the irnteresting tidbits I was able to glean over a fine meal at Chick-Fil-A.

1. Scott Swinson is gone for good

The time Swinson spent in a Terp uniform was tumultuous to say the least. Now it is over, as Bakich confirmed that Swinson is no longer on the team for “violating a team policy”. He would not elaborate on the situation. Swinson was “suspended” at the beginning of last season for breaking a team rule, although his punishment was just to be relegated to the bullpen for the opening weekend.

After transferring from George Washington, Swinson was the Terps’ best and most dependable pitcher as a sophomore. Big things were expected of him last year, but he regressed big time and never really got in-sync. Despite that fact the Ellicott City native was still drafted by his hometown Orioles in the 46th round and played in the Cal Ripken Senior League this summer.

Some around the program didn’t think he would be back for his senior season, but he returned and Bakich had planned to have him on staff for the spring. Now he will have to make do without his potential ace.

Bakich did say that while he hadn’t spoken to Swinson since he left, he did expect the senior to stay at Maryland and finish up his degree.

2. Who is going to be the catcher?

It was widely assumed that, after a fantastic finish to his freshman campaign, Tyler Bennett would assume the role of full-time catcher. But, Bakich told me today that Bennett recently underwent Tommy John surgery for a shoulder injury that bothered him last season, and he won’t be available to catch all season. He will be able to swing a bat again in January and will still be a staple in the lineup. But his inability to play behind the plate leaves the Terps’ without any game experience at the position.

The two most likely candidates are redshirt freshman Jack Cleary and sophomore Marcus Breeden. Cleary served solely as the bullpen catcher last season and Breeden was a listed as a backup infielder but never actually saw any action on the field. The season is obviously a long way off but this should be the No. 1 concern for Bakich and his staff.

3. The best newcomer will not be a freshman

The majority of the freshmen who debuted this fall were recruited by Terry Rupp and his staff, with the exception of outfielder Jordan Hagel who Bakich signed late. But maybe the new coach’s biggest recruiting coup was adding outfielder Brandon Padula, a junior outfielder who transferred from West Virginia.

Padula only had one at-bat last season with the Mountaineers, but he led the Terps with seven RBI in this weekend’s “World Series” and, if the season started today, would probably join David Poutier in the middle of the order as one of the team’s best hitters. His continued improvement would be huge for the Terps who are still searching for the right combination in the outfield. Padula would probably be a regular starter in either right or left field.

The junior will not hit for a lot of power, but does consistently hit the ball on a line and his comfort level at the plate was on display this weekend.

4. Two ways is better than one

Adam Kolarek’s solo home run in the eighth knotted the game for the Red team with two outs, but it was doubly impressive because Kolarek started Game 1 for the Red team and last year was used exclusively as a pitcher, primarily as a lefthanded setup man.

The hit underscored what could be a major story to watch for Kolarek and the Terps this season. Now-departed pitching coach Jim Farr had mentioned to me during the summer that Kolarek was legitimate two-way talent and could be a potential contributor in the outfield. It was dismissed it for the most part. After watching Kolarek decimate Coastal Plain League hitters this summer most thought he would challenge to be one of the Terps’ top pitchers.

And he still will.

But Bakich said Kolarek can really swing the bat and is in serious contention to be a potential starter or fourth outfielder. This development makes Kolarek quite possibly the most important player for the Terps’ season.

Will his pitching affect his hitting and fielding?

What about the other way around?

Will he be physically and mentally fit enough to balance the pressure of being an ACC starter and the constant grind of being an everyday player?

Those are just a few of the questions that instantly popped into my head as Bakich was outlining Kolarek’s role this season.

I haven’t had the chance to see him at the dish yet, but because of the re-emergence of fellow lefthander John Dischert, who figures to assume Kolarek’s role as the lefty set-up man, Kolarek has a chance to start this season and be the staff ace. Without Swinson, Kolarek’s performance on the mound will be thrust into the spotlight even further. And Bakich needs to be careful he doesn’t wear his senior out.

5. This could be a very long season

I have to admit, in the beginning, even I was drinking the Bakich Kool-Aid. It was hard not to be convinced the Terps were going to turn it around immediately, especially listening to Bakich and his endless optimistic attitude. But after taking a few deep breaths and blinking a few times, this season will undoubtedly be a trying one.

In order to fill out his Fall roster, Bakich raided the University’s club baseball team for six players and added two more players during walk-on try-outs in September. While anything can happen in baseball (just ask current Terp closer and former club team player Dan Gentzler), it is difficult to see those players making a difference when the ACC schedule rolls around.

In addition, the team has just six seniors and, including the two walk-ons, 10 freshman. Bakich mentioned to me he secured a few more JuCo recruits over the weekend, so help is definitely on the way. But the Terps still have this season, and their goal to make the ACC  Tournament for the first time since the conference expanded. Now the Terps don’t have the services of Scott Swinson at all, or Tyler Bennett defensively.

The bottom line is there is not a lot of depth on this team, and while there is a lot of pitching experience returning, the offense is undergoing a major makeover to fill the holes left by some of the more prominent departed contributors.

But of course Bakich, ever the optimist, said the team will practice on the field no matter what the weather is like in the Winter to try and overcome the disadvantage of being the second northernmost school in the conference.

The point he is trying to make is that the Terps will be winning games with their toughness and their scrappiness this year. But I will let Bakich put it best:

“It’s not the best team who wins the game, it’s the best team on the field that day, and I promise our team will be ready every single time we step on that field.”

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.