Baseball
Assistant Coaches Jay Sirianni and Mark Flatten and Head Coach Darin Thomas lead the 2008 Mavericks |
MAVERICK BASEBALL TAKE FIELD FRIDAY UNDER NEW HEAD COACH
Feb. 21, 2008
ARLINGTON, Texas - - The UT Arlington baseball team will spend a lot of time at Clay Gould Ballpark over the next two weeks, and the home field will gets its first taste of 2008 baseball Friday afternoon.
The Mavericks open the season at 3 p.m. Friday at home against Arkansas-Little Rock in the UTA-DBU Invitational. The Mavericks, sporting a new coaching staff and 22 new players, take on Missouri State at 3 p.m. Saturday, then turn around and play Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA's portion of the tournament ends Sunday with a 3 p.m. game against Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Mavericks will play 12 of first 18 games at home this season. Three of those non-home games are in Frisco at Dr Pepper Ballpark. UTA opens the Southland Conference season at 6:30 p.m. on March 14 against Lamar.
Mavericks coach Darin Thomas is optimistic about this seasons as a good mix of healthy returning players, returning players who contributed last season and guys who are back from last season's injury-filled campaign. Here's a breakdown of the 2008 Mavericks:
Pitchers
Senior Nathan Long started 10 games last season and finished fourth on the team with a 5.14 earned run average and second with 48 strikeouts. Long and junior Brandon Endsley tied for the team lead in appearances with 17. Senior Jeffrey Nollen and juniors Ryan Martin and Andy Sauter are also back. Left-handed senior Eamonn Donovan, who emerged as a valuable starter at the end of last season, is back after striking out 27 batters in 29 innings. His 4.30 ERA was the lowest on the team.
UTA has welcomed five junior-college transfers, one Division I transfer and three freshmen. Leading the way after the fall season is freshman left-hander Mark Picca, left-handed junior-college transfer Ryan Robinson and right-handed junior-college transfers Matt Dunn and Drew Clementz. The Mavericks also expect contribution right away from Division I transfer Rett Varner, a former Justin Northwest standout who comes to Arlington after sitting out one redshirt season at BYU.
Catchers
Chad Comer, Steffan Guest and Chad Price will battle for the catching position. A former Denison High School catcher who played at Eastern Oklahoma State for two years, Price is a Gold Glove winner in junior college as well as a .326 hitter. Guest played at nearby Trinity High School in Euless and hit .300 at McClennon College. A former Mansfield High School player, Comer was a redshirt on the squad last season.
The Corners
Danny Slinkman, a senior and two-time letter winner, is back after hitting .333 last season. He is joined at first base by Mitch Putman, David McLeod and Jordan Vaughn. Ryan Davis, who hit .325 for Eastern Oklahoma State in 2006, is capable of playing first or third, Thomas said. Davis and junior-college transfer Evan Raley are locked in a battle at third base. Raley comes to UTA after hitting .340 with 58 hits and 12 doubles for Central Arizona College.
Up The Middle
Junior-college transfer Justin McPherson emerged from the fall season as one of UTA's best players and is the early leader in the battle at shortstop, Thomas said. He's being pushed by transfer Jay Pitschka and freshman Limon, a highly-recruited pitcher/infielder from Lubbock Estacado High School. Also battling for time is redshirt sophomore Jeff Storms, who is back from injury and ready to solidify the middle infield.
Outfield
The most experienced player on UTA's roster, three-time letter winner Brock Wilson, is back for his senior year in the Mavericks outfield. Andrew Kainer and Blake Holt emerged as valuable assets to the outfield in the fall. Also pushing for playing time, Thomas said, is junior-college transfer Preston McCoy and returning letter winners Collin Garner and Matt Otteman.
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