The Observer, February 29, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 19
Spring Sports Preview: Underclassmen will be critical
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Clichés about spring are endless (flowers, birds, it's still cold outside but…), but my space and your attention are not, so let's get to it. Here's a look at what's going on this spring:
Baseball
Second-year head coach Matt Englander is making the most of Nobby's Ballpark, one of the top baseball venues in Div. III. The Nob, coupled with dogged recruiting, has helped Englander's first year of recruiting at Case be extremely successful; he's managed to attract 16 freshmen to the program, many of whom are expected to contribute right away. "They better contribute," said Englander. "When you have 16 new faces, some of them are going to have to produce."
The Spartans return six players from last year's 12-20 team. Leading that group is senior Kevin Haley, who was named second-team All-UAA last year. He'll play a leadership role on the team and will need to contribute on the mound. Freshman right-hander Kyle Silk is a top-flight pitcher who will bolster the rotation.
After Haley and Silk, there are some question marks on the pitching staff, but Englander is confident in the quality of his freshman hurlers; sophomore Chip Dean, who led the team with a 4.50 ERA last season pitching relief, will be relegated to a mop-up role.
The Spartans graduated their top three offensive players last spring, and the freshmen, once again, will be picking up the slack. Steve Bills, a cannon-armed catcher, and Chad Mullins, who could see time at DH, will improve the offense. Scoring a lot of Case's runs this year will be Clay Hurley, a sophomore transfer student who played basketball at Grove City. He'll start in centerfield and hit leadoff.
The main disadvantage that Case will always have is geography. UAA schools like Emory in Atlanta are already playing outside, so they'll come into the conference tournament in Sanford, Fla. on March 11 with some wrinkles already ironed out. Justifiably, the team wants to get out and play on grass and dirt. And Englander, like Ratso Rizzo, really wants to get down to Florida. "There isn't a team that's going to want to play more than us," said Englander.
Softball
Offensively, Case will need senior and three-year captain Lauren Seeds to set the table. So far, that hasn't been a problem for Seeds, who hits at the top of the order. Last year, she had an on-base percentage of .421, and ranked second in the UAA in doubles with 13.
The biggest bat in the lineup is Chelsea Poelking, who last year as a freshman drove in 18 runs and had a .423 average. More importantly, she had a 1.03 OPS (on-base plus slugging), showing both an ability to hit for average and power.
The big question for the pitching staff is the health of the team's best pitcher, Ruth Sagartz, who had ankle surgery in November. "She's done a great job keeping up with her rehab," said head coach Jennie Amodio.
This weekend, the Spartans will play in four games at the Centre College Tournament in Kentucky, which will provide some indication of how Sagartz will hold up this season. If she does stay healthy, her team should improve upon last year's winning season.
Track
After months of being cooped up in the Veale Center, running in circles day in and day out on the 200-meter track, the Spartans will finally be able to run around Case Field, in circles, day in and day out, on the 400-meter track.
One more relay, two throwing events, and one race is added for the outdoor season. The Spartans should benefit from the addition of the javelin and the discuss as well as the 10,000 meter run, because the throws and distance squads are good. The relays will hurt them. So in sum, the additional events won't help or hurt the Spartans.
The outdoor season doesn't really start until after the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 14 and 15, so this preview is a bit premature. But even when the outdoor part of the season finally begins, there is no guarantee that the weather will cooperate.
Last year, the Spartans suffered because they only competed at two meets before the UAA Championships. They were plagued by snow that showed up almost every weekend, forcing cancellations. Despite those difficulties, both the men's and women's teams finished fifth of seven teams at the UAA Championships.
The schedule is designed better this year. They start the season in Orlando, and then head to Atlanta and Cincinnati. "You need to go places where you get the opportunity to do all the events. You have to go south," said head coach Steve Rubin. "I still feel like Cincinnati is a risk."
The distance and throws teams should do well, with returning All-Americans Esther Erb and Elizabeth Ehrke on the women's side. But in my opinion, the team doesn't have enough all-around depth to move up in the UAA this year.
Tennis
The women's tennis team started its 2008 season on a high note, with a 9-0 victory over Div. I Robert Morris University on Friday. They'll look to carry that momentum into the rest of their season. "They've been somewhat unsure of the payoff for the things I've asked them to do in terms of fitness," said interim women's head coach Dan Palmer. "But the work they've put in won them some matches against Robert Morris."
The women's team is only six strong and five of those are underclassmen. The veteran leadership will have to come from their No. 2 singles player, junior Marta Worwag. Worwag will team up with No. 1 singles player, sophomore Kristen Ko, for a competitive doubles team. The women finished last in the UAA last year.
The men's team opened its spring season with three straight wins over Baldwin-Wallace, Robert Morris, and Oberlin. The men finished seventh of eight in the UAA last year. Brothers Joe and John Smetona form the No. 1 doubles team that has gone 2-0 to start the spring. Sophomore Mike Peterson and junior Adam Erickson have been solid thus far. "They have a real ability to compete," said interim coach Greg Debeljak.
Overall, the Spartans should do well against neighboring schools while struggling against conference opponents. Three of the top 15 men's teams in the country, Emory, WashU, and Carnegie Mellon, are UAA schools.
The search for a permanent head coach should begin in early spring. From what I hear, Nancy Rahn isn't in the running for the job. I would urge the Athletic Department to look into the possibility, though; it would be a great story.
