FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
TULSA – The Oral Roberts University baseball team begins their quest for a 12th consecutive Summit League title and NCAA Regional appearance on Feb. 20 when they host Western Michigan at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
The 2009 edition of Golden Eagle baseball is full of new faces, as 10 starters departed from last year’s squad that posted a 48-14 mark along with a conference title and NCAA Regional berth.
Fourteen letterwinners, including three starting position players and three starting pitchers, come back for the 2009 campaign, as well as 15 newcomers.
Head coach Rob Walton returns for his sixth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles. In only five years, Walton is ORU’s all-time winningest head coach with a record of 221-78 (.739). Walton has led ORU to at least 40 wins in all five seasons and acted as head coach of Team USA this past summer, leading the National Team to the Gold Medal and a perfect 24-0 record.
“We’ll be new in a lot of positions this season,” said Walton. “There will be a learning curve. We lost several key players off last year’s squad, including our entire outfield. We’ll get better as we move on into the year. I anticipate some bumps early in the season but the goal is to improve each day and just take it one day at a time.”
Pitching
Eight pitchers return for the Golden Eagles, including starters Andre Lamontagne (Santa Maria, Calif.), Mark Serrano (Downey, Calif.) and Jerry Sullivan (Budd Lake, N.J.).
Lamontagne made 14 appearances last season with seven starts, posting a 2-2 record with 27 strikeouts in 39.2 innings pitched.
Serrano led the team with an ERA of 3.09 while compiling a 4-1 record with 52 strikeouts in 67 innings.
In his second season with ORU, Sullivan led the squad in innings pitched (104.1) and strikeouts (108) while only issuing 25 walks. Sullivan fanned 12 batters on three different occasions, including the Summit League title game against Southern Utah where he tossed a complete-game shutout.
“We have some good arms and a lot of potential,” Walton said. “Sullivan and Serrano are the only ones that have significant innings and have been battle tested. Lamontagne was a little dinged up last season, so he just needs some more experience. His velocity has been way up and he’s throwing between 92 and 95 mph.”
Junior right-hander Jameson Dunn (Carrollton, Texas) along with newcomers Drew Bowen (Tulsa, Okla.), Jeff Burleson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Chandler Griffin (Billings, Mont.) are expected to be the first arms called out of the bullpen.
“There’s not a lot of experience in the bullpen, but they’ve worked hard and have good arms and just need to be tested,” explained Walton.
Senior righty T.J. Kelly (Bakersfield, Calif.) will be called on in the closer’s role once again after ranking sixth in ORU history for a single season last year with 10 saves. The Bakersfield, Calif., product, who earned Second Team All-Summit League honors, logged 33.1 innings with 31 strikeouts.
“Kelly has good experience as a closer for us,” said Walton. “He just needs to feed off of his performance last season.
“The development of the staff and the catching will be the biggest key for us to be competitive this season.”
Catcher
Junior transfer Seth Furmanek (Gilbert, Ariz.) will start the season behind the plate for the Golden Eagles. The catcher position is new to Furmanek, who played outfield and pitcher at Chandler Gilbert Community College.
“Seth has a good arm, but his tools fit a lot better behind the plate,” Walton said. “He’s getting better every day with the new position. He’s the quarterback on the field, so his responsibilities go from minor to major overnight.
“It will take him a little while to settle in and we just have to be patient. He works hard enough and he has a chance to be really good behind the plate.”
Furmanek looks to make an immediate impact offensively for the Golden Eagles. Last season at Chandler Gilbert, Furmanek batted .350 with nine home runs and 46 RBI, while setting eight school records at Mesquite High School, including 31 career homers.
“Seth has a chance to be an outstanding hitter with power,” stated Walton. “It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his offensive production.”
Infield
Returning to the Golden Eagle infield are First Team All-Summit League selections Juan Martinez (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Michael Notaro (Westlake Village, Calif.), along with Kyle Price (Talihina, Okla.), who started almost half of the contests last season at third base.
Martinez, who started all 62 games last season at second base, batted .329 with nine home runs and 55 RBI, including hitting at a stellar .394 clip in conference play. Martinez was selected to the Summit League All-Tournament Team after going 6-for-11 (.545) with a home run and five RBI.
“Martinez is really a plus defender who hit in the nine hole last year and will probably have to hit at one or two this season,” explained Walton.
Martinez and junior transfer Danny Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.), who is the brother of former Golden Eagle Brendan Duffy (2006-08), are expected to split time at the second base and shortstop positions.
“Both players are more suited to play second base, so they’ll split time at each position until we feel one has settled in,” Walton said.
Notaro returns to first base after batting .336 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI in just 122 at-bats. Notaro especially made an impact in conference action, hitting at a .375 clip while slugging .786.
“Notaro had a good year offensively for us,” said Walton. “He plays hard and has great leadership capabilities. He had some quality at-bats for us and started to hit for power towards the end of the season. We’re hoping with more at-bats that his production will increase.”
Price looks to man third base for the Golden Eagles after starting in 29 contests a year ago, where he hit .196 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI.
“Price is pretty solid defensively,” explained Walton. “We’re looking for him to step up at the plate and solidify the spot for us.”
Junior Colby Price (Brenham, Texas) and senior Johnny Roberts (Pryor, Okla.) also provide depth in the infield for ORU.
Price posted a perfect fielding percentage last season in 40 games played and is expected to be a spot starter and late defensive replacement at second and third base.
Roberts showed power at the plate last season, batting .353 with a double and two home runs in only 17 at-bats. Roberts looks to see action at first base while also batting in the designated hitter spot for the Golden Eagles.
Outfield
Fans will see a new look in the outfield this season, as Brendan Duffy, Ryan Groth, Kelly Minissale and Brian Van Kirk all departed after last season. The four combined to hit 71 doubles, 30 homers and 192 RBI.
Junior transfer Chris Elder (Fairfield, Calif.) is expected to man one of the outfield posts after starring at Sacramento City Community College for the past two years. Last season, Elder topped the team with five triples while ranking second with 10 doubles and 46 RBI.
“Elder has a lot of potential with the bat,” said Walton. “He’s still young in some regards but has the tools to be a very good player.”
Another newcomer, PJ Sequeira (Petaluma, Calif.), is expected to see some time at left field, as well as possibly contributing at first base and as a designated hitter. Sequeira comes to ORU from Santa Rosa Community College, where he batted .354 last season with 11 doubles and five home runs.
“Sequeira has a chance to be a productive hitter with occasional power,” stated Walton. “He’ll give us quality at-bats.”
The centerfield position remains up for grabs, with veteran Justin Mitchell (Broken Arrow, Okla.) leading a group of newcomers. Mitchell appeared in 39 contests last season, playing a big role as a pinch-runner where he tallied four stolen bases.
Junior transfers Robert Barbosa (Dallas, Texas), Tyler Garewal (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Jeremiah Mejia (Riverside, Calif.) will also be in the mix in the outfield.
“Barbosa has a good swing and has the chance to be a good hitter with a little more discipline in the zone, Walton stated.
“Garewal is a good defender who gets good jumps. He’s a good runner and a hard worker.”
