FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
ELON, N.C. — Elon baseball head coach Mike Kennedy recently sat down to talk about the upcoming 2009 season. Below is the Q&A with Coach Kennedy.
You have a good balance of young players and veterans on this team (16 juniors or seniors and 18 freshmen, red-shirt freshmen or sophomores). How does that affect your coaching style?
I don’t think it affects our style of coaching at all. We have a philosophy in place that we feel has been successful and we try to recruit players that fit our system. As far as how we handle those players individually, that is where you see differences. Obviously with the younger players we are going to be more patient. It takes them longer to adjust to our system where as our older players have been there and they understand our goals and what it takes to make them attainable.
You lost some key players from last year’s SoCon Championship squad – Steven Hensley, Jesse Lewter, Chris Dove and Donny Jobe to name a few. What do you do to replace those guys? Or can you replace what they brought to the team?
Each of those players were special and played a huge role in our success, as did our other two seniors Matt Hill and Greg Jones. Each year teams take shape based on personnel. New leaders take over and players get better and assume greater roles. It’s our hope that our returning players learned from those guys, teach our new players to respect the history of our program and put Elon baseball first and their personal gains second. College baseball is such a team game and that’s what makes it so special.
With the loss of Hensley, your Friday night starter the past two years, who do you see stepping up to fill that slot in the weekend rotation? We have several guys that are capable. Sophomores Jimmy Reyes and Ken Ferrer both have good enough stuff to take on that role. How much have they matured from a year ago? Will they throw enough strikes? Can they go deep into the game? All of those questions will be answered in time. Junior transfer Bobby Kennedy and junior Daniel Britt have also shown that they have enough stuff to compete for that spot. Senior Cory Harrilchak could handle Friday nights as well as any of them, but he is so important defensively as our centerfielder. We have to take care of his arm and use him wisely on the mound so that we do not hurt our team in other areas.
What about your rotation in general? You have some young pitchers there. How do you see them fitting in?
We do have some young arms, but we have some very capable arms. Several of those guys pitched meaningful innings as freshmen last year, which is an added bonus. I can’t remember another start of the season when we had so many guys battling to pitch on the weekends. Jimmy and Ken are in the mix. Daniel, Bobby and J.D. Reichenbach have all thrown well. We have a couple of freshmen in John Brebbia and Jordan Darnell who have also been impressive. Hopefully some of these guys will step up and pitch with confidence and consistancy to carry us through the season.
Of the newcomers, who do you expect to make an immediate impact this season and what can we expect out of those guys?
We have several new guys that have the chance to make an immediate impact. There are so many factors that will determine how their roles play out. Freshmen must adjust to the faster pace of the game, while junior college players must adjust to the style of play as well as different styles of coaching. Junior transfer Justin Hilt is a special player. He has all the tools – he runs, has very good bat speed, hits for power and has a great arm. If he adjusts well to Division I pitching, he could put up some great numbers. Bobby will make an immediate impact as he battles for a spot in the weekend rotation. Junior Hunter Wessells brings added experience and is battling for playing time. Freshman Alex Maruri had a great fall with the bat and will have a chance to impress us early in the season. Freshman Grant McCoury has a bright future as well. We are excited about these new players and look forward to watching them compete and fight for playing time.
You have plenty of key players returning this year, such as pre-season all-Americans Cory Harrilchak and Bennett Davis. What do you expect out of this core of returning guys who carried the team to the SoCon title last season?
It’s hard to beat experience. There’s no question we are excited about Cory and Bennett and what they bring to the table. To expect them to put up the same type of numbers they did last season would not be fair. Both of those guys will have a very good year. They have worked so hard to try to maintain that high level of play and I believe they will be rewarded for their efforts. However, just as important will be the level of play of our other returners. These guys fly under the radar because of Cory and Bennett, but they are outstanding players. Junior Chase Austin had a great year and is so versatile and can play everywhere in the infield. Senior Dallas Tarleton is as steady as they come and has proven he can have success at this level. Senior Mike Lobacz has worked hard this fall and has been very impressive. Junior Mike Melillo continues to improve and may be on the verge of a breakout year. Junior Ryan Adams has experience and will provide depth. Senior Pat Irvine has had success at this level and has worked very hard this fall to get back to the high level of play that he showed as a freshman and sophomore. Sophomore Harry Austin impressed us last season as a red-shirt freshman and will make an impact as well. Sophomore Greg Annarummo showed signs of what’s to come as a freshman and continues to get better every day. Sophomore Neal Pritchard started 49 games as a freshman and will play a huge role in the success of this club. On the mound, our bullpen a year ago was primarily freshmen. Sophomores Jared Kernodle and Thomas Girdwood were terrific as freshmen, helping us go 38-3 when leading after six innings, and have a year of experience under their belt.
In your mind, what are the biggest strengths of this 2009 team?
Our strength will be in our line-up. We return six players that started 47 or more games a year ago. We return our top four hitters in terms of average, home runs and RBI. Add to that the experience gained from the likes of Annarummo, Lobacz and Adams (pictured right) and it’s easy to see why we think this team has a chance to do some damage offensively. We have a very nice blend of power and speed and we really think we can play different styles offensively. Everyone likes the home run and we will have some guys with some pop, but I like to run and I believe we will also be able to put pressure on our opponents.
What is the biggest question mark for this squad?
Our biggest question mark will be how much we improve defensively. We made 91 errors a year ago and that’s just not acceptable. We cannot expect to play at a championship level if we do not improve defensively. In order for our pitching staff to be successful, we cannot afford to give the quality teams we play five or six outs an inning. We have addressed defense with our club and it’s up to them now to understand its importance and take ownership of it.
Coaches have had a season to adjust to the new scheduling format. What changes do you think that will have this year on the game, both from what you do and as a generality around the country? What did you learn about what you need to do with your squad with the way the schedule plays out now?
There isn’t much change from a year ago in the way we will coach. The schedule is basically the same. I think the most important phase of the game, in regards to the schedule, is how you manage your bullpen. You have to be willing to use more guys with five games a week and you have to take care of your arms in terms of not over-using relievers. From a position player standpoint, preparation is key. You have to prepare your players both mentally and physically for the grind of playing five games a week without much practice time. I love to coach, and practice is important to me. However, with this schedule, when the games start we are limited in the actual practice time we get. You play Friday, Saturday and Sunday; you take Monday as your required day off; play Tuesday and Wednesday and then you either have a practice or travel on Thursday. There is just not much time to practice once the season begins.
Speaking of the 2009 schedule, you’ve set up another challenging slate which includes seven games against teams that made the 2008 NCAA Regionals. What will your team have to do to continue the success which it has had in the past against stiff competition?
It’s simple. You have to play well. I know when people read this they will say “no kidding,” but I believe that if you play well and play with some consistency then you put yourself in position to be successful against anyone you play. Baseball is unique in that you have to play the game and not so much your opponent. Execution is so important – throwing strikes, playing good defense, moving runners, getting runners in, two-out hits, etc. The teams that do that consistently win more games.
Samford is new to the SoCon this season. With the addition of three more league games, bringing the total to 30 SoCon contests, how does that affect your schedule? Does it put more emphasis on non-conference games to work towards an at-large bid if you do not win the SoCon Tournament? Or do the league games mean that much more now?
It limits your opportunities for non-conference weekends. I believe it puts added emphasis on mid-week scheduling in terms of RPI. You’re missing three RPI opportunities from outside of league play. So now you’re forced to play some great programs mid-week in order to keep your RPI high enough to give you a chance at a potential at-large bid. You cannot impact your RPI inside the league. It is what it is. But if your goal is to play in June you have to look at how you schedule mid-week. In terms of importance, I don’t think in the SoCon you can separate conference games from non-conference games. You have to schedule mid-week in regards to RPI and in conference play, in order to get an at-large bid, you cannot finish third or lower. If that happens, you are forced to win the conference tournament and the automatic bid in order to participate in postseason play.
The addition of another SoCon series also forces you to start conference games very early this year. In the second weekend of the season your team travels to Appalachian State. How do you prepare a team to play such important games that early in the year?
It’s hard. I don’t think it’s a challenge in terms of mentally preparing our players. They know the significance. You have to be able to have your pitchers’ pitch count higher than normal at that time in the season or you’re going to have to be willing to use more guys out of the bullpen. You don’t want to run the risk of hurting a guy that early in the season, yet one game at the end of the season often separates a conference champion from a second-place team. It would be nice to have another week of non-conference games to get ready for the start of the conference season, but we will do what’s best for our kids.
