The Morehead State Eagles have continually been one of the best teams in the OVC over the last several years. But this season they hope to become a nationally known team with all of the experience they have coming back.
Offensively they hit .332 last year and averaged nearly nine runs a game.
That lineup was led by one of the most powerful bats in the country in Niko Hulsizer. He hit .349 with 21 doubles, 27 home runs and 82 RBI. The home run and RBI totals were tops in the nation.
“He’s a very driven player,” said Head Coach Mike McGuire when asked what makes Niko such a great baseball player. “I think that’s the number one thing. His work habits are off the chart, and the commitment. He’s put on good weight every year. He’s put on a good 10-15 pounds each year in the weight room because he works hard and he’s dedicated to his craft as a hitter.
Morehead State Outfielder Niko Hulsizer 2017 (photo courtesty of Morehead State Athletics)
“Seeing his maturity as a hitter, he’s a better hitter today than he was when the season ended last year and he was a pretty good hitter (in 2017). He uses more of the field now where he was more of a pull guy most of last year. He’s kind of line-to-line now and uses more of the field. I think his strikeouts will go down and his walks will go up – that just makes him that much better of a hitter.”
It’s not just power for Niko, he’s also a very athletic outfielder as coach said he ran the 60-yad dash in 6.6 seconds.
“That doesn’t happen by accident,” coach McGuire continued. “He came in here with tools, no question, but he’s put in the hard work and developed into a well-rounded player.”
He’ll be joined in the lineup by Eli Boggess who led the team with a .425 average last year. Middle infielders Braxton Morris and Reid Leonard also return.
However, there are some newcomers who could push for playing time as well.
Coach McGuire seemed very impressed with freshman Bryce Hensor.
“Bryce Hensor is a freshman infielder that has continued to impress,” added coach McGuire. “He had a very good fall and a very good first weekend at the plate. We kind of looked at him as our future second baseman. We didn’t know how much going into the fall he would be a factor this year because we were expecting to return our entire infield. But what he’s done is impressed to the point where we’re moving some guys around because we feel like he needs to play some for us.
“Where Eli Boggess was our everyday third baseman a year ago, he’s probably going to have a super utility role for us this year (3B, 1B and OF). That’s a credit to him and his athletic ability. I think that says a lot about Bryce when you’re having to move an All-Conference performer around to get him in the lineup.”
Adam Rapp is a junior college transfer that will hit for power from the left side of the plate, and he’s someone that can add some protection for Niko in the lineup.
Connor Pauly is another JUCO transfer that will likely be the center fielder. Coach mentioned that they are very excited about his athletic capability, and that he’s not just good offensively running the bases and taking walks, but he’s a very good outfielder.
Coach said that these three guys will start right away for them, and feels that once they get those first at-bats out of the way they’re going to be good players for them going forward.
The pitching has been ahead of the hitting so far in practice, according to coach McGuire, which is a good sign considering how offensive this team should be.
“I like the way some of our younger guys have come back from Christmas break and thrown the ball. It has me very excited about our club,” coach McGuire stated.
He mentioned Jason Goe as someone who has had a really good fall after missing last year due to an injury. Goe had a great summer in the CPL and has picked up where he left off.
Jake Ziegelmeyer has also been very good for them in the preseason and should be a mainstay on the mound. Dalton Stambaugh pitched in the starting rotation last year. Coach McGuire said his velocity is up now, which makes his secondary stuff even better.
David Calderon is another guy with an electric arm that looked really good in the first weekend of practice.
“I’m very excited about our pitching staff,” said McGuire. “I think a lot of the roles may change from opening weekend till we get to mid-March because some things always seem to change and get shuffled around a bit.
“Jake Ziegelmeyer, Dalton Stambaugh, Jason Goe, David Calderon, Grant Crosby and David Looney are all real good candidates to start. We really need five starters the first week. Those first four guys will start one of those five games, and then I would say right now Grant Crosby, David Looney or Kyle Cantu are probably all candidates to start the fifth game. And as we get further into the season we aren’t always going to need a fifth starter, so that puts a quality arm in the bullpen for us.”
Speaking of the bullpen, coach said he expects Dom Masullo and JC Hatcher to both be quality relievers for them to start the year. He also mentioned a couple of JUCO arms in Garret Rogers and TJ Satterly as guys that are going to contribute right away in the bullpen.
Redshirt freshman Jeff Purnell and Cory Conway are both guys that could contribute. Cory is a left-handed specialist, while Jeff is a right-hander with a good arm that can get up to 91 with the fastball, while also possessing a good sinker.
Will Lozinak is a true freshman that coach says has good pitchability. “Nothing is straight, the velocity is not going to ‘wow’ you, but he doesn’t get barreled very often. He’s got a good fastball and a good feel for his slider, but his fastball is never straight,” added coach McGuire.
Where last year Morehead State had a true ace in Aaron Leasher – sixth round pick by the San Diego Padres – and some young guys behind him, coach McGuire really likes how mature the pitching staff is as a whole this year.
“I really think that we can have a very good staff,” said coach McGuire. “This is probably the deepest number of quality arms we’ve ever had within here and it has me very excited. The biggest question is, nobody has been the guy. Who’s going to step up and be the Friday guy? That’s something we have to figure out over the first month.”
That’s something that coach mentions as a key to having success this season – staying healthy, settling into roles as a pitching staff, and pitching like they are capable.
But there is no question that what is going to carry this team in 2018 will be that vaunted offense.
“We pride ourselves on playing team offense,” coach McGuire noted. “We’ve had a lot of guys put up some gaudy numbers over the years, but I think it’s because of buying into that team approach. And I think as long as we do that, we can be very special offensively.”
Another key for this year that coach McGuire mentioned is team defense, specifically up the middle. He doesn’t feel the guys there played up to their capabilities last year, but expects much better years from them in 2018, which should make them a lot better defensively.
Behind the plate, coach said that Hunter Fain and Brody Shoupe are both really good backstops who can catch and throw.
This team is capable of meeting high expectations this year if they can get off to a good start and play consistent baseball all the way through.
“We have enough experience on this club to hopefully hit our stride a lot quicker and hit the ground running,” said coach McGuire. “Because I think if we can do that, I think this team is capable of being very special.”
