Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Baseball Begins 2008 Campaign this Weekend at EKU Early Bird Tournament
2/20/2008 7:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell baseball team will begin its 2008 season this Friday, Feb. 22, as the squad will travel to Richmond, Ky., for Eastern Kentucky's Early Bird Tournament. To open the weekend, the Bison, who were picked fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll with 29 points and two first place votes, will face Toledo at 10 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. game against the host Colonels.
After falling short of making the postseason in 2007, Bucknell has its sights set on a return to the top of the Patriot League as the squad welcomes back nine position starters and 21 letterwinners overall.
"I think that we have reason to have good expectations because of the players we have returning from last year's team," said Bison head coach Gene Depew. "Basically the lineup is intact with the exception of our right fielder, Ryan Gryskevicz. The guys we will be playing are experienced and hopefully improved from last year. I think overall we have really good potential."
Catcher
Senior Shawn Hirsch (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) is back for his third season behind the plate after posting career highs in batting average (.278) and RBI (15) last season. Depew considers this to be one of the deepest positions for the Orange and Blue as Hirsch is ably backed up by junior Zachary Brown (Stroudsburg, Pa./Notre Dame) and sophomore B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal), who both saw spot time in 2007, and sophomore Kevin Drozin (Concord, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin).
First Base
Starting at first for Bucknell will be one of the squad's three co-captains, senior Mark Angelo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown).
"Mark is one of the hardest working guys on the team and hopefully he'll see some dividends during his senior year for all the work he's put in," commented Depew.
Depew also notes that the Bison have two rather capable younger players at this position, sophomore John Avanzino (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) and freshman Doug Shribman (Marblehead, Mass./Belmont Hill School), both with the ability to hit for power. Depew projects that Avanzino, who led the squad in home runs during the fall, may see some playing time as the designated hitter this season. He also expects Shribman, a two-way player, to give the Orange and Blue some innings on the mound and perhaps step into the closer role.
Middle Infield
Depew believes the middle infield positions will once again be an asset for the Bison after solid freshmen campaigns by Ben Yoder (Belleville, Pa./Indian Valley) and Ben Allen (Port Royal, Pa./Juniata) in 2007, both of whom saw the bulk of the starting time at second base and shortstop last season. Yoder was named a Freshman All-American and Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2007 and is the team's top returning hitter after batting .317 in his first season with the Orange and Blue.
"Both of those guys give us a really solid defensive middle and, as left-handed hitters, will be hitting in the front of the lineup for us as well," Depew states.
Behind Yoder and Allen, Bucknell has juniors Bret Sokirka (Wyoming, Pa./Wyoming Area), Jared Kuhmerker (Alexandria, Va./TC Williams) and Hunter George (Ross, Calif./The Branson School), along with freshman David Bergstrom (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny).
Third Base
Senior Ed Rubbo (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) is the returning starter at third base and Depew believes he should have his best season yet this spring after showing constant improvement throughout his career. He will be backed up by senior co-captain Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School), who has previously started both at first and third for the Bison, but will be seen more in a designated hitter role as he assumes a spot in Bucknell's starting rotation. The squad also has freshman Billy Lupo (Nutley, N.J./Nutley) to provide depth at this position.
Outfield
In the outfield, the Bison return starters Dane Grandizio (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg), Austin Turban (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) and Chris Pieper (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber). Turban and Pieper have previously split time in left field, but with the graduation of Gryskevicz, one of the two will take over his spot in right. Grandizio will be back in center field for the Orange and Blue after earning his first All-Patriot League selection in 2007, hitting .304 with 22 runs scored and 17 RBI.
After a breakout performance in the fall by sophomore Andrew Brouse (Kreamer, Pa./Midd-West), Depew notes that he will be looking to work him into the lineup for his offensive ability.
Junior Andrew Loucks (Mississauga, Ontario/Appleby College) and freshmen Drew Constable (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and Joseph DeMarzo (Livingston, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) give Depew additional options for this portion of the lineup.
Pitching Staff
The pitching staff is the area where Bucknell has experienced its most turnover, including losing two members of last season's starting rotation, 2007 graduates Matt Curry and Nathan Mittag. However, the Bison still have a wealth of talent returning as Buursma and fellow co-captain Mathew Wilson (Toronto, Ontario/Northern S.S.) finished one-two in the Patriot League in ERA last season at 1.65 and 1.78, respectively. Buursma was recognized for his performance by earning his fourth career All-Patriot League accolade and was drafted in the 43rd round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Depew expects to move Buursma to the starting rotation this season after two successful campaigns as the team's closer.
Behind Buursma and Wilson, Depew believes there will be stiff competition for the remaining two spots in the weekend rotation between sophomore right-hander Andrew Clarke (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery), junior right-hander Andy Campbell (Mill Valley, Calif./Marin Catholic) and freshman left-hander Eric Jarrett (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area).
Depew adds that the Bison will once again look to Jimmy Murphy (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) and lefty David Solan (Newark, Del./Newark) for valuable innings out of the bullpen, while the coaching staff may look to junior Will Carney (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) to succeed Buursma as the team's closer.
Depew also feels that sophomore left-hander Michael Dallanegra (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) made progress last summer and sees good potential from freshmen right-handers Trey Frahler (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), Daniel Hart (Levittown, N.J./Island Trees), Dylan Seeley (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and left-hander Matt Foley (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence).
"Any of those guys could step up and become important contributors for us," stated Depew.
2008 Schedule
Depew commented that the Bison schedule is, "fairly typical for us."
"We are going to challenge ourselves early with a long road trip to Eastern Kentucky and Toledo and then we have a couple new teams for us in Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth. We've never played VCU and we haven't played Richmond in many years. They are both very strong competition for us. Then we have our usual Florida schedule with some out-of-region teams, Big Ten teams. After that, we have an opportunity to play a couple midweek games and then a weekend series against Long Island and Delaware State.
"Hopefully it will be a more cooperative spring weather-wise for us than last year. If we can get those games in and challenge ourselves as much as we can in that time, I think it will be the best preparation we can get for the demanding Patriot League schedule."
Bucknell will begin league play on the road at Army, the 2007 Patriot League tournament runner-up, on the weekend of Mar. 29-30 and Depew sees this portion of the schedule as being "very challenging early" as the Bison will continue the following weekend, Apr. 5-6, with a trip to defending Patriot League champion Lafayette.
The Orange and Blue will then settle in at home for the final three league weekends, facing Holy Cross on Apr. 12-13, Navy on Apr. 19-20 and Lehigh on Apr. 26-27, before hopefully continuing on to the Patriot League Tournament, which features a new two-weekend, four-team format.
Regarding the new postseason setup, Depew feels that "it will be a very positive thing. For one, that will involve one more school in the postseason and two, it will extend the season the extra weekend. That will give whoever ends up as our league representative a better base to compete in the NCAA tournament especially if the plan to set up a series between our Patriot League champion and the Ivy League winner the weekend before the NCAA Regional comes through. The new format is going to extend the possibility of making the playoffs longer. It is likely that no team will be eliminated from the tournament until the last weekend of the regular season."
