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JoJo Booker

JAGUAR BASEBALL POSITION PREVIEW – PITCHERS

2/17/2021 1:08:00 PM



Date: 2/17
Position: Pitchers

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats):  Andy Arguelles (5 APP, 1 GS, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 12 K, 1 BB, 10.2 IP);  JoJo Booker (4 APP, 4 GS, 1-1, 5.00 ERA, 23 K, 9 BB, 18.0 IP);  Matt Boswell (5 APP, 4 GS, 1-3, 4.50 ERA, 1 SV, 1 SHO, 9 K, 4 BB, 24.0 IP);  Jase Dalton (4 APP, 1-0, 3.72 ERA, 1 SHO, 2 SV, 10 K, 6 BB, 9.2 IP);  Zach Harlan (2 APP, 0.00 ERA, 2 K, 1.1 IP);  Steven Lacey (4 APP, 0.00 ERA, 3 K, 3 BB, 1.2 IP);  Tyler Lehrmann (6 APP, 1-1, 4.63 ERA, 2 SHO, 1 SV, 14 K, 8 BB, 11.2 IP);  Noah Michael (5 APP, 0-1, 6.23 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB, 13.0 IP);  Peyton Millirons (4 APP, 2.25 ERA, 7 K, 1 BB, 4.0 IP);  Tyler Perez (3 APP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1.2 IP);  Tyler Samaniego (4 APP, 4 K, 3 BB, 3.2 IP);  Miles Smith (4 APP, 4 GS, 0-2, 16 K, 8 BB, 15.0 IP);  Tyler Trussell (2 APP, 1-0, 4 K, 2 BB, 3.2 IP)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats):  Collier Baggett (4 APP, 8.44 ERA, 1 K, 3BB, 5.1 IP);  Nate Madej (2 APP, 0 K, 2 BB, 0.1 IP);  Drake Nightengale (4 APP, 4 GS, 1-0, 3.09 ERA, 2 SHO, 39 K, 10 BB, 23.1 IP);  Ryan Westerhoff (1 APP, 1 K, 1 BB, 0.1 IP);  Caleb Yarborough (4 APP, 1 GS, 0-2, 9.64 ERA, 8 K, 5 BB, 9.1 IP)

Newcomers (Yr., Previous school):  Jackson Boyd (Jr., Northwest Florida State JC);  Collin Brougham (Jr., Crowder [Mo.] JC);  Michael Cauble (Fr., Mandeville [La.] HS);  Carson Hall (Jr., Shelton State [Ala.] CC);  Cade Henry (Fr., Florence [Ala.] HS);  Sam Knowlton (Jr., Pensacola State [Fla.] JC);  Jeremy Lee (Fr., Morgan [Ala.] Academy);  Austin Mills (Fr., Madison County [Ala.] HS);  Allen Roulette (Jr., Tallahassee [Fla.] CC);  

Miscellaneous Notes
- Right-hander Drake Nightengale signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Mets at the end of last season.
- Boswell recorded the lone complete game of 2020 with a career-high five strikeouts and no walks in a shutout against New Orleans (Feb. 25).
- The Jaguar pitching staff recorded three shutouts last season:  vs. Campbell (Feb. 14), vs. New Orleans (Feb. 25) and vs. Gonzaga (Feb. 28). Nightengale combined for two of those three shutouts.
- Arguelles led the team in wins (2), and did not allow a run in 10 2/3 innings pitched while recording 12 strikeouts against one walk.
- Nightengale led the staff in strikeouts (39) and ERA (3.09).
- Boswell led the team in innings pitched (24.0). Among relievers, Michael logged the most innings (13.0) in 2020.
- Booker tied his career high with 10 strikeouts, and allowed one run on three hits in five innings pitched against Siena (Feb. 22) to earn his lone win of 2020.
- Neither Lacey or Millirons allowed a run in four relief appearances, while Harlan did not allow a run in two appearances last season.
- Dalton led the staff with two saves, and also combined for one shutout and recorded one win.
- Boyd was the 2019 Florida College System Activities Association Athletics (FCSAA) Fireman of the Year and the FCSAA All-Panhandle Conference Fireman of the Year as a freshman at Northwest Florida State JC>
- Hall holds the Alabama High School Athletic Association career record for saves (20), and is tied for second all-time in AHSAA history for the most saves in a single season with 10 as a senior at Randolph HS in Huntsville, Ala. Hall was a 2017 First-Team High School Baseball All-America by Collegiate Baseball.

Head Coach Mark Calvi
- On the starting rotation:
"Matt Boswell came in with some knee injuries last year and was never quite healthy, but he competed his tail off for us last season. He is now healthy and has put some weight on. He has been 90-95 all fall and spring, so he has made a huge jump. JoJo Booker has been very good. His command has been outstanding; he is really commanding his fastball on both sides of the plate, his slider has been good as has his changeup to both righties and lefties. JoJo has really stepped his game up in the last eight months. He has worked extremely hard in the weight room. Coach (Logan) Barrett, our strength and conditioning coach, has done a phenomenal job with these guys. You can see the benefits from guys like Matt Boswell – these guys who have gotten in unbelievable shape and are stronger than they have ever been, and are throwing harder than they have ever thrown. We have some experience. The candidates for starters are (Andy) Arguelles, Boswell, Booker and (Jeremy) Lee, and you have Miles Smith and Jackson Boyd – we have five or six starting candidates. I'm not sure of the rotation yet, but we have the ability to stay good. We lost (Drake) Nightengale; he was that legit Friday night guy. Someone will step up and be that guy for us on Fridays, but we just have a chance to stay good and steady across the board with our starters. I think we're very solid with the starters." 

- On the bullpen:
"Jase Dalton, who kind of assumed our closer role last year, is back and has thrown some big innings for us. He has been outstanding against Power-5 teams, and he's very reliable. He is kind of in that Ben Taylor, Zach Greene and Dylan Stamey mold of relievers where his fastball just gets on you. He has better offspeed than those guys, but doesn't throw quite as hard as them. Jase is 88-92 (mph) with a high spin rate on his fastball, and he has four pitches so he can pitch and he does a great job with inherited runners. I have a lot of confidence and faith in him in the back end of a game. (Tyler) Samaniego was here last year, and he has been 88-94 with a 95 in there; he has made huge strides. Last year he threw hard but needed some refinements command-wise. Coach (Brad) Phillips has done a phenomenal job with him. He's just going to be tough late in the game. Collin Brougham, a junior-college transfer from Crowder (Mo.), has been up to 96; it's a power arm with a good cutter. My whole thing is if you have good starting pitching, when you go to the bullpen you either want to stay the same or get better. With some of those guys, those three in particular, we have a chance to get better as the game rolls along. I feel good with them.

"Noah Michael has been very steady and reliable, and Jackson Boyd has been good in intrasquad. He has a really good curveball and changeup that he can throw in any count to righties or lefties, and he has experience at the end of a ballgame. But he is also a three-pitch guy who can start, go long relief or close. Miles Smith is a three- or four-pitch guy who has started, and he can eat up innings for us. Miles is very reliable and competitive, and he has some experience under his belt. He has looked really good. (Peyton) Millirons is back and has been really good; he's just a competitive reliever who is hard to square up. Carson Hall is a newcomer who is a sidearmer that was really effective at Shelton State Community College. Tyler Lehrmann got off to a really good start for us last year. He has a very good changeup and can start or go long relief. Tyler Trussell is 100 percent healthy who is another guy that can eat innings. He has a pretty good cutter, and his fastball is hard to square up. He has an idea on the mound, and he knows what he's doing out there. Tyler has a lot of poise and composure. Jeremy Lee is one of the better freshman starting pitchers I have had since I've been here. He's 90-94 with a really good slider, curveball and changeup. He's going to push for a starting spot or long relief. He is good enough to where if he starts, he can turn the lineup over two or three times. He's a different freshman; he has poise and composure, he is competitive and has pitched in big games in his career already. He is going to be an outstanding pitcher here, no question about it. Andy Arguelles is 100 percent healthy, and is better than I have ever seen him. Tyler Perez is another older returner with multiple arm slots who can eat up innings in the middle. The trick is keeping them all healthy from injury and the coronavirus. Guys just have to stay ready. There are a lot of things that are going to be thrown at us as a program that aren't expected, so we just need to expect the unexpected and prepare for it."

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