MOBILE, Ala. ? South Alabama baseball concluded fall practice with its final intrasquad game Friday at Stanky Field. After six weeks working together, the 2009 Jags will have to wait until Feb. 1 to get back on the field as a team.
Friday’s intrasquad game was the true definition of a scrimmage. With the infield still wet from Thursday’s rain, Jag hitters were unable to run the bases, so head coach Steve Kittrell determined where each hitter would have been and made the pitchers work as if those runners were still on base.
Using ghost runners might seem odd, but it’s hard to truly gauge how strange it was without actually seeing Brandon Brown throw over to first base on a pickoff move without an actual runner leading off.
Still, Friday’s intrasquad was all about the pitchers getting their final work of the fall, and by simulating game situations, they were able to do so. However, there were no stats kept from this scrimmage simply because it wouldn’t have been fair to any of the players.
Stats were kept for Tuesday’s intrasquad, but only for the first five innings. Nearly half the team had to leave for classes after five innings, so Brandon Sage went to first base, Chris LaGrow patrolled center field, and assistant coach Seth Von Behren went to second base. No offense to those guys, but it would’ve been unfair to the pitchers to keep stats at that point.
In Tuesday’s game, Stuart Barton drilled a homer to deep right field, and senior catcher David Doss went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Jarrett Bailey and Shane LeBlanc started and each worked 3.0 innings. Eric Walters and Luke Grissett both worked 2.0 innings in relief.
With all six weeks in the books, it’s time to look at the numbers through all 17 games. Statistics were kept for 14 intrasquad scrimmages and three exhibition games against outside opponents.
WHAT WE KNEW:
Ryan Bohanan can hit ? in 16 games played, Bohanan went 29-for-58 for a team-leading .500 batting average. He had a hit in every game in which he had more than one official at-bat. The one game in which he did not record a hit was game five of the Red and Blue World Series (10/11), when he went 0-for-1 with three walks.
As if his numbers weren’t already impressive enough, Bohanan finished the fall going 11-for-15 in the last five games. That’s not including the three hits he had in Friday’s scrimmage ? stats might not have been kept, but it was hard not to notice how hard he hit the ball all three times.
He ranked first on the team in each of the following categories: batting average (.500), hits (29), runs (23), total bases (47), slugging percentage (.810), on-base percentage (.567) and OPS (1.377). He was second in doubles (eight), triples (two) and RBI (19). Additionally, he struck out just five times in 58 at-bats and drew eight walks.
Derek O'Reilly, Jake Overstreet and Sean Laird can also hit. O’Reilly, a senior looking to step in as a full-time starter after starting 24 games last year, ranked third on the team with a .422 batting average (27-for-64) and tied for second with 19 runs. Overstreet hit .389 (21-for-54), ranked third with 16 RBI and led the team with 10 doubles.
Laird, coming back from offseason knee surgery, didn’t see his first action of the fall until game one of the Red and Blue World Series. He hit .395 (15-for-38) and was second the team with a .763 slugging percentage and a 1.218 OPS. Additionally, he led the team with three homers, and that doesn’t include the blast he hit in Friday’s scrimmage.
Clint Reynolds is fast ? he hit .321 (18-for-56) and led the team with seven stolen bases in nine attempts. He also scored 11 times and prevented a number of hits by using his speed to chase down potential hits in the outfield.
Brandon Sage and Greg Johnson should continue to play major roles on the USA pitching staff. Sage went 14.0 innings over four outings and posted a 3.21 ERA. He struck out 12 and allowed just three walks. Johnson, who ranks ninth on the Jags’ career saves list, posted nearly identical numbers. He also worked 14.0 innings and allowed five earned runs for a 3.21 ERA, but he did so over a team-leading 10 outings.
Senior catcher David Doss is one of the most talented hitters to ever come through South Alabama, but leading into the what we learned portion, he’s also more than capable as the opposite end of the pitcher-catcher battery. Doss hit .310 (18-for-58) and tied for the team lead in homers with three, but he also made five appearances on the mound. In 8.2 innings of work, Doss compiled a 3.12 ERA and recorded 10 strikeouts against just two walks.
WHAT WE LEARNED:
Nathaniel Lami can hit too ? Lami has come back swinging the bat as well as anyone after redshirting in his first year with the Jags. He was second on the team with a .439 batting average (25-for-57) in 17 games played. He had a nine-game hitting streak (9/20-10/9) that was the longest of anyone on the team.
Lami led the team with 10 walks, five times hit by a pitch and four sacrifice bunts. He also ranked second in total bases (37) and on-base percentage (.556).
Several newcomers also made strong impressions. Junior Zach Grichor made a strong case to start at second base with steady defense and solid numbers at the plate. He hit .356 (21-for-59) and led the team with 22 RBI and three triples. He also ranked second with nine walks and 19 runs scored.
Freshman catcher Brent Mitchell showed his potential at the plate with a .333 batting average (13-for-39). He came up big in the clutch with a home run and a game-winning RBI double in game four of the Red and Blue World Series.
Junior Brandon Brown had a good fall at the plate and on the mound. He hit .303 (13-for-43) with eight runs and nine RBI while splitting time between left field and third base. On the mound, Brown didn’t allow any earned runs in 5.0 innings over three outings, and he picked up a pair of wins and a save in the Red and Blue World Series.
Michael Raia can be counted on for a lot more than the 17.0 innings he threw in 2008. Raia led the team with 19.2 innings, and he allowed one earned run or less in six of eight appearances. He struck out 18 and walked just three.
Jarrett Bailey had a solid fall entering his first collegiate season. In six appearances, he posted a 4.41 ERA, but five of those earned runs were allowed in his first outing. In his last five outings, Bailey worked 14.1 innings and allowed three earned runs for a 1.88 ERA.
Matt Jackson has the potential to be the Jags’ ace in 2009. The junior, who started his collegiate career at LSU, made five starts and posted a 2.37 ERA over 19.0 innings. Perhaps more impressive, he struck out 18 batters and issued just two walks.
WHAT IS LEFT TO BE DETERMINED:
Though the Jags learned a lot about what to expect from certain players, there’s still some information that’s to be determined.
Dan Goldberg and LaGrow are both rehabbing and were unable to pitch during the fall practice period. However, both are expected to contribute in 2009. Chris Brown missed the first few weeks recovering from shoulder surgery, but he was able to pitch 2.0 scoreless innings over two outings late in the fall.
Aside from injuries, there are still some questions to be answered with newcomers as far as who will redshirt and who can be expected to play this season.
Matt Drake, who had missed most of the past five weeks after turning an ankle early in the practice period, came back and drilled a double to right-center in Friday’s game. He finished the fall with a .333 batting average (6-for-18). Adam Heisler is still recovering from his hamstring injury, but he was able to hit (but not run the bases) in the Red and Blue World Series.
Phillip Byrd, Grichor and Jackson were the only newcomers to play in exhibition games against Northwest Florida State College and Meridian Community College, meaning they can no longer take non-medical redshirts for the 2009 season. All of the other newcomers are still eligible for non-medical redshirts.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:
In other news, the schedule for the final day of the Coca-Cola Classic, Feb. 22, has been altered. The first game of the day, Mercer vs. Liberty, has been moved to 10 a.m., while the Jags’ game against Ole Miss is now scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Veterans: Chris Davis hit .286 (14-for-49) and scored 15 runs in 14 games. He also went 4-for-4 stealing bases and drove in 10 runs. Stuart Barton recovered from a slow start and had hits in three of his last five at-bats of the fall. The home run he crushed to right field on Tuesday might have been the hardest-hit ball of the fall. Brad Hammac hit .234 (11-for-47), scored seven runs and played well behind the plate.
Lance Baxter made four appearances and recorded 13 strikeouts in 15.0 innings of work. Michael Logan went 5.1 innings over four appearances and struck out eight batters. Miles Ethridge worked 18.1 innings over six outings and recorded a team-best 19 strikeouts.
Jake LeBlanc worked 11.1 innings and posted a 5.56 ERA. James Dunning went 9.1 innings and recorded nine strikeouts. Luke Grissett made five appearances and went 12.2 innings with 10 strikeouts.
Newcomers: Dominic Diaz hit .333 (12-for-36) and played solid defense in the middle infield. Michael Meredith played strong defense at shortstop and hit .255 (12-for-47). Blake McCool hit .273 (6-for-22) in his first fall out of Daphne High School. Heisler hit .265 (9-for-34), but went 3-for-3 stealing bases before being sidelined by the hamstring injury.
Brad Montgomery hit .233 (10-for-43) and played mostly in left field in his first fall after coming to USA from Madison Academy in Huntsville, Ala. Brad Hook hit .229 (11-for-48) in his first collegiate fall. His five walks and nine RBI were both the most of any freshman, and he also worked 3.0 scoreless innings on the mound. Jake Crain had six hits and scored seven times in 12 games.
Dustin Crenshaw worked a total of 13.1 innings over five outings. After a disappointing first outing, he posted a 1.59 ERA over his final 11.1 innings. Shane LeBlanc went 15.0 innings over six appearances and struck out nine, while Eric Walters went 13.1 innings and allowed no earned runs in three of his six outings. Byrd tied Jackson for most strikeouts by a newcomer with 18. He worked a total of 16.0 innings over five outings.
At the start of fall practice, coach Kittrell said he wanted to sort things out after losing numerous hitters and two starting pitchers off of last year’s squad. He also mentioned that one of the most important things with fall practice is getting through the practice period without any major injuries. The Jags seem to have taken a big step toward accomplishing both of those tasks.
David Kaye, South Alabama baseball’s athletic media relations contact, will be bringing a weekly report every Monday throughout the fall practice period. He can be contacted via e-mail at: DKaye@usouthal.edu
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
