Baseball To Kick Off Campaign Against VMI
Friday, February 9, 2007 | Baseball
The University of Florida will begin its 93rd season of baseball this weekend by welcoming VMI of the Big South Conference to newly-renovated McKethan Stadium for a three-game series starting on Friday night. The Orange and Blue looks to rebound from a 28-28 campaign in '06, when it finished 10-20 in the Southeastern Conference and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.
Junior right-hander Bryan Augenstein (Sebastian, Fla.) will oppose Keydet junior left-hander Trey Barham in Friday's opener at 6:30 p.m. A second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection last spring, Augenstein was 9-6 with a 3.07 earned run average and worked at least seven innings in 13 of his 15 starts. Saturday's matchup at 2 p.m. will pit Gator sophomore southpaw Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) against VMI sophomore righty Michael Bowman. Locke will be making his first appearance since the opener of the 2005 NCAA College World Series championship round versus Texas, as he was sidelined last year while recovering from "Tommy John" surgery. Freshman RHP Billy Bullock (Valrico, Fla.) is set to make his collegiate debut for the Gators in Sunday's finale at 1 p.m. and will be opposed by sophomore lefty Travis Smink.
Boasting a recruiting class ranked third by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and sixth according to Baseball America, head coach Pat McMahon will blend 16 talented newcomers to a squad comprised of 21 returning letterwinners. UF's offense is spearheaded by senior first baseman Matt LaPorta (Port Charlotte, Fla.), who enters his final campaign one home run shy of Brad Wilkerson's school-record total of 55 round-trippers. Named to the Watch List for the 2007 Brooks Wallace Award presented to the National College Baseball Player of the Year, LaPorta was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore, when he led Division I with 26 homers and drove in 79 runs. Last season, he missed 13 games with an oblique muscle strain and hit .259 over 43 games. The slugger led the Gators with 14 homers and a .410 on-base percentage and rated third with 38 runs batted in.
Freshman Cole Figueroa (Tallahassee, Fla.) is expected to handle the chores at second base, junior Jon Townsend (London, Ky.) will open at shortstop versus VMI and junior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) will man the hot corner. Redshirt freshman Clayton Pisani (Naples, Fla.), sophomore Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) and senior Austin Pride (Longwood, Fla.) are also in mix for infield duty. The trio of sophomore Cody Neer (Orlando, Fla.), freshman Hampton Tignor (Sarasota, Fla.) and junior Dustin Bamberg (Winter Haven, Fla.) are battling to see who will replace three-year starter Brian Jeroloman behind the dish.
UF returns a pair of senior starters in the outfield, Brian Leclerc (Clearwater, Fla.) and Chris Petrie (Jacksonville, Fla.). Freshmen Matt den Dekker (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Ryan Lockwood (Lutz, Fla.) will be counted upon to contribute immediately.
The foundation for the Gators' bullpen consists of junior right-hander Josh Edmondson (LaGrange, Ga.) and senior left-handers David Hurst (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Steven Porter (Ocoee, Fla.). Edmondson (5-0, 3.21 ERA) tied for the top spot in the SEC with 35 appearances and notched 37 K compared to 10 walks in 67.1 innings, while Hurst participated in 27 games and was 1-1 with a 3.35 ERA. Both players will have opportunities to close ballgames. Although Porter's first 13 appearances last year came in a relief role, he made road starts at Mississippi State and Alabama to conclude the season.
UF sports a 52-39-1 (.571) record in its previous 92 opening day contests, including a 32-19-1 (.625) record at home. The Gators have claimed 19 of their last 24 lid-lifters and 13 of their last 15 season debuts in Gainesville. Behind a combined five-hit shutout from Bryan Ball, Edmondson and Matt Hightower, the squad blanked Cincinnati in its opener last season, 10-0. Florida has started the year on its own turf in nine of the past 10 seasons, with the lone exception a 12-6 victory at Hawaii on Jan. 20, 2000.
McMahon is 10-4 (.714) all-time as a collegiate head coach on opening day, including a 4-1 mark with the Gators. He was victorious in his coaching debut at Old Dominion in 1990, as the Monarchs nipped UNC Wilmington, 3-2. In season openers, McMahon was 4-1 at ODU between 1990-94 and an even 2-2 while guiding Mississippi State between 1998-2001.
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