Gator Baseball Fall Practice Evaluations
Thursday, October 9, 2008 | Baseball
With the Gator baseball team's fall workouts underway, assistant coach Brad Weitzel offered some thoughts on how second-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club is progressing toward the 2009 season:
"From a pitching perspective, the freshmen newcomers and junior Jeff Barfield (Perry, Ga.) have looked really good. This group, including RHP Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.), RHP Will Jolin (Guilford, Conn.), RHP Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.), LHP Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) and LHP Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.), is very talented and have strong arms. Jolin has seven strikeouts in six innings and is a big, physical right-hander with a great sinker. RHP Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.), who was sidelined last season and will be a redshirt freshman, has shown electric stuff."
"Not to be overlooked, the pitchers we brought back have also shown improvement. Junior LHP Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.) has looked phenomenal, striking out eight batters over 4.2 innings without allowing any walks. Junior RHP Kyle Mullaney (Jacksonville, Fla.) played well in the Florida State College Summer League and the duo of senior LHP Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) and RHP Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) appear more confident and mature, ready to build upon their successes of last season. Junior RHP Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.) has taken on more of a leadership role as well. What has stood out for us as a coaching staff is how the older players are helping the younger guys along and showing them the right way to do things."
"As a staff, the pitchers have limited the hitters to a team batting average of .254 (48-for-189) and have a team earned run average of 2.34 in 50 innings, with 48 hits, 45 strikeouts and 12 walks. Once again, we are having the players use wooden bats in the fall since it makes them stronger, helps them concentrate on using the four inches of sweet spot found on the bat and instilling confidence in our pitchers to throw inside more often."
"The biggest difference that we are seeing as a staff from year one to year two at Florida is how much of an asset the returning players have been for us. It doesn't feel as if we have to review as many things because the returnees have stepped up into more of a leadership role in bringing the newcomers into the fold."
"Our coaching philosophy at Florida revolves around having solid pitching and steady defense. While the pitching seems to be heading in the right direction, we are still working hard on improving the defense. Taking more grounders and practicing the drills will be steps toward getting where we want to be."
"Individually, junior outfielder Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) has been hitting the ball really well, as shown by his .769 (10-for-13) batting average. He went 4-for-4 on Wednesday and even his outs have been hard-hit balls. We are looking for him to rebound from his .220 average last season and regain the form that enabled him to bat .303 in SEC play as a freshman."
"Junior outfielder Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) has worked harder than anyone and shown why he was able to play on the U.S. National Team over the summer. He has gotten a taste of attention from professional scouts and he has really raised the level of his game."
"Junior catcher Hampton Tignor (Sarasota, Fla.) has shown marked improvement following his second-straight summer playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He always gives great effort and is getting better every day."
"Other newcomers who have stood out in the field are freshman catcher Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) and first baseman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.). Tucker has as much raw power as any kid I've ever thrown to, and this includes Major Leaguers Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter. He is batting .421 (8-for-19) during the scrimmages."
"People watching the scrimmages might have wondered why there were so many different numbers on the scoreboard despite a shortened game. Throughout the fall, we will be putting the players into various situations that might happen during the season, specifically end-of-game scenarios they could be facing in which they need to work counts, advance a runner, etc. Everything about the fall workouts goes back to fundamentals and we are starting at square one."
"Another difference people have seen at McKethan Stadium is that we have a brand new field with fresh sod and clay. The re-surfacing has been a real boost for us and for pitchers in particular since the infield is slower."
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