WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A group of 10 seniors and juniors take the lead later this week when the Whitman College baseball team opens its season with a three-game set against Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif.
"We’re still a relatively young team, and we’re still going to have a number of sophomores and freshman on the field," notes sixth-year Whitman coach Casey Powell. "At the same time we’ve got a good core group of experienced juniors and seniors to lead us. This is the most experience I’ve had coming back in my time here."
Whitman debuts on Saturday with a pair of nine-inning games at Occidental. The two NCAA Div. III schools will complete the three-game series on Sunday.
"We’re anxious to play these first games in southern California," Powell says. "Because our weather has been so poor since the start of the semester, we’ve had only two chances to practice outside. This weekend will be the first time we’ve been on a baseball field, playing at game speed and doing what you normally do on a baseball diamond. It will be an interesting, but we’ve prepared the best we can under the circumstances, and we’re excited about the chance to play.
After this weekend, Whitman plays three games later this month at a tournament hosted by Linfield College, one of its Northwest Conference (NWC) rivals. The Missionaries then conclude their non-conference slate with an early March twinbill at NCAA Div. II Central Washington.
Whitman is playing fewer non-conference games this season because the NWC coaches made a fundamental change in scheduling. Instead of two NWC schools squaring off for three nine-inning games each weekend, the new format calls for two nine-inning games on Saturdays and two seven-inning games on Sundays.
"It’s only a total of five more innings each weekend, but there’s still a chance that teams could see their bullpens getting stretched thin," Powell says. "What if two teams play extra innings in one of the nine-inning Saturday games? Those pitch counts could start adding up pretty quickly for a pitching staff."
The switch to four-game NWC weekends was made for two reasons – scheduling and post-season playoff consideration.
"The NWC schools in Tacoma and the Portland area don’t have trouble scheduling non-conference games because they have a bunch of nearby NAIA schools," Powell says. "They can easily play those games on a weekday afternoon. But for Whitman and Whitworth, there aren’t many nearby opportunities for non-conference games."
The other factor is that NWC schools can only hurt their post-season chances by playing teams outside NCAA Division III. "Our conference champion gets an automatic berth to the regional playoffs, but the at-large berths have been going to the schools in California and Texas because they’ve played more Division III games. If an NWC team loses a game outside Division III, it hurts that team’s post-season chances. But if a team wins a game outside the division, it doesn’t help any."
The new four-game weekend format definitely puts a greater premium on pitching, Powell says. "I think every coach in the conference is a little nervous about how this will play out, and that includes the coaches with the larger rosters and pitching staffs."
Of the 23 players on his roster, Powell figures that at least 11 will take the mound during the season. "Our pitching improved last spring from the previous seasons," he says. "Our staff earned run average and walks were down a little bit, and we’re making that an emphasis again this year. I think we have a better overall pitching staff this spring, although our depth isn’t quite as good and we’re not healthy to start the season."
One of Whitman’s top two starters, hard-throwing freshman Chris Barton, sprained an ankle late last week and will miss at least a week or two. Three or four other hurlers have been battling illness or early season aches and pains. "When we get healthy, I think our pitching staff will hold its own," Powell says.
Pete Stadmeyer, a rangy 6-foot-3 lefty, returns for his third season as one of Whitman’s primary starters. "Our guys know that we have a good chance to win every time Pete goes to the mound," Powell says. "He might very well be one of the most effective left-handers in the league this season. Pete has relied mostly on his fastball and change-up in the past, but he’s worked hard to make his curveball a better pitch."
Stadmeyer tossed nine strong innings last April against Pacific Lutheran, shutting out the eventual conference champions on three hits over the last eight frames.
Barton, a 5-foot-11, 210-pounder from Boxford, Mass., has been a "very pleasant surprise," Powell says. "He probably has the best velocity on the team, and is change-up is excellent, partly because his fastball is as firm as it is. Once we get him healthy, he’s going to be a good starter for us. And once he stops trying to strike out every hitter, and he learns how to pitch to just get guys out, he’s going to be much more effective."
Sean Day, a 6-foot-2 sophomore right-hander, is also pegged as a starter. "Sean threw a bullpen the other day, and he’s not yet as a strong as he should be. He’s been sick, and he hurt a groin muscle the first week. But Sean is a tough kid, and he was probably our most consistent pitcher overall by the end of last season."
Day threw one of Whitman’s early season victories last March, shutting down Simpson University on two runs and seven hits over eighth innings. "Sean doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he relies on movement and keeps the ball down in the zone," Powell says. "When he does those things, he gets a lot of ground balls and is very effective. We’re definitely counting on him to be one of our starters once the conference season begins."
Joe Rodhouse, a second sophomore who throws from the right side, also has the "potential to be one of our four primary starters," Powell says. "He throws a number of pitches from a number of different arm slots. He gets ahead in the count and understands how to get guys out from there."
Sam Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior, is back for his fourth season in the bullpen. "We’ve tweaked Sam’s mechanics a lot just in the last few weeks, and we think it’s going to help him a bunch," Powell says. "When he’s on, Sam has a very good curveball, and he’s gotten better every year. He’s been a great asset for the team the last four years. He has a great attitude every time he walks onto the field."
Mike Rathwell, another senior righty, made his pitching debut last season, after having concentrated on catching duties his first two years. "Mike is going to catch a lot again this spring, but he’ll also see innings on the mound. He throws a lot of strikes and will eat up a lot of innings. He has one of those rubber arms, which is always good to have."
Junior Trygve Madsen and sophomores Jason Sease and Brian Kitamura are other hurlers returning to duty in the bullpen. "Trygve has worked hard on his mechanics, and his confidence is a lot better," Powell says. "Jason also should be more consistent pitcher this season, although he’ll play some in the outfield and at DH. Brian is one of our primary outfielders, but he might pitch some innings again this season."
Two bullpen newcomers are junior Mike Minckler and first-year sophomore Galen Cobb.
"Mike has been one of our catchers, but his knees give him so much trouble now that it’s hard for him to get up and down behind the plate," Powell says. "Before his arm started acting up, he showed some promise as a reliever. Because he was a catcher for so long, he understands how to pitch, and how to get guys out. We’re hoping his arm trouble is just a minor elbow strain. We’ll also try to get him some at-bats as a DH as the season goes along."
Cobb, a 6-foot-1 right-hander from Englewood, Colo., has been a "very welcome addition," Powell says. "It’s too bad he didn’t play last year as a freshman. He could have helped us then. His ball moves a lot on all of his pitches. He’s going to be a solid bullpen guy for us. He has a great attitude and good work ethic, and he wants to learn."
Rathwell, a team captain, and sophomore Michael Lazcano will split the catching chores. "For catchers, we’ve got a 1A and a 1B, but I couldn’t tell which one is which," Powell says. "They both bring something a little different to the table."
"Rathwell is so intelligent behind the plate, and he also brings great leadership to the team. It’s like he’s our pitching coach on the field, a real quarterback behind the plate. Lazcano is great defensively, and his arm strength is excellent. I might put his arm up against any catcher in the conference. His bat is getting better, and as he gets more experience behind the plate, he’s going to be a good one."
Nate Rankin, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound freshman, is another catching option. "Nate has chronic back problems, so we’re not sure if will be healthy enough to play this season," Powell says. "We hope he plays because he can hit the ball. The numbers he put up as a senior in high school were outstanding."
If Rankin is a no-go, Powell will turn to Erik Korsmo, a freshman outfielder who played his prep ball at Bellevue (Wash.) High School, as his emergency third catcher.
Kitamura and senior Luke Marshall, who led the regulars with a .316 batting average last spring, head the list of outfield candidates. "With his speed, Kitamura will probably be a staple for us in centerfield," Powell says. "He gets great jumps, good reads and tracks the ball well, which is important with our huge outfield. Marshall is one of our senior captains and will probably be our guy in left field most of the time. Luke has really improved the last two seasons."
Sease, junior Dan White and sophomore Mitch Hannoosh also return to the outfield corps. "White showed a lot of improvement toward the end of last year, and Hannoosh and Sease were very consistent hitters off the bench for us last spring. Korsmo gives us another outfielder with very good speed."
Chad Frisk, a senior who missed most of last season due to injury, might see time in the outfield as well as the infield, Powell says.
Powell is thrilled with his talent and depth in the infield. "We have two seniors in Adam Knappe and Chad Friske, two sophomores in Austin Shackelford and Micah Babbitt, and a freshman, Jay Richards, who just transferred from the University of Portland," he says. "Most of these guys can play any of the infield positions other than first base, so we can move them around if we want."
Shackelford, who’s pegged for time at shortstop and third base, hit .299 last season while leading the team in RBI, extra base hits, and runs scored.
"Shaq will probably hit third for us, and he knows he’s there to produce runs," Powell says. "He’s definitely one of our top offensive threats -- someone who can hit for power and for average. But he needs to understand that he doesn’t need to do it all by himself. We have a bunch of good hitters this season, so he needs to stay on an even keel and not get frustrated if other team tries to pitch around him at times."
Knappe, a senior, can play shortstop and second base, while sophomore Micah Babbitt will split time between the second- and third-base sacks. Babbitt hit .258 last season as a freshman and maintained a hefty on-base percentage (.405) by drawing 16 walks and getting hit by pitches 15 times.
Jay Richards, a freshman transfer from Gig Harbor, Wash., came to Whitman at the semester break and figures to see most of his time at second base. "Jay tried to walk on the team last fall at the University of Portland, but I think what he saw was that they had a lot of guys in the middle infield positions," Powell says. "He was looking at transferring to a couple of different schools, and we are fortunate that he picked Whitman. He can play different positions in the infield and he hits the ball really well."
Matt Morris-Rosenfeld, a junior who hit .294 last season, might get the bulk of time at first base. Day, Rodhouse and Korsmo are other possibilities at first.
"We have a lot of options in the infield, and we don’t feel like we lose a lot defensively with any of the guys we put out there," Powell says. "The benefit for us is that we can go with the guys who are swinging the bat the best."
"As a team, we did a good job last season of working the count and making the opposing pitchers throw a lot of pitches," Powell says. "Our team batting average wasn’t great, but our overall on-base percentage wasn’t too bad at all. What we want to do is continue to put a lot of guys on base, whether it’s with hits, walks or hit-batters, and put pressure on the opposing defense. If you get past the starting pitchers in this conference and into the opposing bullpens, you can score some runs."
Powell points to Pacific Lutheran, George Fox and Linfield as the three teams to beat this season in the NWC. "After those three, it’s up in the air," he says. "Any of the other teams, Whitman included, can step up and win a lot of games. I don’t think there are going to be a lot of weekend sweeps this season by anyone. Winning four games in two days is a lot to ask, regardless of how good your team might be."
Whitman notched six victories last season, including four in conference. The Missionaries also came within one or two runs of winning four other NWC games. "We were within a run or two of taking a series from both Pacific and Whitworth, and we gave Pacific Lutheran a good battle. We kept getting better as the season went along and our young guys got more experience. We’re still a young team, but not as young as a year ago.
"We had opportunities to win more games last season, and the same will be true this spring," Powell said. "Half the battle is just getting guys to believe they can do it. I think our guys start this season with more confidence, knowing that we can win games every weekend. This is a good conference, but our guys our confident, and those of us on the coaching staff have a lot of confidence in them."