Sophomores Hold Key for Young Whitman Baseball Team

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- There is only so much unabashed optimism a coach can project when his 27-man roster includes just one senior and a sprinkling of two or three juniors.

But Jared Holowaty likes what he sees when scanning his line-up on the eve of year three in a rebuilding project aimed at restoring some luster to the Whitman College baseball program.

"Our pitching staff is better and much deeper than it was a year ago, and we've got a fighting chance to be a good offensive club," Holowaty says.

Jared Holowaty

"The key to this season is the extent to which our sophomore class has developed and learned from a year ago."

Holowaty, who welcomed just his second recruiting class to campus last fall, has 12 sophomores on his roster (along with 11 freshmen).

Several of his returning sophomores were forced into key starting roles as rookies last spring, when the Missionaries often had just two seniors on the field on game day. Options were limited, indeed, in that the roster listed just one junior and two sophomores.

"It came as no surprise, but our lack of experience last season was definitely a limiting factor," Holowaty says. "We had a lot of guys fresh out of high school who were still learning how to play college baseball."

"As coaches we're not able to teach experience," he adds "It's not possible to teach young kids how to handle the day-to-day successes and failures of a college baseball season, which packs 40 games into a fairly condensed time frame. 

"It's the kind of season that tends to wear down young athletes -- physically, mentally and emotionally. You learn how to cope by going through the process. There's no other way."

Last year's freshmen adapted on the fly and competed surprisingly well, Holowaty says. "From a talent standpoint, those kids were not in water over their heads last spring. They can play at this level. All they lacked a year ago was experience."

Relatively speaking, Whitman remains a decidedly young ballclub.

"The difference this spring is that we have a lot more players who have been through at least one season of college ball," Holowaty says.

Whitman coach Jared Holowaty (left)

"Our hope is that our returning sophomores can carry the load this spring. That alone will take the pressure off what we think is another very good freshmen class."

Despite its roster limitations last spring, Whitman picked off four victories in the Northwest Conference -- one of the toughest NCAA Division III leagues in the nation -- and climbed from ninth to eighth in the final standings.

The Missionaries came within a few outs of sweeping a three-game set from Lewis & Clark, and they dropped a string of three one-run decisions to Pacific, a team that tied for third place, finishing just a game out of second.

"We played well in the Pacific series," Holowaty says. "We had just gone through a three-week gauntlet of playing the best baseball programs in the NWC in Linfield, George Fox and Pacific Lutheran, and that experience had helped make us better."

Other highlights during the NWC season included victories over Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth.

Whitman finished its season with records of 4-20 in the NWC and 5-30 overall.

In addition to its three one-run losses to Pacific, the Missionaries dropped four other games by one or two runs.

Also keep in mind, Holowaty says, that Whitman ranked second nationally in NCAA DIII in terms of overall strength of schedule. That ranking reflects the NWC's talent level in addition to the strong non-conference opponents Whitman played early in the season.

"Every team in our conference ranked in the top 20 last year in strength of schedule," he says.

Whitman kicks off its 2012 season on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 11-12, with a four-game set at College of Idaho, a club that has advanced to NAIA post-season in each of the past 25 years.

The Missionaries then head to Arizona's NCAA DIII Desert Classic for a string of four games in four days, starting Thursday, Feb. 16. Opponents that long weekend include Cal Lutheran, one of the top baseball programs on the West Coast.

Bill Holowaty

Whitman opens its home schedule Feb. 24-26 when Eastern Connecticut State comes to Borleske Stadium for a four-game series. The Warriors, ranked No. 9 nationally in College Baseball's preseason poll, are coached by Bill Holowaty (Jared's father), now in his 43rd season at the helm of Eastern Connecticut's program.

The elder Holowaty, the winningest coach in the history of New England intercollegiate athletics, has produced 38 post-season teams in 42 years. He is the only active coach in NCAA baseball -- and one of only three in college history -- to have led one program to as many as four national championships.

Jared Holowaty, a two-year captain and four-year starter while playing for his father, was a senior on the Eastern Connecticut team that captured the 2002 NCAA DIII national championship.

After the father-son battle between Whitman and Eastern Connecticut, the Missionaries stay at home to open their NWC schedule on Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, against Puget Sound.

Later in the spring, during its NWC bye weekend, Whitman travels to Orange, Calif., for a four-game series against Chapman, which starts its season with a No. 2 national ranking.

By the time the regular season concludes in late April, Holowaty says, Whitman will probably rank No. 1 nationally in strength of schedule.

A more detailed look at the 2012 Whitman roster follows:

 

Pitching Staff

Junior Justin Weeks, senior Jake Nelson and sophomore Aaron Cohen, a trio that started all but eight games on the mound for Whitman last season, are back to anchor a pitching staff that should be much deeper and experienced than a year ago.

Justin Weeks

Weeks, a right-hander, emerged as the staff ace last spring, making eight starts and winning three games at a time when the Missionary bullpen was woefully undermanned. He  tossed nine-inning complete victories over both Lewis & Clark and Pacific Lutheran.

"Justin was our best pitcher last season, and his competitive nature was at the heart of his success," Holowaty says. "That's his primary asset -- his competitive nature. He wants to be on the mound for every inning and throw every pitch."

Nelson, a lefty, was in his first season at Whitman last spring after playing two seasons at Walla Walla Community College. He was named NWC Student Athlete of the Week in March after beating Lewis & Clark 6-1 with a nine-inning three-hitter.

Jake Nelson

"Jake was just as durable and reliable last season as Justin," Holowaty says. "We always knew that Jake could go nine innings if that's what we needed."

Once the NWC season starts, Whitman will need three starters per weekend as teams square off for three-game sets each Saturday and Sunday.

Both Weeks and Nelson have inside tracks on two of those slots, although Holowaty says Nelson might be just as valuable as the bullpen's primary left-hander.

"You ask most of our pitchers and they want to be a starter and they want to start game one of a weekend series," Holowaty says. "But as I've told our guys our success as a team this spring will depend on the bullpen and the overall depth of our pitching staff."

Aaron Cohen

Cohen, a hard-throwing right-hander, is another strong candidate for a starter's spot, even though he struggled through a freshman season hamstrung by lack of control.

"Aaron is a much better pitcher than what he showed last spring," Holowaty says. "He was one of the freshmen who was asked to do a lot. When he wasn't pitching, he was playing in the outfield. We had him hitting clean-up. That's a lot to ask of a freshman."

Dakota Matherly

Cohen traveled to Maine last June to hone his many baseball skills in a collegiate summer league. "Aaron had a good summer, and from what I've seen last fall and early this semester, he's going to be much more comfortable as a two-way player," Holowaty says.

Others candidates for starting roles on the mound are sophomore Dakota Matherly and freshmen Will Thompson, Spencer Hobson and Griffin Sutich. Matherly made 16 appearances, including three starts, a year ago as a college rookie.

"Dakota has a lot of upside," Holowaty says. "He has the same competitive nature at Justin Weeks, and he's thrown well in our scrimmages. We time each half-inning, and Dakota has thrown well enough to get through some of his innings very quickly."

Sterling Spilinek

Two of the three freshmen hurlers, Hobson and Sutich, are lefties. "As they mature, Thompson, Hobson and Sutich are capable of being top-tier pitchers in our conference," Holowaty says. "They are young and still feeling their way, but they are talented."

Hurlers in the bullpen mix include sophomores Sterling Spilinek, Tristan Gavin and Brett Lambert. Spilinek, another left-hander, made 16 relief appearances a year go.

Tristan Gavin

"Sterling is throwing more from the side now," Holowaty says. "Having a lefty coming out of the bullpen and throwing from the side is something that could really help us this year."

Lambert, a hard-throwing right-hander, missed last season because of injury while Gavin made it into 14 games in relief.

"Lambert is still coming back from surgery, but we hope to have him ready by the time we go to Arizona," Holowaty says.

"From a physical standpoint, Brett and Aaron Cohen are the most talented pitchers on the roster. We need to limit Brett's innings as he comes back, and we're hoping to use him as a strong arm out of the bullpen. We're also hoping that Tristan Gavin can step into that same kind of role."

Rounding out the pitching staff are junior Tyler Grisdale, who threw eight innings of relief last season, and freshmen Jack Coppinger, Eli Mathieu and Cody Phillips. Mathieu and Phillips also double as infielders.

 

Infielders

Look for sophomores Cameron Young, Chris Andrews and Casey Minnick to stake claims around the infield while a fourth sophomore, Jimmy Madden, holds down the catcher's spot. All four should make major contributions at the plate.

Jimmy Madden

Young solidified the infield last season, earning All-NWC Honorable Mention recognition at shortstop. Batting in the three hole, he hit .319 in 24 conference games (.284 overall).

Young, who homered in his first college game, finished the season with the second-most hits on the team. He twice fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle.

"Cam was playing the most challenging defensive position on the field as a freshman, and he came within one vote of earning second-team all-conference honors," Holowaty says.

Cam Young

Madden, who came to Whitman as an outfielder, was switched to the catcher's spot early in the season.

"Jimmy has a strong arm behind the plate, which is what it takes to control the other team's running game," Holowaty says. "Moving Jimmy to catcher was a lot to ask, but he handled it and continued to hit lead-off for us."

Andrews hit .256 last season in an infield utility role but figures to be the regular second baseman this spring. "We'd like to hit Chris in the two hole," Holowaty says. "He's a good athlete who can bunt, put the ball in play and run. He's a good small-ball guy."

Chris Andrews

When he's not pitching, Cohen will play either at third base or in the outfield. He hit .307 last season with 10 doubles and two home runs.

Other possibilities at third base are sophomore Chris Konolige and freshman MacLean Harned. "MacLean is our back-up catcher, along with sophomore Jonny Lari, but he also shows promise at third base," Holowaty says.

Casey Minnick

"Konolige has the defensive skills to play anywhere in the infield. If MacLean and Chris can handle third base, that allows us to keep Cohen in the outfield, where his arm is a definite plus."

Holowaty expects to use both Minnick and freshman Peter Valentine in a rotation at first base and designated hitter.

Minnick, who clubbed nine doubles last season, is a "strong young man who was born to hit," Holowaty says. "Valentine also has a lot of pop in his bat. He starts the season as one of our best hitters, and he could be our best hitter by the end of the season."

While further down the depth chart as a pitcher, Mathieu could see time at the corner infield positions, or at designated hitter, Holowaty says. "Eli is a big, strong kid who can hit."

And freshman Peter Carmichael is a "feisty hitter" who adds more depth at second base.

 

Outfielders

Sophomore Kyle Buckham, who hit .263 last season, returns as the starting center fielder while sophomore Kyle Moyes in left and Cohen in right are the incumbents at the two corner spots.

Kyle Buckham

Kyle Moyes

"If everyone stays healthy, there is a good chance that all of our returning sophomores can hit for a higher average this spring," Holowaty says.

Valentine can also play in the outfield. Other outfield options are first-year sophomore Connor Madden and freshman Jonny Chow.

Chow, an infielder in high school, is "fighting for playing time somewhere in the line-up -- possibly as an outfielder," Holowaty says.

"Jonny could be a dangerous player with a bat in his hands. He can put the ball in the play and he is very, very fast."

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu