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Experiencing success with a huge target on your back isn’t always easy. If Purdue wants sure proof, it can go ahead and ask Ohio State, as the Buckeyes entered a recent campaign ranked, only to miss the NCAA postseason.
With that knowledge, the Boilermakers entered the 2012 campaign with high hopes in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge. To no surprise, they didn’t disappoint, but certainly left some room for improvement.
The Boilermakers played three games in the tournament, going a perfect 3-0 with impressive wins over Connecticut (9-4), Cincinnati (6-0) and Notre Dame (15-8). But while some would say Purdue had an excellent weekend, coach Doug Schreiber realizes it’s still early, and that his club has plenty of things to work on this week with contests against East Carolina, Maryland and Western Carolina, all three teams that began the season on high notes.
“Even though we’ve got two returning starting pitchers with experience, we’re still looking for some guys to step up in that area,” he said. “From my perspective, we won three games with two below-average starts.”
Usually Brad Schreiber would begin the weekend for the Boilermakers. But as we’ve reported in the past, Schreiber is out for the season because of an elbow injury. As a result, Joe Haase -- last year’s No.2 starter -- started the tournament opener for the Boilermakers.
Haase, not a power pitcher, struck out just two batters and allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings. Fortunately for the Boilermakers, reliever Blake Mascarello entered the game and did a tremendous job, striking out three batters and allowing just two hits in four innings.
“Joe didn’t pitch great, but I thought Mascarello came in and did a great job. He gave our hitters a chance to come back,” he said. “That was key for us.”
In the tournament finale against Notre Dame, starting pitcher Calvin Gunter allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. The bullpen didn’t fare much better, with even stud reliever Nick Wittgren allowing a run on three hits in just 1 1/3 innings of work. The righty, of course, also struck out three batters with a fastball that sat anywhere from 89-91 mph.
Senior right-handed pitcher Lance Breedlove was the biggest surprise of opening weekend. The junior college transfer stymied Cincinnati’s offense. He struck out 11 batters and allowed just two hits in seven scoreless frames. He gave the Boilermakers precisely what they wanted to see the first weekend of the season.
“I thought Breedlove had pretty good fastball command,” he said. “His slider was on and his fastball sat in the low 90s. He’s a good fastball command guy, but when he has that slider going, he’s pretty good. He was around the zone the entire game.”
While the Boilermakers try to shore up their pitching staff before trekking to Greenville, N.C., this weekend, they can take solace in their offense, which finished opening weekend with a fabulous .367 batting average.
Andrew Dixon finished opening weekend with a .625 batting average, while David Miller and Eric Charles both were impressive, each hitting .462 with three RBIs. Then there was Kevin Plawecki, Stephen Talbot, Barrett Serrato and Cam Perkins.
Plawecki was a physical presence at and behind the plate, and finished the weekend with a .385 average, while Talbot showed off his athleticism and hit .364. Serrato had a tremendous weekend with a .333 average, while Perkins, who only hit .231, still had some key hits, and demanded attention at the plate. Tyler Spillner was the surprise of the weekend with a .333 average.
“I really thought Spillner set the table a lot the first weekend,” he said. “Serrato had some big at bats and Plawecki was Plawecki. We did a good job hitting the baseball and creating some havoc on the base paths with our bunt game.”
It’s too early to anoint the Boilermakers a true northern hope from the Big Ten. But should they shore things up on the mound, this club has the potential to do some incredible things as the season progresses.
We’ll find out even more about Purdue this weekend against some solid competition, attention firmly planted on the pitching staff.
For now, it’s so far so good for Purdue.
YOUNG TITANS LEARNING
Considering what Cal State Fullerton looked like on paper last summer, it’s evident first-year coach Rick Vanderhook already is doing a good job.
The Titans were hammered by the MLB draft last summer, losing weekend starting pitchers Noe Ramirez and Colin O’Connell, along with a crop of bullpen arms. The list of departures also includes a pair of two-way studs in Tyler Pill and Nick Ramirez.
Even with those departures, this Fullerton team looks like a club with much potential. The Titans certainly held their own opening weekend against the top-ranked Florida Gators.
They had chances to win the first two games of the series, but things didn’t fall their way. Then, before the series finale, Vanderhook said he’d find out all he needed to know about his club. They responded in impressive fashion, beating the Gators 8-5 to salvage a victory in the series.
“I really think we’re going to be fine as the season progresses,” Vanderhook said. “The main thing we need to do is figure out what our identity is as a team. We don’t have one right now, but this team is handling itself pretty well.”
Despite going against some elite arms in Hudson Randall, Karsten Whitson and Brian Johnson last weekend, the Titans had a good approach and frustrated the Gators at times.
Speedy outfielder Austin Kingsolver, the surprise of the fall, finished the weekend with a .556 average, while fellow outfielder Michael Lorenzen batted .462 (he also touched 98 on the mound), and Carlos Lopez batted .417. Even freshman two-way player J.D. Davis, who only hit .250 for the weekend, made his presence known with a mammoth home run in the series finale.
Fullerton finished the Florida series hitting .277, not bad considering the level of competition it was against.
“We’ve hit the ball pretty hard and cut down on strikeouts,” he said. “We have some inexperienced guys out there, so it shows at times. But we’ve done well and we just need to do a better job the rest of the season of hitting with runners in scoring position.”
As with the offense, the pitching staff, too, just needs to gain experience. Talented freshmen Kenny Mathews and Jose Cardona struggled, with Mathews allowing three runs in just two innings and Cardona allowing three runs and recording just one out before getting lifted. Meanwhile, Grahamm Wiest and his 85-86 fastball did a solid job against the Gators for a while, but even he allowed four runs in five innings.
Ace starting pitcher Dylan Floro and relievers Koby Gauna and Michael Lorenzen were bright spots. Floro allowed three runs in six innings, while Gauna threw 5 1/3 solid innings and Lorenzen tossed a good frame with a nasty fastball.
Moving forward, this is an interesting Fullerton team to follow. The Titans certainly don’t have the star power of the past, outside of Lorenzen of course. But this club is loaded with scrappy/tough players who play important roles.
In other words, the Titans are already making strides. Sure, they’ll go through some growing pains early in the season, but this will be a great team to watch as the season progresses.
Don’t be surprised when Fullerton is once again on the cusp of the College World Series.
This team certainly has that kind of potential.
AROUND THE NATION
* Kansas listed talented right-handed pitcher Tanner Poppe as a starting pitcher, actually the squad’s ace pitcher, entering the spring. But when the season was ushered in last weekend, Poppe didn’t start. He closed. Poppe made two appearances over the weekend. In the first, he struck out two batters and allowed one hit in an inning of work. In the second, he struck out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning. This is an interesting development to follow, as Poppe is a solid pitcher with a fastball that can get well into the 90s. Perhaps the Jayhawks, after further review, felt his services would be better used out of the bullpen.
* Identical to the Kansas and Poppe situation, it came as a surprise when hard-throwing Chris Stratton didn’t start for Mississippi State last weekend. Stratton closed out the series opener for the Bulldogs, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit in four innings of work. Ben Bracewell started the contest against Washington State, striking out five and allowing two runs (none earned) on three hits in 4 1/3 innings. Again, it’ll be interesting to see if Stratton shifts back to the rotation this weekend against Kansas and Mississippi Valley State.
* Florida expected to start Zack Powers at third base this season, but the talented infielder has yet to see the field. It’s not production related, but more so related to a minor shoulder injury he sustained. The Gators hope to get him back in the lineup this weekend when they face William & Mary at home. He’s definitely a guy they want to get healthy before next weekend’s tough series at Miami.
* If you’re looking for surprise teams, look no further than Maryland and Santa Clara. The Terrapins hit the road last weekend to UCLA, and surprised everyone by taking two of three from the Bruins, who couldn’t get much going at the plate. The most important aspect of the weekend for the Terps was the return of talented right-handed pitcher Brett Harman, who missed last season because of an injury. Harman had an excellent debut, striking out eight batters and allowing just two hits in five innings … As for Santa Clara, it was one of the worst teams on the West Coast last season. But with the addition of new coach Dan O’Brien, previously of Division II UC San Diego, the program is off to a fantastic 4-0 start. Santa Clara’s pitching staff is off to a great start with a 2.30 earned run average, while leading hitter Lucas Herbst has a .550 on-base percentage through four games. These teams are terrific stories.
* South Florida is an interesting team to watch this weekend and beyond. The Bulls had a fantastic weekend at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge with a perfect 3-0 record. But the biggest story line of the weekend for the Bulls was the Sunday contest with Minnesota, as pitchers Andrew Barbosa and Derrick Stultz returned to action after being injured last season. Barbosa had good stuff and topped out at 93. Still, he allowed two runs (no hits) in two innings of work. Meanwhile, Stultz allowed a run (none earned) on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Perhaps the Bulls can get a good campaign from the two talented arms.
Kendall Rogers is the college baseball managing editor for Perfect Game and can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org