Carson-Newman Baseball: Pitchers and Catchers Preview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the first in a three-part series that analyzes the 2015 Carson-Newman baseball roster. Today’s feature focuses on the pitchers and catchers with senior righthanded starting pitcher Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio).
VIDEO: Quinton Yocom Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – This is the first in a three-part series that analyzes the 2015 Carson-Newman baseball roster. Today's feature focuses on the pitchers and catchers with senior righthanded starting pitcher Quinton Yocom (Cable, Ohio).
"We have a lot of seniors," Yocom said. "Jamie [Miller] coming in as a transfer junior is going to help out and get a lot of innings for us. The younger guys have grown up a lot from last year. Most of them have a year of experience under their belt and I think they will do great for us."
The Eagles return two of their three weekend starting pitchers in Yocom and junior lefty Vince Apicella (Dillsburg, Pa.). Dustin Dunagan's graduation leaves a hole in the rotation after he went 2-7 with a 4.40 earned run average in 12 starts while leading the team with 63 strikeouts.
Yocom expects to be the Friday afternoon starter coming off a season where he went 3-5 with a 3.82 ERA in 66 innings. He went at least five innings in nine of his 10 starts including a complete game shutout against Newberry on April 6. It was the first nine-inning shutout by an Eagle pitcher in a South Atlantic Conference game since Brett Hontz blanked Wingate on April 4, 2008.
"I just had to rethink what I was doing," Yocom said. "Over the summer, I focused more on mindset and what needs to be accomplished for this year. Hopefully it will pay off as the spring comes around."
Apicella started a team-high 12 games primarily as the seven-inning starter on Saturday going 3-3 with a 4.53 ERA. The southpaw's best outing last season came on February 8 against Brevard when he went 7.1 innings with five strikeouts to earn the victory.
Potomac State Community College transfer Jamie Miller expects to fill the role vacated by Dunagan on Saturday as the six-foot-two, 175-pound lefthander went 6-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 14 games last season. Miller struck out 63 batters in 62 innings pitched.
Three seniors graduated from the bullpen a season ago. Daniel Sharp, Brandon Timmerman and Lucas Watson all ranked second on the roster in appearances with 18 last season and leave holes in the backend of games.
"We trusted Sharp and Watson," Yocom said. "We trust [Michael Cogliano] and Carson [Bryant] this year who were with us last year too. It shouldn't be a problem for them to go in there and do their job."
Senior righty Cogliano led Carson-Newman in games pitched last season 21 going 1-1 with a team-best 2.40 ERA as he struck out 25 while walking just seven in 30 innings. The Gloucester Community College transfer yielded a .207 batting average against with runners in scoring position a season ago. Cogliano tallied a scoreless outing on 14 occasions last season.
Joining Cogliano in the late inning will be senior righty Bryant who made 14 appearances last season while going 2-1 with a save and the second-lowest ERA on the roster at 2.81. The Chattanooga State transfer yielded a .185 average with RISP while notching 11 scoreless outings.
Other returners include lefty Justin Evans (Salisbury, N.C.) and righties Ryan Eberle (Cookeville, Tenn.), Phillip Pardue (Knoxville, Tenn.), Logan Shaftner (Lexington, Ky.) and Mo Foster (Murfreesboro, Tenn.). Newcomers that could play a role for the Eagles this season are Nick Savoie (Denver, N.C.), Alex Alfonso (Plantation, Fla.) and Dustin Baston (Pisgah Forest, N.C.).
One of the Eagles deepest positions this season could be catcher where four players except to see time behind the plate to handle the pitching staff.
"I think it's a part of the game that we are very confident in," Yocom said. "The pitchers trust the catchers. The catchers we have here are phenomenal. We can trust them with any pitch we throw."
The leading candidate to be the full-time backstop is senior J.D. Cowart (Athens, Tenn.) who hit .311, third-best on the team last year, with a home run, three doubles and eight RBI. Behind the plate, Cowart tied for the team-lead by throwing out four runners trying to steal a base.
Junior Gooch Greer (Dickson, Tenn.) played in 29 games a season ago with three multi-hit efforts while hitting .196 at the plate during the season. Greer tied Cowart by throwing out four runners trying to steal.
Sophomore Greg Jones (Maryville, Tenn.) will likely be the lefthanded hitting option at designated hitter but will see time behind the plate. In his first season in Mossy Creek, Jones hit .218 with three multi-hit and three multi-RBI games. Jones hit the lone grand slam of the season for Carson-Newman, his first career long ball against Bluefield State on March 18.
Redshirt freshman Brett Hagenow (Knoxville, Tenn.) took his first year to learn the position from head coach Tom Griffin and should see time at catcher this season.
The position previews continue Monday with a look at the infield with senior shortstop Bryan Everhart (Greeneville, Tenn.).
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