By Charles Whisnand
Appeal Sports Editor
With plenty of depth all the way around at every position and in its pitching staff, the University of Nevada baseball team has high hopes for the upcoming season.
Even with all that depth if Nevada is to become as successful as it expects to be this year, it will likely need significant contributions from local players. Two of those players, starting pitcher Rod Scurry and Dayton's Matt Bowman will certainly be heavily counted on.
The roles of two other players, Tyson Jaquez, who played at Western Nevada College, and Carson High graduate Aaron Henry are still up in the air, but it's likely that the Wolf Pack will need significant contributions from those two during the season as well.
Nevada begins its tough schedule this weekend when it host UC Irvine, which advanced to last year's College World Series. The opener of the three-game series, weather permitting, will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Peccole Park. Here's an outlook for the upcoming season for this area's four players:
Matt Bowman - The redshirt junior, after a stellar sophomore year, missed virtually all of last season with an arm injury and is still recovering from that injury. But Bowman said this is the best he's felt in a long time. Bowman was named to the preseason All-Western Athletic Conference team heading into this season.
"It's OK. It comes and goes," said Bowman about the pain he still feels in his right arm. "It should be OK.
"It's definitely coming around. I'm not too worried about it in the long haul. The whole process has been kind of ups and downs. It's definitely better than it has been."
With Bowman's arm still not at 100 percent, it's likely that he'll be the designated hitter this weekend. Once Bowman's arm is completely healed, he could play virtually anywhere - the infield, outfield and even catcher. Bowman said the most likely possibility is for him to end up in the outfield.
It's no surprise among the games Bowman looks most forward to are the ones against UNLV, not just because the Rebels are Nevada's rival, but that his cousin, Carson High graduate Willie Bowman, a senior, is a member of the UNLV team. Nevada will play UNLV twice this year - March 25 at UNLV and April 1 at Peccole.
Matt still periodically talks to Willie, saying on Monday he last talked to him about a week ago. Willie's playing time will be limited early in the season as he's recovering from hip surgery.
In the four years that he's been part of the program, Bowman said this is the most depth Nevada has ever had, saying the team has plenty of pitchers who can eat up innings.
"I think it's going to be fun," Bowman said. "We have a lot of competition for spoits. I think that in itself is going to make us pretty good this year."
Aaron Henry - The redshirt junior, who also played at WNC, looks to be the fourth outfielder to begin the year. Henry has been a steady performer offensively and defensively throughout the fall and spring.
Henry can play all three outfield positions and with his speed is a likely candidate to be a defensive replacement and pinch runner. With Nevada's outfield loaded with left-handed hitters, the right-handed Henry - who is an outstanding hitter against left-handers - is a candidate to start against left-handers.
"My swing's definitely starting to come around," Henry said. "A few at bats have been ugly, but for the most part I feel great."
"I'm just happy to be able to help the team as much as possible," Henry also said about his role. "I've been playing really good defensie all spring. Hopefully that will get me some playing time, too. I'll do whatever they want me to do. I'm happy to play that role."
Henry said he enjoys competing for playing time in a deep outfield. "Obviously my goal is to get a starting spot, but because we've got a lot of outfielders it will be tough," he said. "I love the competition. I work hard anyways, but it keeps you working hard every day."
Tyson Jaquez - Jaquez has made the move from third base to catcher, one of the positions Nevada is not as deep in. With Nevada facing four-game series of 36 innings in WAC play, Jaquez should see his share of playing time at the position. Jaquez began to make the transition to catcher last summer while playing with the Nevada Bighorns.
"It's getting there," said Jaquez about his transition to behind the plate. "I feel like I'm getting better, but I still feel like I've got a long ways to go.
"With the Bighorns last summer it was kind of just getting a feel for it. I feel 10 times better than I did in the summer. I'll be all right."
Rod Scurry - The Galena High graduate, a senior, is scheduled to be something on Friday that he's never been before: An opening day starter.
"This will be the first one," he said. "I didn't think about that. I can't wait to have the season start. Everyone, including myself, will be pumped up about this.
"It gets old playing each other. Everyone's excited to have this season start. Everyone's ready to go. Most of us have been ready for a couple weeks now."
Scurry was part of Nevada's starting rotation last year and like most college pitchers in their first year as a starter, he had his ups and downs before finishing the season strong.
"I feel like I've gotten a lot better from last year, too," he said. "The arm feels real good. All my pitches are working."