Wildcats baseball set to open season

BY MIKE HOUSER

Nevada Appeal Sports Writer

An unusually warm, sunny winter Friday brought out some good vibes during a Western Nevada College baseball practice.

As the loudspeakers at John L. Harvey Field changed gears from loud rock music to a pulsating dance track, 6-foot-5, 205-pound freshman pitcher Cavin Hill looked like a spaghetti man doing a shimmy-shake bake in the outfield.

"It's a lot different than last year," sophomore pitcher Kyle Starratt said of what resembled a late-spring day. "Last year, on the third (of January), we had 16 inches of snow. We had to shovel off the field twice already."

RARING TO GO

The weather, which is giving the Wildcats some more practice time, is only part of the reason the team is feeling a bit sanguine this year as they head into a 55-game schedule that opens Jan. 30 in Las Vegas against South Mountain Community College, of Phoenix, Ariz.

Western Nevada will play 28 of its first 32 games on the road.

"We have a lot of good, scrappy guys," said Starratt, who along with fellow ace Josh Moody figures to fill two of the four starter spots on the mound for the traditionally pitching-rich Wildcats.

"We're real excited for the season to start," said sophomore first baseman Lance Ray, who last year hit .280, with four home runs and 26 runs batted in. "I think we're more experienced this season. We have our 1-2 pitchers (Starratt and Moody) and first five back in the lineup. The freshman have a lot of guys to look up to."

Those top five include the 19-year-old Ray, a Sierra Vista High School product, Brian Barnett, Jerome Pena, Marshall Kennebrew and Andrew Feiner.

Pena underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia on Friday and is out from four to six weeks, but freshman Cory Raymond and redshirt freshman (and Galena High School graduate) Eric Maupin are competing to fill that spot.

A NOTE OF CAUTION

Fourth-year head coach D.J. Whittemore, the program's first and only skipper, gave an even-handed early-season assessment of his squad, which returns 11 of its 26 players and was ranked No. 18 in Collegiate Baseball Magazine's preseason poll.

"One of the reasons we have to be optimistic is we have our top two pitchers, Moody and Starratt," Whittemore said, echoing Ray. "Every time they get on the mound, you know what you'll get. They pound the strike zone. They're fun to play behind.

"The other reason we have to be optimistic is we have five really good bats, including the reigning Region XVIII Player of the Year Brian Barnett."

Barnett, Starratt, Moody and sophomore Logan Odom, who signed with USC, all were named by Collegiate Baseball Magazine as being among the top players in the country at their respective positions.

Barnett, Starratt and Moody also have signed with Division I programs.

Barnett, a McQueen High grad, hit .364 with a school-record 11 homers and 44 RBI last season, and is bound for Nevada. Starratt will join Pena at Texas Christian University, while Moody heads for Arizona State.

Even with the ever-increasing exposure his team, which has won at least 37 games in each of its first three seasons, continues to get, Whittemore isn't feeling cocky.

"One of the reasons our optimism is guarded we have no other tested pitching," Whittemore continued. "Eight of our 13 pitchers are freshman. They were highly decorated in high school, but this obviously is a huge step in competition. Some will make adjustments better than others."

RELOAD

In addition to relying on lockdown pitching and offensive production, Whittemore said the team's strength lies in its infield.

Freshman Daniel Zylstra replaces Kyle Gutchewsky at shortstop and sophomore Mike Long is stepping in for Cliff Shepard in center field, but Whittemore remains concerned with filling the role of departed backstop Chuck Howard.

"We're replacing the cornerstone of our defense," he said.

Starratt, who pitched his way to a 9-4 record with a 2.43 earned run average last season, said he stayed healthy and had a productive fall season. Starratt said he spotted on his fastball in 2008 and it paid dividends, as evidenced by his recruitment by TCU.

Starratt said Horned Frogs head coach Jim Schlossnagle flew out to watch him play in the Scenic West All-Star Game in September, something that impressed Starratt enough to sign with TCU in November.

"I'm not overpowering, but I'm good at locating," said Starratt, who hits between 89-91 mph on the radar gun and struck out 66 batters in 89 innings pitched. "I'm trying to work down this year and throw at the knees."

Whittemore said 6-foot-5 Kramer Champlin and 6-7 David Carroll would likely be competing for the top spot in the bullpen, which Whittemore said would be eventually determined in the crucible that is the non-conference schedule.

"We have four games each weekend to groom two, three, four guys for that (reliever) role," Whittemore said. "That's where we've been successful in the past with Steve Sauer, Dan Grubbs, Ryan Iodence and Jose Barajas. Who emerges in that role will go a long way in determining our short- and long-term success ... We'll let the cream rise to the top."