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2015 Anglers Preview
Though there are still three Anglers playing in the College World Series and a number of others en route to the Cape, Opening Day of the 2015 season is already upon us. The familiar face of Chatham baseball, John Schiffner, is back for his 23rd year managing the Anglers. While it is still early and much can change during a Cape Cod Summer, Schiffner likes what he has seen so far.
“I think we’re a solid team,” said the skipper. “I think we can play catch a little bit; I think we can hit a little bit.”
With first pitch looming at 7:00 p.m. EST at Veterans Field against Yarmouth-Dennis, here is what you need to know about the Anglers this season.
Hitting
The Anglers preparing for the season last night.
Wood bats and elite pitching make runs a difficult commodity to come by in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Many young players have difficulty leaving their big, lengthy cuts behind in college and bringing only fundamentally sound swings to the plate against the tough pitching of the league. Despite the challenging nature of this transition, the coaching staff feels it is going smoothly.
“I think it’s going well. The guys are all working inside; no one’s trying to get too big,” said Coach Travis Beausoleil. “These last few days they’ve been really good working middle to middle-away, really understanding the pitching they’re about to face.”
There are plenty of potential offensive players for Manager Schiffner to work with.
Infield
The Anglers have two All-American infielders from Wake Forest, Will Craig and Nate Mondou, on the roster this year. The two have had impressive swings in batting practice and are ready to take those swings out of the cage and into the game.
“It’s going to be a competitive team, and it should be a fun season,” said Mondou. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
“We’ve really been working the simple things, and that’s going to help us win games,” added Craig.
However, due to the impressive depth of the Angler infield this year and the remarkable versatility of Craig and Mondou, it is not impossible to see them move around if need be. The other natural infielders who make this possible are: Kyle Brooks of North Florida, Nicolas Falkson of Brandeis, Garrett Hampson of Long Beach State, Alexander Raburn of North Carolina, and Zack Short of Sacred Heart.
Though the middle infielder Hampson will need to head out to play for College Team USA soon, he is happy to be back in Chatham for what little time he has here.
“Last summer was great. The guys all took me in and it was like a second family,” said Hampson. “I made some life-long friends.”
Outfield
Trenton Brooks of Nevada, Josh Greene of High Point, and Aaron Knapp of Cal will begin the season patrolling the furthest reaches of Veterans Field. They will be joined by returner Jake Fraley of LSU, as well as Luke Persico of UCLA, and, depending on the outcome of the draft, potentially infield/ outfield combination player Bobby Stahel of USC.
The talented group of outfielders is itching to get on the field and take on the rest of the nation’s top talent.
“I feed off the competition,” said Josh Greene. “I’m ready.”
“It’s going to be fun playing against the best of the best,” added Brooks.
Nate Mondou has also played some outfield, and it is possible to see him out there as well depending on the circumstances.
Catchers
Nick Sciortino of Boston College will be back for his second season in Chatham, joined by Kyle Adams of Richmond and Aaron Barnett of Pepperdine, both of whom can also play first base. All three catchers had impressive season for their college squads. Adams and Barnett had particularly notable seasons from the dish, hitting .343 and .303 respectively, while Sciortino was remarkably solid with the glove, shown by his .997 fielding percentage.
The returner, Sciortino, is already excited about how well the team as a whole is meshing together.
“I feel like the team chemistry is really strong this year,” said Sciortino. “We just have a few days of work right now, but I feel good about it.”
Pitching
In games that are often low-scoring and involve the best college baseball players of the country, pitching is of the utmost importance.
“From one through nine [in opposing lineups] there’s not going to be any weakness, or very little weakness,” said Coach Rob Bono. “So they really have to focus—one through nine, pitch to pitch, every inning and every batter that they face, every game.”
This season, the Anglers are working with an impressive arsenal of arms already, and they are still awaiting the arrival of returning Oklahoma State pitcher, Garrett Williams. Zac Gallen of North Carolina, returned for his second season yesterday, while Louisville closer, Zack Burdi, may return for a second season mid-summer after playing for College Team USA.
Also among the long list of pitchers who will come through Chatham this year are: Jesse Adams of Boston College, CJ Burdick of San Diego, Daniel Castano of Baylor, Ty Damron of Texas Tech, Will Dennis of Seattle, Rob DiFranco of Bates, Dane Dunning of Florida, Parker Dunshee of Wake Forest, Gabe Friese of Kennesaw State, Jake Godfrey of LSU, Thomas Jankins of Quinnipiac, Chad Martin of Delaware, Jim McDade of Millersville, Aaron McGarity of Virginia Tech, Brandon Miller of Millersville, James Mulry of Northeastern, Jeff Paschke of USC, AJ Puckett of Pepperdine, Andre Scrubb of High Point, Cameron Stone of Stony Brook, and Jonathan Teaney of San Diego.
The man who will get the ball tonight will be TJ Zeuch of Pitt. Zeuch led the Panthers with 88.1 innings pitched during the year, while maintaining a 3.87 ERA. He is ready to take the mound.
“I’m just really excited about it—getting the opportunity to come up here and play at all, let alone getting the Opening Day Start,” said Zeuch. “I know how decorated this team is and how competitive this league is, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
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