February 3, 2009

Cowley baseball enters season with hard working, talented team

Winners of each of the last two Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division titles, and 12 of the past 14, the Cowley College baseball team enters the 2009 season with plenty of optimism.

The thing that most excites Tiger assistant coach Darren Burroughs is how unselfish the players seem to be and how well they get along.

“They seem to be willing to do what it takes for the team to succeed,” Burroughs said. “We do not have a lot of players returning from last season but I think the quality of players we have is really good.”

The Tigers, which are receiving votes in the NJCAA pre-season poll, will open the season Thursday in El Dorado as they will face Butler Community College at 2 p.m. Cowley will then return home to host Butler in a single, nine-inning game, Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Cowley will also play non-conference games against ranked opponents such as Seminole State College and Eastern Oklahoma State College. They will also face tough contests against Northern Oklahoma College, Panola (Texas) College, and Hutchinson.

 “If we want to win at the national level we have got to go play good teams,” Burroughs said. “We want to prepare our team for down the road.”

Cowley returns everyday players Frank Specht, Luke Zeller, Andy Petz and Colt Loehrs from last season’s team, which finished with a record of 37-19 overall and 28-8 in the Jayhawk East.

Specht will make the move from second base to third base this season. As a freshman, Specht batted .346 with two home runs, 10 doubles and 28 runs batted in.

“If there is a better player in the league I would like to see him,” Burroughs said. “He’s a quiet kid that goes about his business and does a good job.”

Zeller is a returning pitcher/outfielder that batted .331 with nine doubles and 28 runs batted in last season, while compiling an earned run average of 3.82 in 14 2/3 innings pitched.

Loehrs is a returning outfielder that batted .336 with four home runs and 24 runs batted in as a freshman.
“Zeller and Loehrs played a lot as freshmen and should be good for us,” Burroughs said.

Petz will play first base this season after helping the team behind the plate as a freshman. He batted .271 with three triples and 31 runs batted in last season.

Freshman B.J. Misialek from Edmond, Okla., led the team in hitting in the fall and will open the season playing shortstop for the Tigers.

“He’s a good young hitter that is really intelligent at the plate,” Burroughs said.

Ronald Melendez from Jacksonville, Fl., will play centerfield for the Tigers.

“He can be a difference maker with his speed,” Burroughs said. “He can run balls down in the outfield and can steal bases.”

Ryan Hege, a freshman from Maize High School, will split time between catching and playing first base. He led the team in home runs in the fall and was drafted by the Los-Angeles Angels in last summer’s free agent draft.

Tyler Hancock from Washington, Okla., and Matt Garcia from Kansas City, Kan., will be in the hunt for playing time at second base.

Caleb Bass from Roff, Okla., will be another candidate for one of the three outfield spots, and could also see time on the mound.

Cowley returns seven pitchers from last season’s team and are led by returning starters Stephen Kohlscheen (4-4, 2.76 ERA) and Calvin Drinnen (5-2, 2.05 ERA). Alex Schell (4-2, 2.05 ERA) also pitched well as a freshman, as did Michael Flanagin (2-2, 3.11 ERA).

“They are all battle tested and know what it takes to be successful,” said Burroughs. “We had to lean on our freshman arms last year, now they know what the program is like.”

Freshmen Stephen Spirlock, Chase Webb, and Randon Ridline highlight the list of talented newcomers to the pitching staff.

“We have got some good young arms,” Burroughs said. “They have to learn the speed of the game, challenge the hitters and get ahead in the count.”

Zach Cargill, who redshirted last season after transferring from the University of Nebraska, will also give the team quality innings on the mound.

The coaches and players are excited about the season and hope to make it back to Grand Junction, Colo., host of the JUCO World Series.

“The guys seem to really be hungry and they want to succeed at a high level,” Burroughs said. “I think we are going to swing the bats and score some runs.”