The Collegian

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Sports

The Hillsdale Chargers baseball squad plays its first game in Ft. Myers, Fla., tomorrow against Wheeling-Jesuit University, the first test of a season in which coaches and players are targeting as many as 30 wins and playoff success.

Head coach Paul Noce, in his 16th season, said the team is riding on its best recruiting class in years. The team added 12 new players, up from a typical crop of six. Nine freshmen, two junior college transfers and one Division I transfer boost the roster to 29 active players.

What did the team get for its scouting?

"Speed," Noce said last week. "We brought in some kids that can run."

Citing too many extra-base hits that "should have been outs" last year, Noce added speed in the outfield and throughout the batting lineup.

Fifth-year senior pitcher Joe Schoonover also commented on the team's newfound speed, calling them "the fastest team I've seen in my four years playing here."

Noce said he sees strength in the team's unprecedented pitching depth.

"Our depth has not been the greatest in the past," Noce said. "This is a year, we feel, with our pitching depth, we can do well."

This depth includes six starting pitchers, including hard-throwing senior Tom Molter and Schoonover, returning with a newly-developed knuckleball.

In the bullpen, the Chargers boast two left-handers in sophomore Paul Smith and freshman Geoff Krumwiede. Pat Krebs, a transfer from Division I Creighton University, is slotted as the team's closer.

Schoonover said speed goes hand-in-hand with the deeper pitching staff.

"A pitcher is only as good as his defense," he said. "And this year we have a lot of speed in the field - especially the outfield. So, it should be tremendously helpful in covering gaps and making plays."

Assistant coach Andy Lovell '06 said pitchers have focused on physical and mental preparation procedures, and on throwing a two-seam fastball with movement, as well as daily practice with the changeup. Molter, for example, has gotten better every day with it, Lovell said.

Noce and Lovell said the team could vie for a top-four spot in the GLIAC conference, a notoriously strong Division II league. The Chargers have accomplished this feat only twice before, Noce said. Last year, the team finished seventh in the GLIAC with a 7-21 record, 15-30 overall.

The team also aims at 30 wins.

"They seem to want it," Noce said. "Every team wants to win, but they're going the extra mile."

Still, Noce said the first six games in Florida, followed by three against Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., will test, "how these kids react to college baseball." Players have practiced outdoors a handful of times.

Senior shortstop and captain Brandon Hubbard said when the team finally gets a chance to go outside they can work more on fundamentals.

"Temperature is a big issue," he said. "We always do well in Florida."

A strong showing this weekend, Hubbard said, will be a good gauge of the team's overall abilities - most importantly the Sunday doubleheader against Great Lakes Valley Conference power St. Joseph's College.

The schedule has no lull, Noce said, and includes nine non-conference regional games, which could contribute to the team's power rating and playoff chances, if they play well in the GLIAC.

The team will even play Central Michigan University, a Division I team picked to win the Mid-American Conference West Division.

As the team only has three home dates before a month-long home stand in April, momentum will be key to maintaining consistency, Hubbard said.

Team camaraderie could also aid the squad, Krebs said.

"The older guys try and make everyone feel more comfortable," he said.

Hillsdale College Collegian 2008

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