Season Preview: New season same high expectations
SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University baseball team is coming off its second 37-win season in the past three years, its fifth Capital Athletic Conference championship in the past seven years, its seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III tournament and despite losing five starters the Sea Gulls’ expectations are just as high as any other year.

“We expect to win our conference and be at the regional tournament,” said coach Doug Fleetwood, in his seventh year. “We have been very successful in the past and those expectations aren’t going to change.”

The Sea Gulls are ranked in the Top 30 in two separate preseason publications highlighted by a No. 21 ranking in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Gulls climbed as high as No. 5 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll in 2006 and will begin the ’07 campaign ranked No. 26 by the ABCA.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked in the beginning of the season,” said the five time CAC Coach of the Year Fleetwood. “It’s all about where you are at the end of the year.”

Infield
The Salisbury infield has two voids to fill in the graduation of first-team All-American Greg Lemon and first-team All-CAC selection Nick Pegelow. The two etched their names among the all-time greats in Sea Gull history as Pegelow finished his career as the all-time leader in hits (242), at bats (650) and runs batted in (173) while Lemon is the all-time leader in runs scored (193), doubles (50) and walks (95).

The middle infield should be solid with the return of three players who started a combined 47 games of the 75 they appeared in. Junior captain Mark Bostwick finished last year with a .361 batting average, six extra base-hits and 14 runs batted in while primarily seeing duty at second base. Bostwick made 23 starts and was responsible for 13 double-plays.

“He has played here and been a starter for us,” said Fleetwood. “He had a great fall and preseason and we expect big things from him at second base.”

Junior Brian Camper began the ’06 season as the starter at shortstop as he made nine starts in 18 games played. He finished last season with nine runs scored and is one of only six players returning that hit a triple.

“Brian has the ability to be an outstanding college shortstop,” said Fleetwood. “He has gotten better everyday throughout the fall and preseason.”

Sophomore Randy Boyle, who like Bostwick mainly played second base, is the third of the returnees in the middle infield. Boyle batted .286 in his 26 appearances and committed only one error in 74 chances.

Last year’s starter at the hot corner, Alex Vitale, returns for his senior season after he ranked third on the team in RBI (43), doubles (12) and triples (2), fourth on the team in runs scored (40), hits (58) and total bases (80) while batting .341. Vitale was named to the NCAA South Region All-Tournament team after hitting .500 (7-of-14) and scoring two runs in three games and was honored as a second-team All-CAC selection. However, Vitale might not only be playing third base.

“Vitale can play third base with the best of them but can also be valuable at first base,” said Fleetwood. “He can do a lot for us and we’ll move him around a bit but he can handle it. He is a veteran.”

Junior Justin Arminger, who transferred from Chesapeake Community College, and freshman Mike Celenza will join Vitale in a three-man rotation between first base, third base and the designated hitter position. Freshman Joe Pohlman is another player who could see time at first base.

Outfield
The catalyst of team this year may very well be the outfield. The Sea Gulls return two starters who combined for 168 putouts and 99 runs scored. Colin Kraus will patrol centerfield while Andrew Jensen will be the starter in rightfield.

Last season, Kraus batted .376 and ranked No. 18 in the country in walks per game (0.91). The senior captain had 19 extra base hits and had a team-high 43 walks. His 94 total bases ranked second on the team.

“Colin will be a two-year starter for us and is going to be one of the leaders in the field,” said Fleetwood. “He runs very well and has the power to go gap-to-gap.”

Jensen, a senior captain, will be a four-year starter for the Gulls. In ’06 he batted .352, ranked second on the team in home runs (4) and posted a perfect fielding percentage in 85 chances.

“There isn’t a player on this team that has had more big hits for this program than Andrew,” said Fleetwood.

Jensen’s biggest moment in ’06 came in the regional tournament when he belted a three-run homerun to lead Salisbury to a 9-7 comeback victory over Emory.

The race for leftfield is between three players. Senior Brian Theibault and junior Andrew Baird are the frontrunners. Theibault appeared in 28 games last year and batted .316 while Baird made 24 appearances and batted .286. The dark horse for the spot is freshman Chris Spagnuolo, who along with three other freshman, look very promising to Fleetwood.

“We have a lot of young kids that are going to be great ball players down the road for us,” said Fleetwood. “[Hunter] Wessells, [Phillip] Vaughn and [Matt] O’Keefe are all great ball players that have the talent to be real special.”

Catchers
Much like the middle infield the Sea Gulls are loaded behind the plate. Senior captain Pete Callahan will be the starter.

“Pete is a guy that has played here and knows what it takes to be a college ball player,” said Fleetwood.

Callahan finished the ’06 campaign with a .319 batting average after making 34 starts in 37 appearances. He totaled 37 hits and scored 22 times but more impressively committed no errors behind the plate.

Junior Tyler Riley and sophomore Michael Loomis will also see time at catcher. Riley and Loomis saw action in a combined 28 games last year.

Pitching
Salisbury lost its all-time career wins leader in Nick Dunk due to graduation but the Sea Gulls may be even stronger from the mound this year.

“It doesn’t matter what you have in the field,” said Fleetwood. “A team can only be as good as its pitching. We are looking to start with a six-man rotation and get that down to four by the time things get going.”

Leading the pitching staff will be senior captain Danny Oleynik. Oleynik had 22 appearances out of the pen last year, accounted for 23 strikeouts and posted a 3.00 earned run average.

“Dan is a very versatile pitcher,” said Fleetwood. “He has the ability to give you a ton of innings as a middle reliever or he can start and go deep into a game.”

Joining Oleynik will be senior Bryan Brainer and junior Ryan Bennick. Brainer started 11 games last year and posted a 5-2 record. He led the team with 49 strikeouts and fashioned a 2.88 ERA. Bennick also started 11 games and finished with a 6-2 record. He has 42 strikeouts and only walked 15 batters. His 2.13 ERA was the lowest among starters.

Another pitcher that will have an opportunity to get into the starting rotation is sophomore Drew Campbell. He finished last year with a perfect 6-0 record and a 2.25 ERA.

“Drew was one of our better pitchers in the NCAA last year,” said Fleetwood. “He has the ability to either start or come out of the pen.”

Adding to the depth of the pitching staff will be senior Tom Howell who posted a 2.70 ERA last year and sophomore Jeff Feigl who transferred from Marietta College after sitting out last year with shoulder issues.

“Jeff has a lot of talent and was in the starting rotation at Marietta two years ago,” said Fleetwood. “We are going to ease him into it. He has a chance to be a very good player for us.”

The Sea Gulls will have even more arms available out the pen led by senior Matt Petersen and a pair of sophomores in Eric Willey and Adam Keeling.

Schedule
The Sea Gulls have a schedule that ranks among the most difficult in the nation. Salisbury opens up the season with back-to-back games against teams that beat the Gulls in the 2006 South regional Tournament. On February 11, the Sea Gulls hit the road to face Virginia Wesleyan College and then return home on February 13 to host No. 24 Rowan.

Salisbury then hits a stretch of three consecutive games in the beginning of March against two teams ranked in the Top 10. On the 3rd and 4th Salisbury host No. 3 Montclair State in a two-day double header and then on the 6th travel to Ewing, N.J., to face No. 8 The College of New Jersey. MSU beat the Sea Gulls twice last year, 9-2 and 5-3, and TCNJ handed SU its first loss of the season, 5-1.

“It’s a very tough schedule,” said Fleetwood. “It’s one of the more competitive schedules in the country. The good part about it is if you are successful you are in a great situation for the NCAA tournament.”

After TCNJ the Sea Gulls open up conference play before having a rematch with Virginia Wesleyan on the 13th of March. Salisbury’s annual Spring Break trip to Florida will have the Gulls face No. 14 St. Thomas (Minn.) and Amherst. St. Thomas beat Salisbury, 16-1, last year while SU handed Amherst a 6-4 loss. The Sea Gulls round out their schedule with Johns Hopkins, a double header against Methodist and a third game against Montclair State.

The reigning CAC champions open up conference play on March 10 against Catholic University. The Sea Gulls finished 8-2 in the CAC last year with the only losses coming to York (Pa.) and Catholic. Mary Washington may prove to be the toughest conference opponent for Salisbury as it ranked No. 36 in ABCA preseason poll.

Summary
Salisbury baseball has been a staple of success recently and the 2007 Sea Gulls have no intention of changing any time soon.

“I’m really excited about this year’s team,” said Fleetwood. “We have a great group of players that have a lot of talent. We expect great things this year.”