Pepperdine Baseball
1/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 16, 2006
At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Baseball America peered into its crystal ball to forecast what teams could likely advance to the 2006 College World Series. The publication picked eight teams - plus one sleeper - that could possibly advance to Omaha, Nebraska.
Pepperdine, which has played in an NCAA Regional championship game the last two seasons, was tabbed as the "sleeper" team to reach the College World Series. That prediction is something third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez and the Waves hope comes to fruition.
The early optimism is built on the premise that Pepperdine returns 24 letterwinners from last year's club that posted a 41-23 overall record, won the West Coast Conference (WCC) title for the second straight year and concluded the year ranked No. 23 nationally.
The Waves' roster is highlighted by the return of the WCC's "Player of the Year" (Chad Tracy), "Pitcher of the Year" (Paul Coleman) and "Freshman of the Year" (Barry Enright).
Additionally, seven position players who started against USC in the championship game of the Long Beach Regional last season return in 2006. Rodriguez and his staff also have brought in a talented recruiting class that will play a vital supporting role.
"With the group of players we have returning plus the addition of a solid incoming class there is a lot of optimism and excitement heading into this season," Rodriguez said. "Our roster is filled with several players who have played major roles in our success the last two seasons and are eager to take the program to the next level."
Pepperdine has gained the attention of the preseason prognosticators as the Waves enter the 2006 season ranked No. 11 by Baseball America and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball.
The WCC coaches are also in agreement as they have tabbed Pepperdine as the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions, receiving six of eight first-place votes and totaling 48 points to finish ahead of second-place San Diego.
In compiling a 41-23 overall record last season, the Waves captured their 16th WCC title after defeating cross-town rival Loyola Marymount in the conference championship series. Pepperdine was seeded third at the Long Beach Regional and, after falling to USC in the opener, posted wins over Rhode Island, Long Beach State and the Trojans before losing 5-2 to USC in the championship game.
"Advancing to the regional championship game with such a young team was a great accomplishment and showed our players that they can compete with any team in the country and was a great confidence builder," Rodriguez said.
On a daily basis, the Waves had five freshmen or sophomores in the starting line-up, plus Enright who stepped into the No. 3 starter's role and tied for the team-lead in wins.
The biggest challenge heading into the upcoming campaign will be filling the voids left by the departures of All-American utility player Steve Kleen and senior right hander Kea Kometani, who earned honorable mention All-WCC honors.
Kleen was a unanimous first team All-WCC selection after batting .350 with eight home runs and 58 RBI as the Waves' first baseman and compiling a 4-3 record, 1.75 ERA and 17 saves, which ranked second in the country. His saves total also ranked second on Pepperdine's single-season saves list, behind Jay Gehrke's 18 in 1999.
Kometani compiled a 10-5 record and 3.17 ERA while pitching a team-high 127.2 innings. He finished his four-year career with a 21-14 overall record, 4.01 ERA, 10 saves and ranks second in school history in appearances (90), sixth in innings pitched (316.2) and eighth in strikeouts (237).
"Both Steve and Kea were tremendous players for us during their careers and were big contributors to our success," Rodriguez said. "Even more impressive was their character and the way they conducted themselves on and off the field and represented Pepperdine in a first-class manner."
One of many players Rodriguez and the Waves are happy to have back is Tracy.
As a sophomore, Tracy started all 64 games behind the plate and, in addition to being the WCC's "Player of the Year", earned second team All-American honors after batting a team and conference-leading .367 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI.
Heading into 2006, Tracy has been selected a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, second-team pick by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) and third-team choice by Baseball America. He is also expected to be a strong candidate for the Johnny Bench Award that recognizes college baseball's top catcher.
Additionally, Tracy, along with Coleman, has been named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. The award is presented annually to college baseball's player of the year.
While Tracy is expected to receive the bulk of the catching duties, he will backed up by junior Justin Tellam, who transferred to Pepperdine after batting .298 with 19 home runs and 67 RBI in two seasons at UNLV.
Tellam posted career numbers in 2005 after batting .302 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI.
Coleman headlines Pepperdine's pitching staff following a junior campaign in which he posted a 9-3 record and 3.35 ERA en route to being tabbed a first team All-WCC selection and the conference's top pitcher. The senior left-hander returns for his final campaign after being a ninth round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in last June's draft.
Coleman is penciled in to be the Waves staff ace with sophomore Enright moving up to the No. 2 spot in the rotation.
Enright enjoyed an outstanding rookie season as he went 10-1 with a 4.62 ERA and was named the WCC's "Freshman of the Year." He came up big in the post-season pitching seven solid innings in helping the Waves defeat Long Beach State and remain alive in the regional.
There should be healthy competition for the third spot in the rotation with several capable arms in the mix.
Among those competing for the final weekend spot are junior Robert Della Grotta, sophomores Jason Dominguez and Adam Olbrychowski along with freshman Brett Hunter (Moorpark, CA / Moorpark, CA).
Della Grotta made 12 appearances, starting six games, and went 3-2 with a 5.02 ERA in 43.0 innings. The junior right hander has big-game experience as he started an elimination game against USC in the Long Beach Regional last season and earned the victory after pitching 5.1 innings in the Waves' 9-2 victory.
Dominguez (1-5, 8.77) appeared in 12 games, starting three, and logged 25.2 innings.
Olbrychowski appeared in 11 games as a freshman and posted a 2-1 record and 4.15 ERA in 17.1 innings. As a rookie, Olbrychowski provided some clutch relief work in the WCC Championship Series against Loyola Marymount and was tabbed Pepperdine's starting pitcher in the championship game of the Long Beach Regional.
Hunter enjoyed a solid career at nearby Moorpark High and capped his career by being tabbed All-CIF, All-Ventura County and All-Marmonte League in 2005. As a senior, he worked 67 innings, walked 11, struck out 68 and posted a 1.15 ERA.
This past summer, Hunter helped his Trombly Braves team advance to the Connie Mack World Series where it finished as runner-up. He started and was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the World Series after pitching 6.2 innings and striking out 13 in a 3-2 victory.
All three pitchers, along with senior James Johnson (2-0, 2.88) and freshman right hander Bryce Stowell (La Habra, CA / La Habra HS), will be in the running to be the midweek starter. Last season, Johnson appeared in 19 games, starting two, and worked 34.1 innings.
Stowell earned All-Area, All-CIF and All-Orange County as a senior after winning nine ballgames.
Sophomore Doug Konoske is expected to be the Waves' closer after being used as a set-up man last season. Konoske worked in 21 games, all but one in relief, and went 0-2 with a 2.41 ERA and three saves in 41.0 innings.
Adding additional depth to the mound corp will be senior Bryan Minkel (0-0, 3.18), sophomores Dylan Gonzalez, Nick Gaudi, Drew Saberhagen and Brian Ozols.
Gonzalez redshirted a year ago while Saberhagen pitched in five games, all in relief, and went 0-1 with a 14.29 ERA. Ozols made one appearance while Gaudi spent the entire season with the team and did not appear any games.
"Overall, I think we will be a much deeper pitching staff than we had a year ago which is so important as you enter post-season play," Rodriguez said. "The key will be keeping people healthy and having players step up and produce."
Pepperdine returns a veteran and talented infield that includes senior second baseman David Uribes (.311-1-30, 25 stolen bases), senior third baseman Nick Kliebert (.262-2-25) and sophomore shortstop Danny Worth.
Worth produced an outstanding rookie campaign as he started 61 games and batted .306 with one home run and 34 RBI en route to earning second team All-WCC honors and being selected to the all-regional team in Long Beach.
Freshman Chase d'Arnaud (Long Beach, CA / Los Alamitos HS) will also compete for playing time at third base after batting .481 as a senior and being selected in the 44th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in last June's draft.
Tellum, Tracy, sophomore Matt Aidem (Valencia, CA / UC Santa Barbara) and freshman Tony Asaro (Torrance, CA / West Torrance HS) will see action at first base and the designated hitter position. Junior Michael Beattie also will be in the running for at-bats at the designated hitter position.
In his freshman season at UC Santa Barbara, Aidem led the Gauchos in hitting with a .326 average.
Beattie missed most of 2005 with a severe ankle sprain while still recovering from shoulder and elbow surgery performed during the summer of 2004.
Asaro batted .374 with nine doubles, five home runs, 20 runs scored and 22 RBI as a senior last year at West Torrance High.
Others who will vie for playing time in the infield include Dominguez, Saberhagen, junior Danny Kelly (.222-0-2), Minkel (.500-0-0) as well as freshmen Denny Duron (Shreveport, LA / Evangel Christian Academy), Jonathan Cook (Hilton Head, SC / Hilton Head Christian Academy) and Ryan Heroy (Henderson, NV / Green Valley HS).
The starting outfield returns intact from a year ago with junior Luke Salas (.298-1-31) playing in left field, sophomore Adrian Ortiz (.281-0-19) patrolling center fielder and sophomore Donald Brown (.294-2-30) manning right field.
Salas is a consistent hitter that will hit for average while Ortiz is arguably one the fastest players in college baseball and Brown possesses an above-average arm as evidenced by his eight outfield assists a year ago.
Junior Justin Sandberg and senior Brandon Daguio along with Dominguez and Saberhagen add depth to the outfield. Sandberg, who can also play the infield, appeared in 14 games, starting seven, and batted .250. Daguio batted .222 in 17 games.
"We have the makings of an outstanding team if everything comes together," Rodriguez said. "Our experience and talent can take us a long way and our goal is to not only win the WCC and advance to post-season, but to go deep into the post-season."
Pepperdine opens its 56-game schedule on February 3 when it begins a three-game series at Eddy D. Field Stadium beginning at 2 p.m.
