Baseball

Schedule

Cougar Baseball Likes Mix of Youth, Experience
        (EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) With a 40-game Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule in 2004, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Coach Gary Collins had a few concerns coming into the new baseball season.
        First and foremost is pitching. Many of SIUE's games will be Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders against conference opponents, providing ample opportunities for starting pitchers. Collins has increased the pitching staff and has numerous options for the rotation.
        "We'll certainly have some depth," said Collins.
        SIUE finished the 2003 season with a 24-26 record but were the No. 2 seed in the six-team GLVC Tournament after posting a 17-13 mark in league play. Collins also is hoping to make a GLVC-leading ninth straight appearance in the conference tournament, which will be played in Sauget at GMC Stadium on May 6-9.
        The Cougars return left-handed workhorse Brian Keating (St. Louis), former GLVC Freshman of the Year Jarad Rettberg (Divernon), 2003's top winner in David Briesacher (Waterloo), Pat Evers (St. Louis) and Kyle Jones (New Baden).
        Keating, 3-6 last season, led the Cougars in strikeouts last season with 68. Collins said he expects much more from Keating this season.
        "I expect him to be the best pitcher in our conference this season," said Collins.
        Rettberg, a junior, threw a team-best 60 1.3 innings and threw for a 2-4 record. Briesacher, a sophomore, led the Cougars with a 5-2 record and a 2.75 earned run average.
        Collins has several other options for starting pitching. Among them are junior Ryan Spurgeon (Bethalto), Joe Wargo (Streator), freshman Adam Tallman, and Ron Jones (Kankakee). Collins said he won't be shy about pulling players into starting duties or bullpen duties as the case may warrant.
        "We've got several players who can start for us. We don't plan on bringing people back on three days rest," said Collins.
        The Cougars also will look to freshman Chip Durland (Villa Grove), sophomore Jameson Sheley (Lincoln), and sophomore Jeff Caron (Chester) to provide some key innings on the mound.
        The catching duties likely will go to Robert Rahn (Wood River), a sophomore, who batted .208 in 28 games last season. Zach Wooley (Alton) and Michael DalPozzo (Livingston) should also see some time behind the plate. "Zach and Michael have to take some of the pressure off Robert," said Collins.
        The Cougar infield is truly the mix of youth and experience with Wes Pickering (Springfield, Mo.), now a graduate student, at third base and Craig Ohlau (Chester), a junior, at first base. Collins said healthy Pickering and an improved Ohlau will help the middle of the batting order.
        In the middle of the infield, freshmen Eric Tritsch (Troy) and Tim Velten (St. Louis) will play second base and shortstop, respectively.
        "We have a lot of confidence in them as middle infielders," said Collins.
        DalPozzo fits in at several infield positions and figures to be a key utility player. The Cougars also have left-handed hitting freshman Kyle Martin (Byron), who provides depth in the middle infield.
        Collins has several options in the Cougar outfield. Along with Wargo, who batted .325 in 22 games last season, the Cougars return Luke Humphrey (Rantoul), Brad Scott (Benld) and Jared Breuggeman (East Alton). Tyler Symonds (Buffalo Grove) also will be looking for a spot in the lineup.
        "We'll probably mix and match to see if anybody jumps out of the pack," said Collins.
        With a schedule which begins Friday in Joplin, Mo., against Missouri Southern State, Collins said his team has increased its team speed and improved the overall defense.
                -siue cougars-