Season Preview
baseball looks to build on playoff berth

Although first pitch for the 2009 Muhlenberg baseball season is still a couple of days away, the first jokes have already been thrown out.

Asked about junior southpaw Phil Cresta on the Centennial Conference preseason baseball coaches chat, Corey Goff quipped, “Right now what he really needs is a haircut!” When wild-pitcher-turned-record-setting hitter Christian Conti’s name was brought up, Goff’s response was “You mean Rick Ankiel?”

All kidding aside, the Mules have every reason to feel good about the upcoming season, which begins Saturday when the team travels to Winter Haven, Fla., for a seven-day, nine-game trip.

Muhlenberg went 20-20 last year, improving its

Barrese was second in the CC in both saves and appearances (18).

win total by 11 from the previous year, and qualified for the CC playoffs for the first time since 2003. And the Mules return almost everyone, losing only one hitter who had more than 70 at-bats and just one pitcher who threw more than 13 innings, as they seek to push deeper into the playoffs.

“I’ve been looking forward to the season since the end of last year,” said senior Matthew Ordog. “Once you get a little taste of it, you want some more.”

How much more may depend on the pitching staff, which leaned heavily on two arms last year. Cresta (and his hair) emerged as one of the top pitchers in the CC, going 8-3 to tie the school record for wins in a season. He set a school record for consecutive scoreless innings (24.2) and earned a spot on the All-CC second team. Ordog provided six more wins, one a victory over eventual CC champion and national runner-up Johns Hopkins.

Senior Joseph Barrese did a solid job as the team’s closer, going 2-2 with four saves and a 3.86 ERA.

After that, the Mules will look to young arms in sophomores Kevin Witmier and Jason Daniels to fill in the rotation. Junior Mark Shive and seniors

Hammond is one of two seniors who recorded his 100th career hit last year. He starts the 2009 season with 104, six fewer than Kalis.

Brent Morris, Mike Misciagna and Daniel Litt worked out of the bullpen last year.

“Our pitching is going to have to develop like it did a little last year,” said Ordog.

No such development needed for the offense, which set school records for runs scored (326), triples (28) and extra-base hits (103) in a season. Muhlenberg reached double figures in runs 14 times, topping the 20-run mark on three occasions.

Leading the hit parade was Conti, who was named CC player of the year and first-team all-region. In his first year as an everyday player, he hit .380, led Division III with 11 triples, and set school records for runs (49), triples, home runs (11), RBI (60) and extra-base hits (29).

Not far behind him was senior first baseman Edward Risener, tabbed by the chatting coaches as one of the most underrated players in the CC. He hit .314 in his first year as a regular and drove in 50 runs, which broke the previous school mark of 41.

Joining Conti in the outfield are fellow seniors Eric Hammond (.336, only three strikeouts) and John Kalis (.290, 13 stolen bases). Senior Chris Costa could also see action.

The infield, which tied for fifth in Division III in double plays turned per game, is back intact, with junior All-CC honorable mention selection Eric Pomroy (.313) at second, junior Dan Fisher (.317, 30 RBI) at short and sophomore Bobby Spindler (.282) at third. Sophomores Jeff Puklin and Joseph DiCecilia also gained plenty of experience last year.

Sophomore Clint Lynch started 10 games at catcher and hit .340.

“I imagine our offense will be a strength,” said Ordog, one of 10 seniors on the team.

“We have a lot of older guys who know how things run and can show the younger guys,” he commented. “It adds to the cohesiveness of the program.”

So do a few jokes.