Emory Baseball Ready for 2011’s First Pitch
With the 2011 season rapidly approaching for the Emory
University baseball team, the Eagles are optimistic that the new
year will bring their first trip to the NCAA Division III
Tournament since finishing second in the nation during the 2007
campaign.
With six position players who started at least 30 games last season
returning, including five who earned all-University Athletic
Association (UAA) honors, and a talented, veteran pitching staff,
head coach Mike Twardoski will be looking for a
significant improvement from last year’s 19-20 overall
record. Emory also finished third in the conference with a
3-2 record during the 2010 UAA Tournament.
Infield
The Eagles strength entering 2011 appears to be their
infield, which will feature returning all-UAA honorees at all four
positions. Senior Ryan Jones looks to be the
early favorite at first base, after earning an all-UAA second team
selection by hitting .372 last year. Adding depth at the
position will be junior Jay Page, who will also
see time as the designated hitter after notching two home runs and
driving in 18 runs in 2010. All-UAA first team selection
Kevin O’Connor led all Eagles with 37 RBIs
and a .594 slugging percentage last season, and will return to play
second base during his junior campaign. Junior
Jonathan Reilly returns for his second campaign as
the Eagles’ shortstop, after hitting .355 and matching
O’Connor’s 37 RBIs, en route to earning all-UAA second
team recognition. Rounding out the starting infield is
four-year starter and three-time all-UAA selection Andrew
Cohn, who had career highs with a .392 batting average and
32 RBIs at third base in 2010. Providing depth in the infield will
be returning senior Evan Plys and sophomore
Mark Lindemann, along with newcomer Ryan
Toscano.
Catchers
After carrying four catchers on the roster throughout the
2010 campaign, Coach Twardoski has narrowed his backstop options to
two young players – sophomore J.B. Smith and
freshman Jared Welch. Smith batted .322 with
15 RBIs in 21 games last season, and looks to be the primary option
behind the plate for Emory in 2011.
Outfield
Senior and all-UAA first team selection Gabe
Shivers led all Emory players in 2010 with a .421 batting
average, 34 runs scored and 10 stolen bases, and will return to
centerfield for the Eagles this season, after not committing an
error at the position all last year. Senior Patrick
Riebsame will likely start in the outfield as well, after
leading all Eagles with five home runs and driving in 33 runs
during his junior campaign. Emory will also welcome back
senior Tommy Dugan, a .285 career hitter with 31
stolen bases, who took the year off in 2010 to begin law school,
and sophomore Andrew DeYoung (.329 with 21 runs
scored and eight stolen bases), along with sophomores Maxim
Sankey and Daniel Iturrey, and freshman
Brandon Hannon.
Pitchers
The Emory pitching staff in 2011 figures to be a good mix
of veterans and newcomers. Leading the way will be a trio of
senior starters in Elliott Coor, Chris
Monaco, and Paul Schwendel. Despite
missing most of last season due to injury, Coor has a career 4-2
record with a 4.27 ERA over 13 career starts. Monaco and
Schwendel each had a record of 2-3 last season, with the former
recording a 3.00 ERA over his final three appearances in 2010,
latter finishing second on the team with 36 strikeouts.
Junior southpaw Connor McGuiness and sophomore
righty Caleb Long will add experience to the
pitching staff, while newcomers Keith Gordon,
Alexander Castañeda, Ryan
Toscano, Ben Hinojosa, Ryan
Orlovsky, Mike Bitanga, Jason
Edwards and Matt McMahon will provide
depth.
Coaching Staff
Twardoski will begin his 12th season at the
Eagles’ helm, during which he has led Emory to six NCAA
Tournament appearances (including three berths to the championship
round) and six University Athletic Association (UAA)
Championships. His 337-148-1 career record is good for a .694
winning percentage, the highest mark among active UAA coaches,
15th-highest among all active NCAA Division III coaches,
and 21st-best mark among Division III coaches all
time. Assistant Coaches Bobby Perez,
Brian Clark, and Greg McMichael
will complete Coach Twardoski’s staff for the 2011 season.
Schedule
Emory will open its season with a two-game home-and-home
series against cross-town rival Oglethorpe University on February
12th and 13th. The Eagles will play
seven of their first eight games at home, including matchups
against Denison University and York (Pa.) College during the
Rawlings Southern Classic from February 18th –
20th. Later in February, the Eagles will embark on
their first extended road trip of the season, traveling to Memphis,
TN to face Rhodes College, Maryville College, and
12th-ranked Marietta College.
The annual UAA Tournament will be held in Sanford, FL from March
10th – 14th, as the Eagles will look to
improve on their third-place finish from last season, and attempt
to win their first conference title since the 2008 season.
Upon returning home from the UAA Championships, Emory will play 15
of its last 23 games of the season at home through the months of
March and April, almost entirely against regional opponents.
If all goes according to plan for Twardoski’s squad, the
Eagles hope their schedule will continue into May, for the NCAA
Tournament regionals and championship rounds.
