BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The WKU baseball team opens its 2012 schedule February 17-19 with a three-game series against Toledo at Nick Denes Field. With preseason practice underway at the end of January, WKUSports.com is set to provide an in-depth look at the baseball program as it prepares for the season.
The Hilltoppers are coming off a 2011 season that saw them finish 33-24 overall and fourth in the Sun Belt Conference. With a total of 11 new faces and a strong core of returners, this season's team will need to combine the talents to bring the Sun Belt crown back to Bowling Green.
The baseball team enters the 2012 season under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Myers. Myers is in his fifth year overall with WKU after serving as an assistant coach the last four seasons.
Today is the fourth of a six-part preview on WKUSports.com, featuring a position-by-position breakdown of the 2012 Hilltoppers. Today, we look at the starting pitching.
January 30- Outfield
February 1- Infield
February 6- Starting Pitchers
February 8- Relief Pitchers
February 13- Catcher
February 15- Designated Hitter
Who's Back?
If there was any position on the field or part of the overall equation that head coach Matt Myers showed any concern about going into the 2012 season, that area of concern might surround his bullpen. In past years as the pitching coach, Myers would have anywhere from 15-16 arms fighting for 12 pitching spots. This season, he finds himself with 12 arms and 12 spots. This doesn't leave a lot of room for injuries and puts the Hilltoppers a little light in the depth department.
Myers, however, feels confident knowing that he has veterans Tanner Perkins and Justin Hageman at the front end of his rotation and each can give the Hilltoppers 6-7 innings on a regular basis. The two returns that will be the biggest keys to Myers bullpen are redshirt senior Ross Hammonds and junior Taylor Haydel.
Hammonds was a key back of the bullpen guy for WKU in 2011, recording four saves and appearing a second-best 26 times in relief. Hammonds finished the year with a 3.12 ERA with 49 strikeouts and only nine walks. Opponents hit .265 against the right-hander. This season, Myers would love for Hammonds to be his "go-to guy in the moment" in the seventh or eighth innings but could also see a scenario where he enters the game in the sixth or seventh innings and finishes the game.
Myers feels good about having someone with Hammond's experience in both a setup and closer role as a weapon in his bullpen.
"I think he is poised for another really strong year," Myers said.
Haydel is another familiar face that fans will see out of the bullpen this season. After spending much of the last two seasons as a starter for WKU, Haydel has transitioned to a relief pitcher for Myers. Coming off a season where he finished with a 5-3 record and a 7.21 ERA, Haydel is looking to solidify his role. Myers said he thinks Haydel is "going to fit (his new role) very good."
The rest of the challenge for Myers will be determining how other returns such as Austin Clay, Andrew Zimmerman and GJ Strauss will work into the mix and help the Hilltoppers bridge the gap from starters like Perkins and Hageman to guys like Hammonds and Haydel.
Who's New?
Hilltoppers fans will be greeted with new faces in the bullpen this season. Redshirt freshman Tate Glasscock along with junior Colton Satterlee and Brennan Pearson will see time on the mound in relief.
Glasscock took a redshirt last season and will make his Hilltopper debut this season.
Satterlee is a junior-college transfer from Muskegon Community College in Michigan. The Lakeview, Mich., native finished the 2011 season with a 1.52 ERA and 20 saves in 29.2 innings pitched. The 20 saves is a Division II national junior college record for saves in a season.
Pearson was a three-year letterwinner and starter at Fleming County High School in Flemingsburg, Ky., who earned all-district and all-region honors. As a junior, he finished the season with an 8-3 record, 1.35 ERA, 82 strikeouts and only 34 walks in 77 innings. Pearson finished his career with a 16-7 record and a 1.98 ERA.
