Article

Changing Their Ways
After losing a bulk of its home runs to graduation and the MLB draft, MSU baseball relies on experience and defense to claim 20th conference title.

by Garret Felder
March 09, 2006

The true mark of a strong athletic program is based off its coaches' ability to change the team's style of play from one year to the next and still be successful.

With MSU baseball losing 50 of its school-record 82 home runs to graduation and the major league draft, head coach Dean Bowyer will change offensive style and rely on experience, strong defense and "small ball" offense to battle the North Central Conference and possibly hang his 20th conference title plaque on his office wall.

“We need to be a little more consistent this year,” Bowyer said. “We lost a lot of our home runs this year and we'll play a little bit of small ball. The good thing is everyone has a year under their belt and with our pitching and defense we should be able to scratch out a few runs to win."

Though the Mavericks lost a few of their long-ball contributors, the squad still boasts seven returning positions players from last year's explosive lineup.

“We have a lot of veterans returning. We almost have the whole starting nine back," said senior tri-captain Ryan Greene. "But we need to start winning right away and then we could even break the school record for wins."

Last year, the Mavericks won 36 games despite getting off to a slow start. That slow start may have been the reason the squad came up short of a conference title and missed NCAA Division II regionals thanks to its rival, Nebraska-Omaha.

"Last year we had 36 wins, but Omaha stuck it to us during the postseason," said junior tri-captain Adam Sudbeck. "Our overall experience will be a strength for us because we have a lot of juniors and seniors and our sticks will be a lot better this year because of the experience, too."

But after the majority of the lineup played for the Mankato Twins team that won the Minnesota Class B amateur championship this summer, the Mavericks' offensive firepower could be a surprise sprung on all NCC opponents.

"I think our lineup is a lot better than what people say," said senior tri-captain Matt McMurtry. "We thought we should have won conference last year, but I think this year we can go all the way and win the NCC."

MSU’s pitching, however, continues to be its trademark. All six of the team’s starting pitchers — who were praised by major league scouts as some of the best arms in the Midwest during MSU's Sept. 20 Scout Day — return to the staff. With five strong starters surrounding him, McMurtry knows how easy it is to pitch well around a group of flamethrowers like juniors Dane Secott, Mark Dolenc, Ben King, Jon Bjelland, and newcomer Tyler Sander.

"It gives you a ton of confidence because you don't feel like you have to strike everyone out," McMurtry said.

With junior Jon Huber and sophomore Nick Fellman taking care of the closing duties and a handful of live arms in the bullpen, the Mavericks pitching will be the squad’s foundation to build around.

"It's tough for anyone to say they have a pitching staff like we do," Bowyer said.

As for leadership, a captain crew of three proven players will lead the Mavericks. McMurtry, the first in command with his second season as captain, is a two-time All-NCC First Team selection and First Team All-Region pick that understands the responsibility of being a leader.

"The guys respect you and they take to heart what I have to say," McMurtry said. "It's nice to know that they will listen to me."

While Greene steps into the leadership role after one season with the Mavericks following his transfer from NDSU, he feels it's his responsibility to lead by putting the team first.

"I'm a big team player and I want to help the guys out and make it easy for the rookies to make the transition to college baseball," Greene said. "I just want to make sure everyone is a team player."

The Mavericks’ third captain, Sudbeck, is honored with being named a captain by his teammates and understands the respect that comes with the privilege.

"I've always strived to work hard and be a leader in everyone's eyes," Sudbeck said. "It's just an honor to have the respect of your team."

Sudbeck and Greene will also support the team by starting in different positions, as Sudbeck moves to the outfield and Greene to third base to make way for juniors Scott Kemp and Nick Gonzalez at shortstop and second base this season.

With freshmen Travis Taran, Ben Smith and UNC-Charlotte transfer, sophomore Dan Woodall as newcomers to the Maverick offensive mix, Bowyer sees a hardworking team with a lot of experience and the ability to play together.

"They (the team) know the game, they want to get better and they have fun together," Bowyer said. "With them refining their game, every time we play we have a chance to win."

The Mavericks started their season by posting a 2-3 record in a series against West Georgia this past weekend. The team plays a double-header against Concordia-St. Paul today in the Metrodome. The games are scheduled to start at 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.