2017 Saluki Baseball Season Preview

02/03/2017 | 2:09:00 | Baseball

The Southern Illinois baseball program had the biggest turnaround in NCAA baseball from 2015 to 2016 and returns its entire core for the much-anticipated 2017 season. SIU was picked second in the MVC preseason poll, the highest for the program since 2006.

"We have been focused on this year for some time," head coach Ken Henderson said. "The talent is here; and if we get some things to fall into place, this could be a special year."

The Salukis have six players who were named All-MVC in 2016 returning for the 2017 season and three that are on the preseason All-MVC team this year.

PITCHERS

The Salukis had a 3.64 ERA in 2016, the second-best mark in the MVC and the second-best mark for the program in the last decade. All three weekend starters and closer Ryan Netemeyer return for 2017. Michael Baird and Chad Whitmer are the only two pitchers in the league that are preseason All-MVC starting pitchers after both were named All-MVC last season.

"Any success we have will start on the mound," Henderson said. "We have three proven starters and a quality closer. We need to find a fourth starter and make a jump in the bullpen, but we certainly have plenty of capable options for those roles."

Baird posted a 1.76 ERA in 2016, the best mark in the Valley and the best mark of any returning starter in the nation in 2017. He was a first-team All-MVC pick in 2016 and is a preseason All-MVC pick in 2017. He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Illinois last year and settled for the program's first 1-hitter since 2008. He contributed to three shutouts. He has been named preseason MVC Pitcher of the Year by both Baseball America and D1Baseball.

Chad Whitmer has made 19 consecutive weekend starts since late in the 2015 season. After starting all 15 weekends last year, Whitmer was a second-team All-MVC pick after the season and is a preseason All-MVC pick this year. Fellow senior Joey Marciano threw in all three weekend slots last year. Baird, Marciano and Whitmer made all 45 weekend starts for SIU last year.

Closer Ryan Netemeyer had a 1.95 ERA in 2016 with 12 saves, the second-most in single-season school history. At one point last season, Netemeyer went 17 innings without allowing an earned run and carried a sub-1.00 ERA into the MVC Tournament.

Southern has to replace mid-week starter Bryce Sablotny after he went 3-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 2016. Sophomore Mitch Townsend allowed four runs in his first career outing last year, but he was dominant after that, posting a 1.00 ERA over his final seven appearances. Newcomers Allen Montgomery (JR, Southeastern College) and Brad Harrison (FR, O'Fallon High School) will also compete for a starting spot.

Out of the bullpen, fifth-year senior Jacob Williams is the most experienced arm with 59 career relief appearances heading into the 2017 season. Fellow fifth-year senior Anthony Shimkus has 47 career appearances and went 4-0 last year in 18 games out of the pen. Austin McPheron had 39 career appearances and had quality long-relief efforts last year vs. Belmont, Dallas Baptist, Arkansas State and Memphis.

Gavyn Ellet, Nick Newman and lefty Jamison Steege are all former junior college pitchers in the SIU bullpen this year. Hunter Hart, a transfer from Arkansas, will sit out the 2017 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

True freshmen Henry Boeckmann, Reese Dolan, Alex Gutermuth and Justin Yeager round out the pitching staff and will look to make immediate impacts in 2017 out of the bullpen.

CATCHERS

Nick Hutchins will be both an offensive and defensive leader for the Salukis in 2017. He started 35 games last year and ended strong, hitting in seven of his last nine games of the season. He carried that into summer, where he earned the Big Stick Award for having the best batting average of any catcher in the 20-team Northwoods League. He was a NWL All-Star and played in the Major League Dreams Showcase, which featured the best MLB prospects in the Northwoods League.

True freshman Mitch Fairfield will get time behind the plate along with Hutchins. Fairfield is a Normal, Ill., native who was a Illinois Coaches Association and Pantagraph Area All-Star last year.

"In Nick, we have one of the more solid defensive catchers in the league," Henderson said. "He has made a big jump offensively since last spring and should have a big year for us. We are really excited about Mitch. He is a young version of Nick with all of the physical tools needed to be very good at this level."

INFIELDERS

Logan Blackfan (1B), Connor Kopach (2B) and Will Farmer (SS) are back after starting all 57 games last year, and Ryan Sabo (3B) started 38 games a year ago. Blackfan (.296) and Kopach (.287) were second and third on the team in hitting last year, respectively, and both earned All-MVC honors after the season.

"The infield is certainly a strength of the club," Henderson said. "This is a veteran group. Will Farmer and Connor Kopach are two outstanding middle infielders, and Logan is back after an All-Conference season last year."

Blackfan is SIU's third preseason All-MVC selection after leading the league in doubles last year with 23, which ranks second in SIU history. Blackfan, who is only a junior, will almost certainly break SIU's career doubles record in 2017. He has 42 career doubles, just nine away from the career mark of 51 set by Chris Serritella (2009-12) and Tim Kratochvil (1993-96).

Kopach is coming off a big summer for the Kalamazoo Growlers of the Northwoods League. Kopach stole 50 bases in Summer 2016, the most of any player in the 23-year history of the Northwoods League. He was a NWL All-Star and played in the NWL Major League Dreams Showcase, which is picked by MLB scouts.

Farmer was the backbone of an SIU defense that set a program record for fielding percentage in 2016. He played every pitch of the season at shortstop and went on to a great summer with the DuPage Drones, hitting .299 in 194 at-bats. Sabo is back for his senior season with 92 career starts already under his belt. He led the team in hitting during MVC play in 2016, going 16-for-38 (.471) against conference competition.

Junior Hunter Anderson can play first base and got hot down the stretch last year, going 5-for-10 with two home runs and four RBIs in the MVC Tournament. Drew Curtis can play both corner infield spots and is at full strength for SIU after sitting out 2015 due to NCAA transfer rules and being limited by lingering injuries last season.

Freshmen Chuck Fleming and Ranko Stevanovic provide depth to the SIU infield. Fleming was ranked a top-20 middle infielder in Illinois by Perfect Game, and Stevanovic was All-Area and All-State last year for Niles Notre Dame in Chicago.

OUTFIELDERS

The Salukis are essentially returning four starters in the outfield with Greg Lambert (57 starts), Jake Hand (41 starts), Dyllin Mucha (40 starts) and Ryan Smith (25 starts) all returning after being big contributors in 2016.

"This is the part of the club that provides the most depth," Henderson said. "We have some left-handed and right-handed possibilities, and several guys can really go get the ball."

Lambert started all 57 games in 2016 and led the team in hitting with a .312 average in 231 at-bats. He led the team in hits, was second in doubles (16) and third in RBIs (30). During the summer, he hit .330 at first base for the Willmar Singers, earning the Big Stick Award for the best average among first basemen in the Northwoods League. He also led the league with 66 RBIs, setting a Willmar record in the category.

Mucha started 40 games last year for SIU and was the team's fourth-leading hitter. He also was tied for the team lead in stolen bases and did not commit an error. Smith started 25 games for SIU last year and is coming off a great summer, where he led the West Coast League in on-base percentage while hitting .320. Hand is back after starting 41 games last year. Hand was fourth on the team with nine doubles.

True freshman Addison Fugitt will make an immediate impact in the lineup and on the field. He is one of the fastest players on the team and has proven he can hit quality right-handed pitching. Brad Harrison has the ability to play outfield along with pitcher and DH. Freshman Jared Kengott adds a strong right-handed bat.

SCHEDULE

SIU has a 56-game regular season schedule lined up for 2017, starting February 17 in DeLand, Fla., vs. Stetson. The Salukis will face three teams that played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including a home stand against Dallas Baptist.

"We are excited about this schedule," Henderson said. "The non-conference portion, especially playing four of the first five weekends on the road, will be challenging but should be good preparation for the always tough MVC slate. We will find out a lot about ourselves opening weekend when we face a good Stetson program."

Southern hosts 27 games at Itchy Jones Stadium. After spending four of the first five weekends on the road, SIU comes home for six of the next eight weekends, including critical back-to-back series against the other two preseason MVC favorites--Dallas Baptist (April 28-30) and Missouri State (May 5-7).

Thirteen of the home games will be broadcast nationally through ESPN3, including MVC series against Evansville and Dallas Baptist. The 2017 MVC Tournament is May 23-27 in Springfield, Mo.

COACHES

The Saluki Baseball coaching staff is back together for a seventh-straight season. Head coach Ken Henderson engineered the fifth-best turnaround in the NCAA over the last 20 years. SIU has had a sub-4.00 program-wide ERA three times in the last 27 years; pitching coach P.J. Finigan pitched for one of those teams (2005) and coached the other two (2014, 2016). Hitting coach Ryan Strain has already coached 10 Salukis to All-MVC honors and mentored fourth-round MLB Draft pick Chris Serritella. Seth LaRue is in his first season as volunteer assistant after helping lead Campbell to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.