After finishing the 2007-08 season with a 29-26 record, including 15-8 in the America East, the Binghamton University baseball team enters this season with a new look, including six new pitchers in the rotation and an infield that has only one returning starter.
The Bearcats are ranked first in the AE preseason poll.
But being the America East regular season champions for the past two years is not enough for this team, Binghamton head coach Tim Sinicki said.
“I think it is a real testament with the kids we have in our program,” said Sinicki. “They work hard, they push each other and they have not settled to the point that they were happy with getting there just one year and playing for a championship two years ago.”
Sinicki said the spring practice has been off to a great start and the team should be in a position to make a run at a third AE regular season title.
INFIELD
The infield this season includes senior Kyle Klee, the only returning starter from the 2008 season. But Klee will make a position change from shortstop to third base.
“When you can start with a young man like Klee, who has been a starter for four years and has played a lot of innings and had a lot of at-bats for us, it is a great place to start,” Sinicki said.
Klee, the Rochester native, had a .303 batting average with 41 RBIs last season. Hitting in the cleanup spot, Klee had 63 hits, 14 doubles and three triples.
He moves to third this season because sophomore Brian Ivan, who was the Bearcats’ third baseman last year, is out for the season. Klee played third base for the Bearcats during his sophomore year before taking over as shortstop last year.
“The coaches have been working me really hard over there; tons of ground balls,” Klee said. “I feel a lot more comfortable [at third] than I ever have before.”
Klee makes room at short for junior Jeff Abrams.
“[Abrams is] a very good defensive player and an increasing offensive player every single day,” Sinicki said.
Abrams, who started 20 games last season at third base, had 13 hits, seven runs scored, seven walks and two RBIs.
Joining Abrams up the middle at second base is junior Jim Calderone.
Calderone comes from Oakton Community College, where he batted .391 and was both All-Conference and All-Region. During his freshman year, Calderone played at the University of St. Francis, an NAIA school, where he had a .324 batting average.
Rounding out the infield at first base is sophomore Pete Bregartner of East Islip.
Bregartner, who was AE Rookie of the Year last year, makes a position change from starting right fielder. Last year he led the team in a .319 batting average, 65 hits, a .403 on-base percentage and 13 sacrifices. He also drove in 29 runs and had five home runs. He had a team-high 14-game hit streak.
OUTFIELD
Despite Bregartner leaving the outfield, Sinicki said the team won’t miss a step.
“The outfield probably is a strength as we talk about our position players,” Sinicki said. “We’ve had a little bit of movement in our outfield.”
Binghamton returns two starters in sophomore Corey Taylor and junior Joe Charron.
Taylor batted .275 with 25 RBIs and 44 hits last season. In conference play, he had batted .418 in 20 games, including 19 RBIs.
Charron ended the 2008 season with a .300 batting average, leading the team with 43 RBIs, eight home runs and 18 doubles. Charron made one appearance on the mound for the Bearcats in a home game against Le Moyne, where he pitched one inning. The Bearcats lost that game, 18-2.
The Bearcats welcome back sophomore Henry Dunn, who red-shirted last season to focus on his academics. Dunn was a freshman All-American during the 2006-07 season.
“We feel very good out there with not only what he have in our starting guys, but from a depth standpoint as well and we feel like we don’t miss a beat,” Sinicki said.
PITCHERS
The rotation for Binghamton includes two of the top three starters from last season. The Bearcats will look to their six new pitchers to fill the void left by aces Zach Groh and Gio Yannuzzi.
Moving into the No. 1 position will be senior Jeff Dennis, while the No. 2 spot will be filled by junior Murphy Smith. Senior Greg Lane returns as the team’s closer.
“I think we have the best one-two-closer combination in the AE conference,” Sinicki said.
Dennis, the 6-foot-6-inch LHP, returns to Binghamton after opting out of playing for the Oakland A’s. He was drafted last June in the 40th round of the amateur draft, but decided to return to Bearcat nation for his senior year.
As the No. 2 starter last season, Dennis made 14 starts, including six complete games, going 4-5 with a 3.97 ERA. He struck out 62 batters in 81.2 innings.
In conference play, batters hit only .203 off Dennis. During the second game of the America East tournament last year, Dennis pitched a two-hitter against Stony Brook.
It wasn’t enough for the Bearcats. The Seawolves won that game, 1-0.
Reflecting on his stats last year versus the expectations this year, Dennis said he is not too worried about this year.
“Last year I was feeling a lot of pressure from a lot of different areas like the scouts,” Dennis said. “This year I feel a lot more clearer, a lot less pressure and it is my senior year, so it is do or die.”
Lane, a Binghamton High School graduate, was All-Conference last season as Binghamton’s closer.
Posting a 1.97 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched last season, Lane enters the game at the position he loves.
“Getting the ball at the end, the pressure situations, that’s kind of what I feed off of,” Lane said. “My teammates, they rely on me and have the confidence in me to give me the ball in the eighth inning to shut it down and get the victory for us.”
Sinicki said it’s an advantage to have a guy like Lane be the team’s closer.
“[Lane] knows what he is doing as he enters a game and how to prepare for the situation. He does a great job in the dugout, studying hitters, knowing who is coming up, where people are at in the lineups,” he said. “When you have a young man who can take the ball coming out of the bullpen who enjoys the spotlight that goes along with that position, I think is very important for someone in their success and intimately the success of the team.”
Of the six new pitchers to the rotation, five are pure freshman and one is a red-shirt freshman.
“I think their development could be very instrumental in determining our ultimate success at the end of the season,” Sinicki said.
The Bearcats are in Texas today, ready to begin their season when they face Dallas Baptist at 4 p.m. The three-game series wraps on Saturday with a double-header that begins at 1 p.m.
The team’s 53-game schedule continues as they travel throughout the month of March. The first home game for Binghamton won’t be until April 4, when they host AE opponent Hartford.