Baseball’s daunting opener

By Jeff Brodeur
brodeurj@mytjnow.com

The baseball team regroups in the dugout before taking on Georgia Tech next Friday. Photo by Sarah Auvil • auvils@mytjnow.comWhat better way to start off the new baseball season than having the tenth ranked team in the nation staring you in the face on opening day?

That will be the task at hand for the Winthrop baseball team as they take on Georgia Tech next Friday as part of the Rock Hill Coca Cola Classic.  Also taking the drive to Rock Hill for the Eagle’s opening tournament will be Kent State, who carry a respectable national ranking of 37 heading into the season. In 2011, the two teams combined to post a record of 87-38 (.696 win percentage) versus Winthrop’s 27-30 record (.474 win percentage).

Despite the daunting task, head coach Tom Riginos is excited to bring in the powerhouse programs to give his team, predicted to finish fourth in the conference, an early season test.

“These are going to be four really competitive games against good competition right off the bat, and it’s going to show us what we’re made of,” he said. “It’s always good to compete against some of the best teams in the country, and we were fortunate enough to get two good teams for a tournament here.”

The Eagles will have home field advantage throughout the opening tournament, something that proved to be invaluable for the team last season. The team posted a 19-14 record on their home turf last season, which accounted for more then 70 percent of their wins.

“At home, I think your guys are more relaxed and they’re in a routine. Whenever you’re on the road it’s a little more difficult, your routine is off a little bit, and I think when you just keep them in routine they feel a lot more comfortable.”

Winthrop will need to be at the top of their game next weekend, and while Riginos has yet to announce the starting pitchers, he suspects it will be either juniors Matt Pierpont or Eric Ruth. The two were the top performers on the mound last season, going 4-4 and 6-1 last season respectively. Regardless of who takes the mound, the pitching unit as a whole will be a huge factor in the outcome of the tournament.

“Any time you go into a series like that, your starting pitching is key,” said Riginos. “Matt and Eric are two big keys right there.”

Riginos also noted that the team will also have to score some runs as well, and a few offensive players to keep an eye on will be sophomore TJ Olesczuk, junior Matt Lobacz and senior Chas Crane.

“Those three guys have all experienced coming back, and they’ll be key to not only the first weekend, but the whole season,” he said.

While the opening weekend may prove to be a great measuring stick to how Winthrop stacks up against the best of the best, fans shouldn’t necessarily use it as an indicator to how the team will do the remainder of the year. Riginos stressed the fact that he never sets goals as to how many games they need to win in a given tournament. Instead, he’s looking to come away with things for his squad to improve upon as the season progresses.

“We just want to go out, play hard and play error-free baseball; play clean baseball and the Ws will take care of themselves.”

The opening game for the Winthrop Eagles will be against the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech on Feb. 17, followed by a game against Kent State on Feb. 18. The conclusion of the Rock Hill Coca Cola Classic will be on Feb. 19 with a double-header against the same two teams. All games will be played at the Winthrop Ballpark. Game times can be found at www.winthropeagles.com.