BASEBALL TAB -- EW's Fulghum notices a fire in the Warriors' belly

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on March 13, 2015 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

The players on the Eastern Wayne varsity baseball team saunter down a hallway in one of the portable classrooms on campus.

Each player sits in an empty seat.

Practice is about to begin.

When the weather is bad like it is on this day, practice for the Warriors consists of mental training. They sit and listen for about an hour to an audio CD of former Mets minor leaguer and Blue Jays director of scouting Steve Springer talk about the mental side of hitting.

On the CD, Springer calls that statistic batting average 'Satan,' and tells the players to throw that stat out the window. Players can't control their batting average, they can only control hitting the ball hard.

He emphasizes the importance watching every pitch the pitcher is throwing from the dugout, so they will know the pitcher's habits when they come to bat.

His final point was to emphasize the importance of having quality at-bats and working pitch counts.

The focus on the mental approach to the game is something coach Jabo Fulghum has imparted on his players and it will certainly be a focus of the team this season. The Warriors will chart quality at-bats from players and will intermittently reward players for having the most quality appearances at the plate.

One player expected to lead that charge is junior infielder Zack Smith. Smith returns after a season in which he hit .205 for the Warriors, but then busted out over the summer as one of the hottest hitters for the Wayne County Post 11 Senior American Legion team.

The Warriors hope to bounce back from a 10-14 campaign in which they struggled in Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play. They are a group that comes into the season with plenty of experience, but still a few questions. They'll have to replace Ryan Faucette, who was the team's No. 3 hitter in the lineup, best pitcher and starting shortstop.

That replacement will be by committee.

Fulghum likes what his team offers at the plate. Players like Smith, sophomore Tanner Wells, Coy Barnett and Andrew McKeel are expected to be the core run producers.

"We've got a lot of guys back from last year," Fulghum said. "We've got a good nucleus. Guys love to play, they are a tight-knit group. If they work hard we could be really good."

Eastern Wayne is solid around the horn with good defensive players -- particularly shortstop Lee Daniels, who Fulghum thinks is poised for a breakout season.

"He's gotten a lot stronger in the offseason," Fulghum said. "His bat is quicker, he had a good fall. He's a very heads-up player. But he's stronger, that's his biggest thing."

Fulghum's biggest question is the bullpen. The Warriors have to replace more than 110 innings pitched from players who graduated last season. He feels he has some pretty good depth on the mound with left-handers Wells and Barnett, and right-hander Smith expected to eat up most of those innings.

However, with the weather, the Warriors haven't been able to get their pitchers the bullpen work they need. With it being so cold coming into the year, there has been limited time to get their arms heated up.

"The biggest thing that concerns me is the arms," Fulghum said. "I think pitchers and catchers are OK but position players, when you don't get out there and get loose it takes a good four weeks bare minimum to get those arms in shape."

Another obstacle for the Warriors will be getting new addition KK Best up to speed quickly, as well as McKeel.

Best is a newcomer to the team and expected to be a dynamic weapon with his speed. He was on the basketball team, though, so he is just now getting into baseball shape. Meanwhile, McKeel missed some time do to an allergic breakout that took doctors some time to figure out what was wrong.

"He's had a little esophagus problem where he's allergic to something," Fulghum said of McKeel. "He's on the rebound. But I'm looking for him to have a good year at the plate. I think we will have a little offensive pop."

McKeel had just 36 at-bats last season for the Warriors, but was still one of their most productive hitters, along with Barnett.

"We have got some guys that have been beat for a little bit now," Fulghum said of his teams that have struggled in recent years. "I think they are hungry and ready to turn it around a little bit."