UMO BASEBALL PREVIEW -- Pitching staff takes offseason hit

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 28, 2016 1:46 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Imagine grabbing a box of puzzle pieces, shaking them up, scattering them on the floor and wondering -- where do you begin?

Ask Carl Lancaster that question.

Two months ago, the University of Mount Olive head baseball coach Carl Lancaster pretty much had the puzzle solved. But an offseason free agency signing, an injury to a key returning pitcher, the loss of a Major League Draft pick and other factors leaves him scrambling to find some missing pieces.

Just two starters return -- Joe Koehler and Zak Orrison. Both have earned spots on the 2016 preseason all-Southeast Region team selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

If the Trojans lose southpaw Kodi Whitley, who threw 97 innings last season, just 45 innings of pitching experience returns to the bullpen. Whitley threw limited innings during the summer, went through rehabilitation and an MRI came back negative.

But the injury -- possibly tendinitis -- surfaced again.

"We'll just wait and see," said Lancaster, who had another hurler -- a transfer who threw between 95 and 99 miles per hour on the radar gun -- enter the free agency market before he reported to UMO.

"We've got our fingers crossed on Whitley, but we know it's going to be at least a month before he's on the mound at the very least. I'll be surprised to see him any at all."

Austin Hutchinson, a right-handed transfer from Chattanooga State (Tenn.) Community College, showed some promise during fall ball. Lancaster also spoke highly of Towson University transfer Bruce Zimmerman, a 6-foot-2 left-hander.

Those two, along with Whitley and the "un-named transfer," would have given UMO four potential draft picks in its rotation. Now those two untested arms, along with a depleted bullpen, have the daunting task of throwing either weekend conference series or mid-week games against some of the Southeast Region's top programs -- Wingate, 2015 Division II College World Series runner-up Catawba, Lander, Franklin Pierce and Francis Marion.

"We've got the best schedule we've ever had ... a crazy hard schedule," Lancaster said. "I am afraid our pitching is not going to match up with our style of play. We can't play 'gorilla ball' with these teams. We're going to have to pull together, scrap and claw, and hope that some of these newcomers will come along on the mound.

"I'm really concerned there."

The Trojans launch their 2016 campaign with a two-game series at Peach Belt member Lander (S.C.) University on Friday and Saturday. UMO has won 11 consecutive season openers and is 58-63 against the PBC since 1994.

Here are some things to watch about Mount Olive this season:

TWO GENERALS

* Orrison and Koehler, without a doubt, must have huge senior campaigns for the Trojans. Lancaster no longer considers the duo as 'role players,' but guys who must show leadership in the dugout and when they step between the lines.

Koehler hid behind Joe Morozowski and Rob Shipman in the lineup last season, and turned in a solid .375 batting average. Lancaster said Koehler is going to move across the diamond from first to the third base, and plans to keep Orrison in the lineup.

Orrison swiped 33 bags.

KEY INFIELDERS

* Charlotte University transfer Brett Lang, now a senior, had a cyst removed from his knee during the offseason. The 6-3, 215-pounder will see plenty of time behind the dish. Lancaster said Lang will have to "do some damage" in the middle order of the lineup.

Virginia Tech transfer Ricky Surum will handle the shortstop duties. He could play alongside either Orrison or JUCO transfer Alvin Swoop in the middle infield. Lancaster describes Surum as a 'kid you want to coach and have in your program (and) is top-shelf, no question.'

JUCO transfer David Mayo, a dirt bagger, could see some infield play as well.

CHASE THEM DOWN

* Outfield play has always been a strength for UMO.

Orrison has displayed some speed and Lancaster is eager to see what redshirt freshman Nate Estes can do along with South Lenoir graduate Grant Tyndall. Tyndall has made a solid impression on the coaching staff.

Julian Santos, a transfer from Bethune Cookman, is the first-ever Trojan baseball player to enter the school's MBA program. He tore his ACL during his freshman season at Miami (Fla.), enrolled in a junior college and then joined the program at BC. In his third at-bat of the season, Santos severed his Achilles' tendon as he rounded first base and missed the entire year.

"He's a guy we've got to put in there day one and hope he gets better as he goes," Lancaster said.

LOCAL FLAVOR

* North Duplin alum and left-hander Trey Pate may be called into duty earlier than expected if Whitley is shelved for the season. Lancaster is aware that Pate will "take his lumps" in pressure situations where getting a big out is crucial.

An all-area performer, Eastern Wayne grad Coy Barnett enters the program as a utility player. His older brother, Hunter, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays last spring.

THEY'RE NO. 1

* The Trojans received seven first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll released Wednesday.

UMO has won three consecutive Conference Carolinas regular-season championships and 13 overall since it moved to the Division II ranks in 1995. Lancaster has taken his last six teams to the regional, but hasn't made it to Cary -- home of the D2 CWS -- since 2011.

"Overall, we've got an interesting ballclub," Lancaster said. "We're going to play hard. If we don't, we're in big trouble. Games are going to be hard to win. If our pitchers just throw strikes, keep it down (in the zone), give us a chance, we're going to make some people play.

"It's going to be the biggest challenge we've ever had."