School: Heidelberg University
Location: Tiffin, Ohio
Head Coach: Matt Palm
2009 Record: 37-9, 15-3 OAC
Returning Starters: 3B Willie Brechun, C Steve Decker, 2B Gar Keen, SS Jason Lash, IF Ricky Lizcano, SP Brian Koehl, P Andy Lowe, P Everett Thomas, P Elvin Williams, P Sylvester Nino
For the Heidelberg Student Princes the 2010 baseball season can’t get here fast enough. Ranked as high as 10th in preseason polls and coming off yet another trip to the Mideast Regional in 2009, Head Coach Matt Palm eyes a fourth straight OAC regular season title thanks to a talented group of returning starters. With All-Americans Gar Keen and Andy Lowe leading the way the Berg will be looking to raise the bar in 2010.
When you reach the level that Heidelberg has it becomes difficult to find chinks in the armor. I’ve spent hours pouring over the 2010 squad trying to avoid this preview coming off as a Heidelberg commercial. Unfortunately for me, Matt Palm continues to make it difficult to do anything but heap praise on his program.
The first thing I tried to hone in on was the fact that David Paddock was gone. The former Berg ace and four-time All-OAC selection led the 2009 team in wins (9), innings (75.1) and games started (12). The loss of not just your ace, but your ace for the last three years should be a huge blow. For almost any other team it would be. But Heidelberg isn’t just any other team.
Stepping into the spotlight will be an experienced and successful group that includes Brian Koehl, Elvin Williams, Sylvester Nino and Everett Thomas. We highlighted Koehl and Williams as two of our ten pitchers to watch this season based in no small part on their past success. Koehl quietly had a very good junior season in 2009 (7-2, 3.38 ERA). His solid performance in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) was also a strong indicator. Meanwhile Williams showed he possesses the stuff to be dominant (1.83 ERA, .204 opponents BA). Combine that with his penchant for coming through in big games and it’s easy to be confident in his future.
As we mentioned in the BW preview, once the OAC season is rolling every team will be going four starters deep due to the schedule. Beyond that, Heidelberg is a team with Mideast regional title potential and pitching depth is crucial at regionals. This means that Nino, Thomas and, in all likelihood, someone else such as Nathan James will need to emerge as viable options.
Nino posted a very solid 3-1 record with a 4.50 ERA in 12 appearances (5 starts) last season. To put that in perspective, if Nino duplicated his 4.50 ERA as a full-time starter he would land somewhere near the top 10 in the conference in that category (it would have been 11th in 2009).
Thomas also went 3-1 in 2009, but it’s his 2008 campaign that is most intriguing. In 2008 Thomas notched a team leading eight wins (8-1) and was tabbed All-Region. Like Williams, Thomas came through in big games highlighted by his two hit shutout of Wooster in the Mideast regional. Thomas has shown he can win and win when it counts most. If he can recapture that dominant form he will give the Berg yet another All-OAC caliber pitcher.
One spot that is sewn up pretty nicely is the role of closer. Junior Andy Lowe has been flat out dominant and there is no indication that the All-American will be anything less in 2010. Already the program’s career save leader, the righty has been nearly unhittable in college. Lowe’s 1.34 ERA and .191 opponents BA both ranked second in the conference in 2009. In addition, he was just as untouchable in the GLSCL last summer. As a whole his stats read like a video game so saying that Coach Palm has a good option at the back of the pen is an understatement. Coach Palm may have the best option in the nation in his bullpen.
Offensively the Student Princes will be paced by one of the best middle infield combinations in the country. Juniors Gar Keen and Jason Lash have been staples on the All-OAC and All-Region first teams. They’ve been focal points of the Berg lineup in the past, but there are holes to fill at the top of the order. The loss of exceptional leadoff man Jeremy Wentworth is huge. Throw in the need to replace Matt Grassley in the two hole and Biagio Boytim in the cleanup spot and the junior tandem will be relied on even more in 2010. Luckily this is nothing new. Keen led the 2009 team in home runs (8) and RBI (61). Lash finished second in both categories (6, 47) so the lineup will once again be built around its established run producers in 2010. Keen and Lash don’t just drive in runs, they can flat out hit. Both enter the season with career batting averages north on .350 (Keen .353; Lash .380).
While the lineup will be built around the outstanding middle infielders, the other returning starters are far from light hitting. Ricky Lizcano (.344), Steve Decker (.338) and Willie Brechun (.320) are all proven bats at the DIII level coming into the season. A key to just how far into May Heidelberg’s season goes may well be who develops into the top of the order reinforcements the Berg needs. Decker, a two-time All-OAC selection behind the plate, is the lone senior in the trio. There’s no reason to believe some new faces may not emerge to fill the void. If Matt Palm has showed us anything over the last decade it’s that he will get talent to Tiffin and that talent will play, regardless of youth.
There’s no denying that this is a great time to be a Heidelberg baseball fan. Every weekend they have the chance to watch a great double play combo, one of the best closers in the nation and some of the best young players the OAC has to offer. And they have the satisfaction of knowing that as long as Matt Palm is around the ride will most likely continue. But the Berg is undoubtedly more focused than ever. Their quest for that coveted Mideast regional title is firmly in the crosshairs. With their combination of exceptional returning talent and promising newcomers, Heidelberg is the favorite to repeat as OAC champions in 2010.
Filed under: Division III
Chad, Needless to say, I agree with your assessment of the talent at the Berg. From what the scuttlebutt is, the replacements for last years senors will be more than adequate to keep the Berg in the thick of the race to the regionals. The final picks haven’t been made yet, but as soon as I get something tangible, I’ll post it. Some of the backup players from last year have had a good “Fall Ball” showing and are ready to contribute as full time members.