The University of Akron Athletics
Zips' Baseball Newsletter
February 19 | Baseball
Dear Zips' Alumni and Fans,
Our first weekly newsletter follows our opening weekend at Georgia Tech. We were very anxious to get outside and finally play. Going into the weekend, the coaching staff as a group was unsure of what to expect with the task of facing Georgia Tech and minimal outside practice. Despite two outdoor practice days in 35-degree weather, the coaching staff knew the opening series would be especially difficult on the hitters due to them only being able to hit in the cages.
The inability to practice outside and in front of live pitching initially showed in Friday's opener when the squad faced Preseason All-American Buck Farmer. Hitters had difficulty recognizing various pitches from the Tech pitching staff. We will begin to focus our daily attention more towards pitch recognition and seeing the ball better with less focus on hitting mechanics.
We gave away some easy runs because of poorly played sun/wind fly balls and four poorly executed PFPs from our pitchers. However, the infield had a perfect weekend without committing a single error. Defense will always be a focus, and is something we look to build on each week.
A few bright spots shined through this weekend. Jon Pusateri made an impressive start in Friday's opener after coming off Tommy John surgery last season. We were not sure how Pusateri would react to his first start since the early 2012 injury, but he held a strong Georgia Tech offense in check through 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and one earned run allowed. His control and ability to pitch inside kept the Tech hitters in check.
We were encouraged with the performance of the entire pitching staff this past weekend. The freshmen and newcomers played a large role within the pitching staff this weekend. Freshman John Valek relieved Pusateri on Friday, and kept the game close through his 3.2 innings of work. Fellow freshman JT Brubaker started his first collegiate game on Sunday, while Michael Steensen and Zach Beaver had their first appearances out of the bullpen.
Senior Sam Trecaso tossed a scoreless inning of work this past weekend. Trecaso is a converted reliever for this season after spending much of his career at Akron as a position player. Two-way player Matt LaRocca also came in from the bullpen to contribute one scoreless inning of work. Overall, we were very impressed with the way our pitching staff attacked the strike zone and the inside of the plate. The increased depth with the pitching staff was something the team lacked last season, and the way each pitcher performed is encouraging.
I would like to give a shout out to B.J. Christman (Letterwinner from 1997-98) and his children Caden and Cole, who came out to watch on Friday and Saturday. Caden, 7, had the opportunity to present the lineup card prior to the game. He had the chance to meet former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who was on hand to throw out the first pitch. Caden's opportunity to meet Teixeira allowed him to ask, "Do you like playing first base?"
I would also like to give a mention to Rob Sakey (Letterwinner from 1990-93) and his players that came out and supported the Zips this past weekend. Rob noted that his players truly loved the experience, and complimented us on the players' professionalism.
Facing a top-25 ranked Georgia Tech team was a difficult task to begin the season, but if not for a couple miscues the series could have ended differently. We will continue to build off the strong outings by our pitching staff, as we travel to Louisville, Ky., to take on a top-10 ranked University of Louisville team in a three game series. We will update everyone on the events from this coming weekend in the next newsletter.
P.S. Be sure to mark down July 22 on your calendar, as we have confirmed our Annual Golf Outing. The outing will be taking place at Medina Country Club. More information will be announced and mailed at a later date. Alexa Doutt, in our Development office, will be your contact: asd9@uakron.edu/330-972-2695.
