University of Tennessee Athletics
2004 Tennessee Baseball Outlook
January 07, 2004 | Baseball
Jan. 7, 2004
2004 SCHEDULE
INFIELD | OUTFIELD | PITCHERS | CATCHERS | SCHEDULE
The 2004 season should see the resurgence of the Tennessee baseball program. A veteran pitching staff, backed up by a promising corps of talented hitters, makes Volunteers a prime candidate to make a run at the conference crown and return to the College World Series.
Head coach Rod Delmonico enters his 15th season at the helm of the Volunteers, earning the distinction as the longest tenured coach in the league. The 2004 season could be a milestone campaign for Delmonico as he needs eight wins to move into sixth place on the SEC's all-time victories list and lacks 50 triumphs to reach 600 career wins.
The pitching staff, which returns all 31 victories from a year ago, averages 2.2 years of Division I experience among the 11 returning pitchers while bringing up three freshmen and one junior college hurler.
The 11 returning hitters, along with two four-year transfers, bring 17 years of Division I playing experience. Three junior college transfers and one freshman also join the club battling for playing time.
With seven position players returning with 30 or more starts, the Vols are not left with a lot of holes to fill. The biggest move during the offseason was Nick Crowe moving from first base to catcher. Josh Alley moves from left to center, while Michael Rivera stays in right and several others battle for the left field and designated hitter roles.
Shortstop Brian Cleveland anchors the infield with third baseman Kyle Norrid battling newcomer Chase Headley. Junior college transfers Chris Kemp and Eric King take over at first and second, respectively.
CATCHER
With the loss of Javi Herrera, a second-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2003, the Vols turn to junior Nick Crowe, who will be starting his fourth position in three years. Crowe is UT's leading returning hitter at .327.
After playing second base as a freshman and splitting time between third and first base in 2003, Crowe spent last summer working on his catching skills with the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska League.
Aiding Crowe will be two newcomers in freshman Martin Evans and sophomore transfer from the University of Memphis Kelly Edmundson.
Edmundson was a part-time catcher as a true freshman for the Tigers last year, batting .269, while Evans was an All-State backstop at Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, Ala.
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| Brian Cleveland - SS |
INFIELD
Tennessee's infield will get quite a shakeup as potentially only one returning starter will play the same position he had in 2003. With the loss of senior second baseman Walter Sevilla and Nick Crowe moving from first to catcher, as many as three new faces could dot the infield.
Senior Brian Cleveland returns to start for his second year at shortstop. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 49th round last year but opted to return for his senior season. A solid summer campaign in Alaska, along with gaining confidence in the fall should see a marked improvement in Cleveland's performance.
Junior college All-America Eric King takes over at second base for the departed Sevilla. King was a 25th-round draft pick of Pittsburgh in 2002 and comes off a successful All-America career at Los Medanos College where he was a two-time All-America. Lamar was a junior college All-America and conference player of the year for Cuesta College in 2003.
Sophomore Kyle Norrid, who was second on the squad with six home runs last year, faces a tough battle at third with Chase Headley, a sophomore transfer from the University of the Pacific. Norrid started at first before moving to third for the second half of last season and returns for his second with more power and patience at the plate. Headley had an outstanding season at the University of the Pacific, batting .330 with three home runs and 26 RBI, drawing a Big West Conference best 39 walks.
The power hitting left-hander, Chris Kemp, is likely to take over at first base, transferring from Spartanburg Methodist College. Kemp helped lead SMC to the 2003 NJCAA College World Series.
Sophomore middle infielder Eli Iorg, son of former Major Leaguer Garth Iorg, transfers from Samford where he was named to the 2002 Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman team. He used the 2003 season to embark on a Mormon mission to Argentina. Iorg has the ability to slide into any infield slot but might see more time in the outfield.
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| Michael Rivera - RF |
OUTFIELD
Tennessee's outfield gets shuffled a bit with the loss of first team All-Southeastern Conference center fielder Jordan Czarniecki, a two-year starter.
The Vols' outfield is fairly deep with sophomores Josh Alley and Michael Rivera returning to play center and right, respectively.
The versatile Rivera is a capable backup at any of the infield spots while also being looked to as one of the catalysts in the lineup.
Alley made great strides from the beginning of the season to the end in left field and has improved with the bat.
Junior Chad LeGate saw significant playing time in right when Rivera went down with a thumb injury and is one of seven Vols with at least 30 starts. After two years in the system, a hard-working LeGate is primed for a break out season.
Junior Alex Suarez, who was relegated to the designated hitter role last year, is looking to stay healthy and challenge for a starting role.
Also battling for playing time is sophomore Todd Martin, who saw very limited action last year, but returned with increased size and power that can make him a threat at the plate.
Two-way player Rob Fitzgerald looks to get more time with bat this season as well as bucking for more time on the mound.
David Lamar joined the Vols in January after a successful career at Cuesta College. He looks to challenge for a starting role in the spring.
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| Ben Riley -P |
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| Luke Hochevar - P |
| ? |
PITCHERS
For the first time ever, the Volunteers return 100 percent of their pitching victories from the previous season. It will be a veteran staff with only three first-year pitchers joining the 12 returning hurlers. Competition for the top three starting roles on the weekend will once again be fierce as the newcomers are wanting their shot at the action.
In addition to returning all three weekend starters in seniors Ben Riley, Derek Tharpe and Brandon Crowe, the Vols welcome back junior co-captain Patrick Hicklen who sat out the 2003 season rehabilitating from elbow surgery. In addition, senior Dusty Johnson, who went 6-1 pitching in midweek action, gives the Vols a solid No. 4 pitcher.
Riley and Tharpe were the one-two punch for the Vols last season, each throwing over 90 innings and combining for nine wins. Crowe, who took some time to fully recover from Tommy John surgery, managed to pick up four wins and should return to full strength.
After getting his first tour of the rigors of the SEC and is poised to have a breakout year is the hard-throwing sophomore Luke Hochevar. He bounced around between the starting rotation and the bullpen last year, fashioning a 6-5 mark with a team-high tying three saves. Hochevar pitched the second half of the summer in the prestigious Cape Cod League and dominated out of the pen.
The Vols also return two veteran pitchers in senior short reliever Beau Massey and junior middle reliever Joey Andrews. Massey, a sidewinder, earned two wins and a save last year, while Andrews has been effective in chewing up innings, earning three wins and three saves out of the pen.
Junior Rob Fitzgerald looks for more mound time after making three starts, while sophomores Jack Branston and Trey Bridges look to work themselves into more playing time.
Scot Drucker, who sat out 2003 after transferring from Florida, had an outstanding summer campaign and will be looked to in aiding the bullpen while also seeing an occasional start.
The prize of the new crop of pitchers is freshman Sean Watson who was a 21st round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants last June. The All-State selection figures to make an immediate impact in the starting rotation. Of the incoming freshmen, he was rated No. 36 overall nationally and the No. 14 right-hander by Baseball America.
Joining Watson are a junior college transfers Chris Howell and Mike Kerfeld along with freshman Craig Cobb. Howell is a gutty performer who competed at Pensacola Junior College in the ever-tough Florida Panhandle Conference. Kerfeld is a lanky left hander who starred in a relief role at Young Harris (Ga.) College. Cobb is a walk-on with impressive credentials following an All-State season for the 2003 Tennessee state champion Farragut Admirals.
SCHEDULE
Thirty-five home games with 27 contests against 2003 NCAA Tournament teams highlight Tennessee's 56-game 2004 baseball schedule.
The Volunteers play a 30-game Southeastern Conference schedule culminating with the tournament at the Hoover-Met Stadium in Birmingham, Ala., May 26-30.
The schedule includes nine teams which finished among the top 50 in RPI as well as two 2003 College World Series participants in LSU and South Carolina, and nine that made the NCAA regionals.
