Baseball breaks out the lumber

by Ian Van Anden

The saying you can never have enough pitching is common among college baseball coaches and for Roger Sander the head coach of MC’s baseball team this is a non issue. His roster consists of 49 athletes 20 of which are pitchers.

For a game, that will at best see 13 players per team play in a nine inning game, 49 is pushing it for a college roster. This bloated roster is mainly due to the college’s no cut policy.

Last year, the men’s baseball team cleaned up as they finished an impressive 24-9. However in the semi-final round of the MWC Tournament the Scots fell to Ripon by a score of 5-3.

This year will hopefully end on a higher note for the Scots, who will start the season ranked 28 on baseballnews.com’s 2006 Top 30 Preseason Poll.

The Scots will have to rebuild their middle infield after loosing lat years tandom to graduation, but have a solid start with sophomore Ryan Priola taking over the duties at shortstop who missed most the season due to an illness.

The Scots also boast a solid battery combination with Dan Dunn as a starting pitcher and Josh Ragar calling the pitches from behind the plate. Senior Jason Salmon will continue his duties in centerfield, and will be a fourth year starter for the Scots.

Sophomore Ryan Stubler will continue his fine play at the hot-corner for the Scots. Stubler is the returning Midwest Conference player of the year.

Look for the Scots to have a even more successful season than last year as with a mix of both young and veteran talent the Scots look to field an imposing team.