Projected third baseman homers three times over weekend
With the first baseball scrimmage of spring, the thousands of fans at Carolina Stadium found themselves a little lost without a roster.
Sure, some of the numbers and faces looked familiar on the starting team. Senior pitcher Michael Roth took the mound on Friday and then pitcher Matt Price on Saturday. Outfielders Adam Matthews, Evan Marzilli and Jake Williams were still there.
But in the infield especially it became pretty clear that this year's baseball squad is a lot different than the National Championship teams from the past two years. Second baseman Scott Wingo, shortstop Peter Mooney, and third baseman Adrian Morales had all been replaced with new faces. The only veteran left standing was first baseman Christian Walker.
But as the weekend scrimmages wore on, it became pretty clear that the new pieces fit right in with the old ones.
"I liked the fact that the new players, the freshman guys and the couple of junior college guys, are playing with pretty good energy and heightened awareness right now," said coach Ray Tanner. "I didn't like our older guys so much. They didn't play poorly necessarily, but I'd like to see a little more energy from them. Some of those guys have stripes on their sleeves and it's practice and not game time, so I respect that, but (want) to see a little more sense of urgency from those guys."
The confidence and the urgency was clear from the newcomers as of the first day, as they reeled off three straight home runs off pitcher Drake Thomason, started by freshman catcher Grayson Greiner. Junior college transfer and projected third baseman LB Dantzler and freshman shortstop Joey Pankake followed at the next two at-bats. Projected second baseman and junior transfer Chase Vergason also had an RBI double.
"I think sometimes that they're a little too confident about themselves," Tanner said. "It's better to be that way than not. It's my job to tone that down a little bit and keep it in perspective, but they are a talented group. They're going to get some opportunities and I believe they'll be successful because they're comfortable."
The power hitting continued for Dantzler into Sunday, where he had two home runs off pitchers Ethan Carter and Al Hentz, respectively. In a Saturday scrimmage that had five errors combined, Dantzler had a spotless resume at third.
"He had a pretty good weekend – no question about it," Tanner said. "I'm happy with what he's been able to do, offensively and defensively. He sort of proved himself in the fall, and he's off to a great spring."
Tanner was also encouraged by the pitching staff and said that he liked the young arms and "they attacked a little bit." Freshman Joel Seddon pitched a spotless fifth and sixth inning on Saturday and finished with two strikeouts and a walk, facing just six batters. Tanner said that he has made enough of an impact to pitch as a freshman, though how much he pitches will depend on his outings during the season.
Most encouraging for Tanner was the pitching of Nolan Belcher, who sat out last season after having Tommy John's surgery. Saturday marked his debut since last season's scrimmage. After he opened the third inning with a strikeout, the entire dugout cheered dramatically.
"That was encouraging — no doubt about that one," Tanner said. "I was glad to see Nolan out there. His teammates were hooting him a little bit, but that was good. He felt confident, and his stuff was pretty good. That's nice to see for a guy that's been on the shelf for a little bit. He can make a difference for us."
Tanner called the weekend "not bad," but said the most frustrating part of the first scrimmage wasn't what many would expect.
"It was a good weekend," Tanner said. "I was set back a little bit by the crowds out here this weekend. They put a muzzle on me a little bit. I tend to be a little more outspoken and a little louder than I have been at practice, but they put a muzzle on me there's so many people here, but it's all good. Our guys get used to that kind of environment and we're not that far away – just a couple more weekends out here and then we crank it up."