Some days I have a little nagging worry that I’m forgetting something – I’m sure lots of people do – but, I swear I can literally feel it sitting right there in the back of my brain, kind of pressed up against my skull. Many of those days it never goes away (probably because I’m not actually forgetting anything), but sometimes I’m sitting there at my desk and I start to think…hmm, it’s mid-February. It’s a beautiful day. It’s…is it? Oh my god, it is!
IT’S BASEBALL TIME!!!
Specifically, college baseball time. Even more specifically, Towson Tigers baseball time. After a long winter of discontent (seriously, dealing with the MLB offseason is exhausting), it’s the first sure sign that spring is near. Ok, first the groundhog, and I did see some robins in my back yard the other day, but at least the third sure sign that spring is near.
In any case, the Tigers welcome 20 new players – including 11 freshmen – this season, while returning 12 players from last years squad. (That’s a lot to write about – thanks!) Actually…as I look at the roster page, it looks like those numbers can’t be right. Or the roster page needs to be updated. In any case, this will be something to clear up.
Still, going into the season, I think there are some broad themes I will be watching for this year.
- There are a lot of newcomers and a lot of them project to add some athleticism to the team. Watch for freshman and transfers to grab several positions around the diamond and outfield (especially outfield).
- The pitching staff could be a strength and will lean heavily on seniors (Dean Stramara, Gavin Weyman, Joe Enea) and sophomores (Kody Reeser, Matt Watters, Jake Pecilunas, and Josh Seils). Seils, Weyman, and Reeser start the first three games of the season, with Dean Stramara taking over the closer role – one in which he is expected to excel.
- As I noted above, there is intrigue in the outfield. Towson only lists five outfielders on the roster and all are new to the team. Three freshmen (Isaiah Winikur, Javon Fields, and Travis Dowden) could all play a lot. The other newcomers are Juco transfer Jack Rotteveel and Towson football’s starting quarterback, Tom Flacco, who has an interesting athletic journey I will have to dive into at some point.
- Other than the outfielders, there are a bunch of interesting freshman pitchers, including Oluwasayo Kintunde, who I think would be considered the gem of the recruiting class. I’ve touched on him before, but Kintunde is a 6’2″ (I’ve actually seen him listed as 6′ 5″ – I guess we’ll see) hard throwing lefty who was player of the year his senior season of high school, also nabbing All-Metro Honors. Others to keep an eye on include left-hander Cam Mason and right-handers Nick Canevari and Dallas Repine.
- The infield should be a little more familiar, with defensive wiz Dirk Masters returning, along third baseman Richard Miller and reserves Noah Cabrera and Jay Sanford.
- Miller had a fantastic summer league season last year, winning Player of the Year in the Prospect League and sharing Top Pro Prospect honors. Miller has big power from the left side, crushing 17 homers for the Springfield Sliders after placing second on the Tigers with 7 bombs last year. He hasn’t hit for a high average against college competition, but he doesn’t strike out egregiously and will take some walks. If you squint a little, you can see a really intriguing prospect there.
The season starts tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Davidson College in North Carolina. I won’t be doing a full on series preview for this one. In fact, I probably won’t do nearly as many game and series level articles, instead focusing more on player development and team story lines – but, more about that later. I can tell you that, in a seeming Towson specialty, Davidson is a small liberal arts college on a beautiful campus. They boast a whopping five a cappella groups, have hosted the Royal Shakespeare Company, and for a couple of years there you probably could have snagged some cheap tickets to watch Steph Curry play. Their mascot is the Wildcats, which is just St. Louis-level boring.
More good news – both games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+! It will be great to catch an early season look at the Tigers. I can hear the crack of the bat already (or was that my knees?).
