11-TIME SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BASEBALL REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
9-TIME SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
11 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES: 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1992 1993 1994 1997 2003 2007
MEET THE 2010 CATAMOUNTS – RETURNING PL AYERS Western Carolina enters the third season under head coach Bobby Moranda looking to build upon the successes of last season that saw the squad finish 35-22, just missing the NCAA post-season – but a squad that lost all three weekend starting pitchers and a trio of underclassmen that factored heavily upon the team’s success each of the past three years.
more Kyle Stewart, red-shirt sophomore Vance Chavis and junior Matt Benedict are the four hurlers expected to bear the brunt of the starting load for WCU this season. However, between the four arms - which includes three right-handers with Chavis the lone southpaw - the group only has 13 career starts with seven made mid-week by Stewart a season ago and Benedict with five mid-week nods.
WCU held out hope to become the first team in SoCon history to earn a second at-large bid to put three league teams in post season after finishing the season strong, winning 13 of its final 19 games including 10 away from home.
“Our starting pitchers are all talented, but still unproven over the course of a season,” Moranda said of his rotation.
“We were just a couple wins away from having a special season last year,” said Moranda of the season a year ago. According to preseason prognostications this year, WCU was tabbed fifth in both of the Southern Conference preseason polls as selected by the head coaches and the voting members of the media. In addition, reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, second baseman Ross Heffley, was selected to the preseason second team. OUTLOOK ON THE 2010 SEASON: As the curtain rises on the 2010 season for the SoCon’s most successful program – 20 combined conference championships and 11 NCAA tournament appearances – Western Carolina finds itself amidst the proving grounds. Role players over the last several seasons will now be thrust to the forefront for the Catamounts to be successful. “Obviously, we don’t have the number of players with proven credentials that we had last season or the year before, but we do have a better team when it comes to executing our system. The ability and depth is there; it’s just not proven yet, but I like our chemistry and chances to be successful,” said Moranda. “Despite the loss of a lot of very talented players, we’ll be stronger defensively and will have more than one player who can play at each position.” All told, the Catamounts return seven players that started 21-or-more games a season ago. But gone are the traditional “big bats” that were once synonymous with Western Carolina baseball. “There is going to be a different look to our baseball team; not only the new players, but our style as well,” said Moranda. “We are not going to count on a couple guys to hit the ball out of the park. It’s going to be a team thing in everything we do from scoring runs, running the bases, defense to successful pitching,” he explained. CATAMOUNT OUTFIELD: The most experienced portion of the Catamount lineup entering the season lies within the trio of outfield positions. Seniors Dylan de Graaf and Trevor Collias will patrol both left and center, with junior Matt Johns - who has played a myriad of positions during his time in Cullowhee - expected to start the season in right field. Collias hit .293 with 10 doubles and eight home runs as season ago, adding 30 stolen bases in 35 attempts to his offensive arsenal. Dylan de Graaf, who hit .298 with six extra base hits and eight stolen bases, is coming off a tremendous off-season and was named a co-captain of the squad entering fall practice. Johns, who enjoyed the team’s longest consecutive-game hit streak a season ago at 22, played 45 of his 54 games at first base. He makes the move to the outfield where he played five games during his freshman campaign.
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CATAMOUNT B A S E B A L L 2010
CATAMOUNT INFIELD: Western Carolina’s infield is anchored by Heffley (pictured above) at second base. The reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year is WCU’s best returning bat after hitting .391 last year including a freshman school-record 92 base hits. Opening his rookie campaign in the outfield, Heffley found his way to the infield, playing 13 games at third before starting the final 20 at second base. Heffley was tabbed a Freshman All-American a season ago and was a preseason All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball entering 2010. The only other returning infielder expected to start at the seasons open is senior Tyler Kirkpatrick who made 21 starts on the “hot corner” in 2009. An injury forced Kirkpatrick out of the lineup with since graduated Mitchell Hatley solidifying third base. Kirkpatrick hit .253 a year ago with 16 RBI. Junior transfer Austin Schultz, who hit over .300 in two seasons at Young Harris College, is the leading candidate to take over at shortstop while freshman Tyler White has emerged as the starting first baseman for the Catamounts. CATAMOUNT CATCHERS: Western Carolina will again turn to Stephen Notaro behind the plate as he and junior transfer Ollie Goulder will split time catching. Notaro, who led WCU with 13 home runs to accompany his .287 batting average, will also see time as the designated hitter. Goulder transferred in from Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Ariz., where he earned MVP honors a year ago. WCU also returns back-ups in Russell Robertson and Radley Haddad (.417 in 12 AB) behind the dish. CATAMOUNT PITCHING STAFF: Western Carolina enters the opening weekend of its season with four designated starting pitchers according to the Catamount coaching staff. Senior Jason Sullivan, sopho-
The strength of the Catamount staff, though, comes in the latter innings with set-up man junior Brandon Johnson and senior closer, Daniel Ottone (pictured at bottome of page). Johnson was 3-0 with one save a season ago in 20 appearances while Ottone - who along with de Graaf was dubbed a team captain - boasted a career-best eight saves, striking out 38 in 35 innings pitched. “The end of our bullpen has to be one of the best in the conference. Brandon Johnson is a solid late inning holder and Daniel Ottone has developed into one of the elite closers in the conference,” said Moranda. NEWCOMERS: In addition to Schultz and White, who are expected to run out with the season-opening starters, red-shirt sophomore transfer Cameron Dullnig could factor into playing time in both the Catamount infield and outfield rotation. Dullnig, who could also see time on the mound, played as a freshman at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, earning allconference honors after hitting .372 with 12 doubles and five home runs. Pitching help is expected from several rookies – right handers T.J. Page and Taylor Sandefur and southpaws Adam Curtis, who is from Arden, N.C., and Mat Batts. Sandefur could possibly move into a mid-week starting role for WCU. 2010 WCU BASEBALL SCHEDULE: The Catamounts’ 2010 schedule is loaded again with perennial baseball powers and top 25 opponents - Georgia Tech, East Carolina, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee - along with Charlotte, West Virginia, Illinois and 30 games within the up-and-coming Southern Conference which is evolving into one of the top 10 NCAA Division I baseball leagues. The schedule includes six teams that made the NCAA Baseball Championships a season ago, three of which were number one seeds. “We’ve got a tough travel year in the conference with Elon, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State and Samford on the road. Our overall schedule is as difficult as always and almost identical, using the RPI, as last year,” Moranda said.