02.01.06

Erskine players watch action from the dugout.

Erskine baseball team has lofty goals for 2006

The success of the 2005 Erskine baseball team stands as a high standard for this year's edition of the Flying Fleet.

But if you talk to Erskine Head Baseball Coach Kevin Nichols, you'll find that from his perspective, "this is not a rebuilding year."

Nichols, beginning his seventh year as Flying Fleet skipper, said the team's goals are to equal last season's school record 38 wins and also qualify for the regional tournament.

"If we stay healthy, we have the talent to reach these goals," he said.

Still, the Flying Fleet will be challenged to repeat the performance of a year ago, when the team was led by three players — Casey Smith, Antonio Sabatini and Ben Blumenthal — who were drafted by major league baseball teams last summer.

The team is opening its 2006 schedule today at home in a doubleheader against Claflin.

One big factor in the team's success will be a solid core of experienced players returning at key positions — junior Shelton Cisson returns at shortstop, senior J.J. Newman is back at second base, senior Kris Anderson returns in center field, and senior Robbie Knapp is back at third base.

Transfer Juan Adriatico will see time in left field and at designated hitter. Also seeing time in the outfield are senior Michael Dean, freshman Matt Long and freshman Wes Burgess.

Freshman Wes Platt will also see time at designated hitter, while freshman Matt Schneider will handle first base.

Sophomore Matt Wurzer leads the pack behind the plate, but freshmen Evan Cook and Keith Hill will vie for playing time, Nichols said.

"We're going to play a lot of guys early to see who wins the jobs," the coach said. "We'll know a lot better after our first two games."

Erskine scored a lot of runs in 2005 and Nichols expects more of the same.

"I think we'll score as many runs as last year, but we do it differently," he said. "We still like to elevate the ball – hit home runs — but 92 home runs (last year's figure) in 55 games is unheard of. We've added speed and defense, but as a team, we still swing a pretty mean bat."

Pitching Coach Chad Amidon is optimistic about the Flying Fleet hurlers repeating their 2005 performance, leading the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference in ERA.

"Five of our top seven pitchers last year were freshmen, so they'll have more experience," Amidon said. "That should translate into more success."

The starting staff is anchored by senior Jon Merrell, along with senior Chad Hinson, sophomore Russell Reid, sophomore Mike Moore and freshman Jamie Sims.

Relievers out of the bullpen will include senior Brandon Burdette, senior Matt Baker, sophomore Michael Maus and junior Jake Williams.

"We fully expect our pitchers to do what they did last year," Nichols said.

The team's primary strengths are pitching, depth and experience, the coach said, while the main areas of concern are consistency and execution.

Nichols thinks the Flying Fleet should be competitive in the CVAC race again this season.

"Every year I've been here it's gotten better," he said. "In the 1990s, Mount Olive dominated the conference, but over the past seven years, I think we've had five different champions."

Defending champion Limestone, Mount Olive and Erskine should be prime contenders for the league's top spot, Nichols said, but he knows his team's fate is not guaranteed.

"After the year we had last year, I'll be interested to see how the team responds to having the big target that's going to be on our back," the coach said.

Amidon said last year's stellar season has been a boost for recruiting.

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