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The Wilkes University baseball team will open their 2007 season on Sunday, March 4th when they travel to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to meet Riviera College in a doubleheader at the Cocoa Expo at 5 p.m. The two games will be the first of eight contests the Colonels will play during their spring trip.
Wilkes is coming off a season in which they fashioned an overall record of 19-14-1. Despite notching their fifth consecutive winning season, the Colonels failed to make the conference playoffs for the first time in five years after going just 7-11 in conference play. Juniors Chris Mayerski and Kyle Follweiler will be called upon to lead Wilkes back to the post-season. Mayerski was a first team All-Freedom Conference selection last season after hitting .393 with 12 doubles, two triples, 10 homeruns and 43 runs batted in. He will see time at both third base and first base this season after posting an impressive .961 fielding percentage a season ago. Follweiler hit at a .383 clip during his sophomore campaign while patrolling left field and spending some time on the mound. He ripped nine doubles, three triples and seven homers, while also driving in 34 runs and scoring a team-high 41 times. Follweiler is one of five returnees who will be counted on to lead the pitching staff. A year ago he appeared in seven games on the hill and went 1-0 with two saves and a 2.08 earned run average. Seniors Justin Popovich and John Milius, junior Brad Woznisky and sophomore Justin Huff also return from a season ago. Popovich appeared in just two games on the mound, but in four inning of work he did not allow a run while striking out five. Milius fashioned a 2-1 record and 5.87 ERA in nine appearances. Woznisky copped a 2-1 record in five games with a solid 4.50 earned run average, while Huff was 3-1 with a 5.06 ERA during his rookie season. The Colonels have several other players who figure to contribute on the hill, including junior Corey Helfrich and sophomore Tom Buckler. Both pitchers missed all of last season due to injury and are likely to play key roles this year. Junior Keith Rhinehammer and freshmen Taylor Megargel, Mike Brennan and Paul Bartleson, will be expected to contribute as well. Woznisky and senior Matt LoPresto lead a deep group of catchers who will vie for time behind the plate. Woznisky hit .353 last season with five doubles, one homer and 20 runs batted in, while LoPresto hit at a .324 pace with nine doubles, one triple and one homerun. Sophomore Andrew Garofoli, who appeared in six games last season, along with newcomers, junior Jordan Padams and freshman Randy Dengler, will also be in the mix. Joining Mayerski at the corner spots in the infield will be Popovich and freshman Mike Rollman. Popovich played in 28 games, mainly at first base, last season and finished with a .287 batting average. Rollman is capable of playing both first base and third base if needed. Players expected to push for time in the middle infield include junior Anthony Giuffrida, sophomores Geoff Miller and Ryan Pepper, and freshmen Mike McAndrew, Shawn Ward and Dave Blasko. Giuffrida did not commit an error in 12 games last season and hit .250. Miller, who played in 18 games, including 15 as a starter, hit .175. Pepper hit .273 in seven contests and was also perfect defensively. Sophomores Eric Wetzel and Gennaro Zangardi will help Follweiler provide experience in the outfield. Wetzel started 31 games in center field last spring and hit .227 with eight stolen bases. He committed only one error in 81 chances during the campaign. Zangardi started 20 of the 28 games he played in and finished with a .261 batting average and a .980 fielding percentage. Mayerski, Helfrich, Garofoli, Rhinehammer, Bartleson and sophomore Ed Kamenas will also figure into the outfield mix. “I believe that our offense will be a strength throughout the season,” commented head coach Joe Folek. “We should also be much improved defensively this year. Our pitching staff is probably the biggest question mark, but I think that it could prove to be a strength as the season progresses. The staff has been working extremely hard during the pre-season and I think that they will be just fine.”
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