2009 Behrend Lions Baseball Season Preview

The sounds and sights of spring are around the corner. Fresh cut grass, a light breeze on a warm spring day, the smell of leather from a brand new glove, and the crack of the bat will arrive soon, and so will the 2009 Penn State Behrend baseball season.

After a record breaking year, the Behrend Lions will strive to improve on its championship season that saw the program register a 34-12 overall mark and 17-1 record in AMCC play. "We have a talented returning roster, but we are experienced enough to know we have to focus on our preparation, and ultimately execute in key game situations," said Paul Benim, who enters his seventeenth year as a Behrend head coach.

Last season, Behrend entered the AMCC preseason poll as the favored team, and lived up to its billing by capturing the AMCC regular season and conference tournament titles. "Our aspirations are high entering this spring, but our process has to be thorough, and we need to put it all together in order to achieve our goals," continued Benim, the 2008 AMCC Coach of the Year.

The offense and defense appears to be poised for another postseason run. Offensively, the Behrend Lions return six starters from a line-up that racked up a .336 team batting average, while setting a school record for doubles with 104, and registered 103 stolen bases. In the league, Behrend logged a batting average of .390 with 210 runs scored and 126 RBI's over the 18 game conference regular season.

On the mound, the entire pitching staff returns. In 30 games last spring the staff held opponents to three runs or fewer during its 46 starts. The 34 wins was the second most in the program's history, and it was accompanied by a 3.66 ERA, which led the AMCC for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Also, the staff boasted a better than a two-to-one strike-out to walk ratio.

The program will need to deal with the loss of last year's senior leadership due to graduation. This group racked up the most wins in program history. With that in mind this year's senior class of Ben Cain (Venetia/Peters Township), Andrew Chrobak (New Castle/Laurel), David Koerbel (Pittsburgh/Central Catholic), David Miller (St. Marys/St. Marys), and Ryan Smith (Franklin/Franklin) began preparing for the 2009 season several months back.

The pitching staff will again be the backbone for the Behrend Lions. The team will be anchored by the strong one-two punch of Chrobak and Koerbel. Both were named AMCC First Team All-Conference performers after a terrific 2008. They combined to post a 9-1 mark in league play to go along with 60 strike-outs against only six walks while also throwing eight complete games. Chrobak, who ranked in the top three in the AMCC last season in wins (7), ERA (2.90), opponent batting average, and innings pitched (71), will again be a force in the league. Koerbel is second all-time in Behrend history in strike-outs (168), third in career wins (18), and fifth in innings pitched (175). After an exceptional junior year where he was 8-2 with a sharp 2.82 ERA, Koerbel collected several postseason awards. He was named the AMCC Pitcher of the Year, the league's Most Valuable Player, the program's MVP and was a member of the ABCA All-Region squad.

Behrend's front line starters are obviously very good, but the bullpen might even be better with Cain and Smith in waiting. Cain created one of the greatest individual pitching lines in Behrend history after bouncing along to a 5-0 record and recording five saves. His ERA was a miniscule 0.76 to go with 35 K's and a .190 opponent batting average. In his career, Cain is 10-2 with nine saves in almost 100 innings worth of action. His more than worthy teammate is Smith. He enters the season ranked number one on the all-time charts for career ERA at 2.37 and career saves with 13. Smith worked as a starter and out of the pen grabbing a 2-0 mark and 2.45 ERA last season.

Miller has been an outfield regular for four seasons and will be an everyday player again in 2009. He played in 36 games last year, and hit .295 with 16 RBIs. Miller, who was clutch in the 2008 AMCC Tournament hitting .545, is poised for a breakout senior campaign.

"This senior class is very consistent and dependable," said Benim. "It is difficult to find players with this kind of make up. They constantly come through in clutch situations, and are mentally tough competitors. We are very fortunate to have this high a caliber of group leading our program in 2009."

Backing up the pitching staff will be an athletic infield that is comprised mainly of juniors. Headlining the infield are juniors Dustin Dubensky (Punxsutawney/ Punxsutawney), Josh Fyffe (Fredonia/Sharpsville) and Ryan Liddle (DuBois/DuBois). Fyffe is a smooth fielding shortstop who was selected to the AMCC All-Conference squad and to the ABCA All-Region team in back-to-back seasons. He is a stellar defender that fielded at a .949 clip while leading the team in runs scored (46), walks (30), and stolen bases (21). Dubensky, another all-league player, had an MVP caliber season for the blue and white in 2008. He hit .365 with a team-high 54 hits. Dubensky set a school record with 23 doubles and also drove in 46, while recording a .444 on-base percentage. Liddle has tremendous range and is versatile enough to play all three infield spots for Behrend. He hit a team-high .452 against the AMCC, and finished with a .356 average on the season to go with 20 runs scored.   "These guys are very good and allow our pitchers to pitch to contact knowing they have strong defensive players behind them," said Benim. "They continue to be a major reason for our success."

Behrend is strong up the middle and junior Jonathan Gray (State College/State College) anchors the team from center field. He has closed outfield gaps for two straight seasons, and last year batted .350 with 34 runs scored atop the Behrend line-up.  Gray also led the team in HBP's and stole 13 bases.  

Five more pitchers add to the depth of the junior class. Ryan Antolik (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills), Fran Haus (Wexford/North Allegheny), Steve Miller (Union City/Union City), Zachary Sheffer (Cranberry/Cranberry), and Charles Zimoski (Oil City/Oil City) will be jockeying for position as potential starters and for innings out of the bullpen. However they are utilized this season, they will be heavily relied upon throughout the 2009 season. Antolik and Miller have experience and will push for time. Miller was in the rotation as a freshman and provides a quality left-handed option for Behrend. Sheffer and Zimoski's combined performance was integral in the 2008 AMCC Championship run. They combined to pitch eight quality innings in the title game and will again be counted on this season. Sheffer worked in the second most games out of the bullpen a year ago and pitched in crucial situations throughout the season. Zimoski was the number three starter last year and grinded out five wins over his nine starts. He also struck out 35 hitters in almost 50 innings of mound work.

The sophomore class is positioning themselves for a productive 2009. Infielders Kyle Kline (Clearfield/Clearfield Area), Ed Kessler (Bethel Park/Bethel Park), David Smith (Brockway/Dubois Central Catholic), and Adam Hartwig (Wexford/North Allegheny) add depth and options for the blue and white this spring. Kessler made a nice splash as a first year player a year ago. He hit .310 in 33 games, knocked a pair of home runs and drove in 16 runs, while Kline, Smith, and Hartwig all gained valuable experience as freshmen last year.

Harry Latta (Waterford/Fort LeBoeuf) is competing for time behind the plate and working with the sophomore members of the staff, Blake Pavlik (Apollo/Kiski Area), Andy Kountz (Canonsburg/Bethel Park), and Ryan Zamiskie (Jeannette/Penn Trafford). All three of these pitchers have good upsides and saw innings as freshmen. Pavlik snagged three wins on the hill with a 3.25 ERA in 27 innings, while Kountz and Zamiskie each picked up a mound victory as rookies. Each will push for more time this spring. 

Adding athleticism to the outfield will be Geoff Lang (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) and Rich Doyle (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny). Lang was named to the AMCC All-Conference squad after collecting 51 hits for a .349 average. He also rocketed 10 doubles and stole 14 bases. Doyle played in 22 games off the bench and added a .250 average.

The 2008 Behrend baseball freshman class includes: Jimmy Battaglia (New Brighton/Rochester), Ryan Geibel (East Butler/Butler), Joseph Paterniti (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown), and Ken Farnsworth (State College/State College). In addition, sophomore Ryan Morris (Hermitage/Sharpsville) transferred in from Potomac State Junior College and joined the blue and white last fall.

This year's spring schedule will challenge the Behrend Lions. The season begins with a three game set at Roanoke, VA on February 28 and March 1. "Traveling is a critical part of the collegiate baseball experience," said Benim. "We have had tremendous chances to play in several different regions, and we believe our student-athletes and program is better off because of it." 

The following weekend Behrend travels to Fort Pierce, Florida, for spring training which includes eight varsity games and four junior varsity contests.  A dozen games over eight days will test the team. "Florida is a key element for our program," said Benim. "We get a chance to look at several combinations of line-ups and play in great weather."

The home opener is slated for March 25, when the Medaille Mavericks come to town followed by Mount Aloysius three days later. Behrend will then take to the road for seven of the next eight games before a flurry of home games closes out the month of April. A couple big challenges this year for the Behrend Lions will be non-conference games at Wooster and Ithaca. The Scots were preseason number one in the country entering the 2008 season, while Ithaca, a perennial NCAA Tournament squad will be looking to avenge a 6-5 loss to the Behrend Lions from last May.

Behrend has competed in the AMCC Championship game in four of the past seven seasons and is focused on earning another shot. In 2009, the first round of the AMCC Tournament will be on the first weekend of May with the winners advancing to the regular season champion's facility for a double-elimination tournament with the tournament winner earning the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After claiming the 2008 league title, Behrend advanced to the NCAA Regional in Newark, NJ.  "The league has a really strong postseason baseball tournament format," Benim said. "It prepares our league winner for the NCAA Tournament." The NCAA regional will be played on May 13-17, while the Division III World Series is the following week in Grand Chute, WI. 

"We are excited about the potential for another championship season," said Benim. "We have a talented and focused group returning. Our goals will remain the same to improve daily and be at our best during the postseason."