Lehigh Baseball Internally Focused on 2019 Season
2/12/2019 12:05:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — It's hard to believe that it's been nine months since Lehigh's baseball season concluded with a win over Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. last May 6. Now, after all that time, the Mountain Hawks are ready to get back to work for the 2019 campaign with some familiar and some fresh faces.
Head Coach Sean Leary and his coaching staff has spent the offseason gathering information, re-building a roster and getting prepared to have a chance at getting back to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2016. Lehigh narrowly missed punching its ticket for the final spot into the tournament by just one game. With an intriguing bunch of players especially on offense with an infusion of promising freshman talent, a pitching rotation that could argue for supremacy in the Patriot League and a team that is hungry to compete on a high level, the Mountain Hawks are eager to begin where they left off at the tail-end of last season.
Lehigh (22-27, 10-15) was selected fifth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll by the league's coaches and sports information directors after finishing fifth in 2018. A berth in the postseason at season's end would be the Mountain Hawks' 11th appearance in the league tournament as they search for their third league title.
The Mountain Hawks will miss three key players from last year's starting lineup in James Bleming, Ryan Bonshak and Chris Kersey. They will rely on many young, talented players to fill the void left in the offensive production.
Key returnees include senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt (.280 AVG, 55 TB, 20 RBI) and junior infielder Tony Gallo (.314 AVG, 38 TB, 19 RBI) who were both All-Patriot League Second Team selections in 2018, as well as junior center fielder Mike Maguire (.255 AVG, 52 TB, 17 RBI) and senior left fielder Ryan Malloy (.227 AVG, 3 HR, 44 TB, 19 RBI).
The pitching rotation is ready to take off with junior right-handers Levi Stoudt (3-8, 3.03 ERA, 67 K) and Jason Reynolds (4-5, 3.60 ERA, 51 K) returning and more prepared than ever. Senior lefty Ethan Frohman returns as an option in the rotation as well as in a closing role, where he has 11 career saves, second all-time in program history. Freshman righty Mason Black has already made his presence known without even playing his first collegiate game – named Baseball America and D1Baseball.com Patriot League Freshman of the Year. Black will also compete for time in the rotation early on as well as in the back-end of the bullpen when needed.
Coach Leary provided a more in-depth look at each of the Mountain Hawks' positional categories from the top down as they prepare for this weekend's series at Duke Feb. 15-17.
Catchers
Senior Jeff Shanfeldt returns for his final season with the Brown and White behind the plate. Friday's matchup with the Blue Devils will be his 100th game caught behind the plate with Lehigh. His power in the lineup, as well as the ability to get on base (.376 OBP in 2018) will allow the Mountain Hawks to continue to provide consistent offensive production from that position for the 2019 campaign.
Freshman Casey Rother will start the season as the team's backup behind the plate. With a 6-4 frame and coming off a decorated career at Tamaqua, Rother will be an impressive option behind Shanfeldt for the season.
"As we progress this season, Casey is a feature guy for us," said head coach Sean Leary. "He's a big strong guy for us and will find ways into the lineup all season.
"Very quickly, you're going to see that Casey has some upside potential."
Junior Tim DiLoreto and sophomore Joe Yupp also return to the Mountain Hawks this season and provide important depth at the position moving forward, especially in the ever-important third catching spot on the roster in the case of injury.
First Basemen
First base is an intriguing position for the Mountain Hawks this season especially with three upperclassmen fighting for time at the corner.
"First is probably the most jumbled position because we have Thomas Schumacher and Jake Kochmansky there right now, but Tony Gallo was all-league there last year," said Leary. "So he's (Gallo) moved to second."
Schumacher slashed .198 AVG/.317 OBP/.349 SLG in 2018 with a .995 fielding percentage with 204 putouts. Kochmansky slashed .206/.243/.265 in 15 games last season with a .974 fielding percentage. Gallo has the ability to play at a multitude of positions for Lehigh this season and could eventually return to first where he thrived in 2018 once the dust settles after a few weeks.
To add to an already deep position, freshman Charlie Von Werne also adds extra depth to the roster at first base.
Second Basemen
As Leary said previously, junior Tony Gallo will find himself starting at second base when the season begins on Friday in Durham, N.C.
However, there are new options at the position that could play a factor as the season progresses, especially between a couple underclassmen.
"We have the flexibility that if Chase Carlson or Eric Cichocki plays really well early, Tony can bump back to first and they can play second," Leary said.
The versatility of Gallo allows a lot of movement in the infield as needed for Lehigh's defense, especially with Carlson and Cichocki both looking for prominent time at second base. Gallo has the tools to make an impact at both second and first base.
Shortstop
As the season shifts from the preseason to the regular season, the Mountain Hawks already have a grasp on who will be the team's shortstop for the season.
"It's pretty clear right now that shortstop is Matt Hand," said Leary. "And backing him up is probably going to be Chase (Carlson) and probably even (Eric) Cichocki. Those guys kind of just rotate in the middle."
Hand, a junior, found time in the lineup in 44 games last season, starting in 34. He slashed .221/.270/.288 and finished with an OPS of .558. He fielded .938 for the year and has already proved that he is the right option as an upperclassman to begin the season as the Mountain Hawks' primary shortstop.
Like many of Lehigh's infielders, both Carlson and Cichocki have the ability and awareness to play all around the diamond, especially between shortstop and second base.
Third Basemen
Third base is another position where Lehigh is pretty dead set on handing the reins to a fresh face, as freshman Gerard Sweeney will begin the season as the Mountain Hawks' glove on the hot corner.
"He's pretty entrenched there actually," said Leary. "Joe Gorla is going to back him up, but our infielders are pretty much like interchangeable parts."
According to Leary, both Gorla and Cichocki will be in the mix at third base to back up Sweeney to start the year.
While the Mountain Hawks' offense is still a little bit of an unknown with new guys coming in from all different areas, the team has the capability to adjust in certain situations.
Outfield
While it's nice to have the ability to determine who will be playing each of the three outfield positions at this point, there are four names that are fighting for three of those spots who are all well-rounded enough to gets reps in right, left or center field.
The outfield gets a boost in leadership and experience with Ryan Malloy, who plays primarily left field, while sophomore Tyler Schreiner (.158 AVG, 9 TB, 4 RBI), junior Mike Maguire and sophomore Quinn McKenna (.263 AVG, 32 TB, 15 RBI) are also in the mix for the rest of the positions.
"Those four guys are where the line is drawn, those four are fighting for three spots at the moment and the DH spot," said Leary. "Paul LaNoce is backing up in the outfield, Chris Butera is a two-way guy for us and Jake Kochmansky also plays some outfield."
"I think Maguire has grown tremendously from last year to this year just understand that the only stat that matters for him is runs scored," Leary said. "He just needs to get on base and score runs and once you start playing every day, you worry less about walking."
Starting Rotation
If there was one strength of this team this season no matter what the circumstance was, it would be the starting rotation for the Mountain Hawks, who have to continue to compete with an already rotation-heavy Patriot League all across the board.
"The two guys that not only have talent but have a tremendous amount of experience in the Patriot League are Levi Stoudt and Jason Reynolds," said Leary. "They just have worked so hard at their craft to get better, not just to say that they're in the rotation. They just set their goals to lead the rotation and they've both put themselves into these positions to succeed based off of their hard work."
Both Stoudt and Reynolds "have the stuff to be front-line kids" for Lehigh. With those two arms at the front of the rotation, the two of them have already raised the bar for the rest of the staff heading into the year.
"We have a guy in Ethan Frohman, who we might use as a starter this year because he's so savvy and talented and he might be the right person to throw between those two guys (Stoudt and Reynolds)," Leary said. "Mason Black will be tremendous for us in either a closing role or starting role. The first three weeks will dictate not whether he's ready for either one, but what our team needs more."
Aside from the combination of Stoudt, Reynolds, Frohman and Black, the Mountain Hawks also have the ability to throw other guys into the mix like sophomore right-hander Peter Woltersdorf (6-0, 3.08 ERA, 43 K), sophomore right-hander Matt Svanson (0-1, 4.73 ERA, 10 K), freshman southpaw Luke Rettig and sophomore right-hander Yash Rane (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 3 K), all of which could be fighting for fourth and fifth spots in the rotation this season. Even sophomore lefty Cameron Van Hoorebeke, who is coming off an injury from last season, will compete for a starting role.
"There's some really exciting arms that we may not be forced to starting right away," said Leary. "And yet a month from now, it wouldn't shock me if any of those guys are our number three pitcher. With that said, a month from now, we'd love to have some roles to find for some of those guys."
Bullpen
"Mason (Black), Ethan (Frohman), and all of those other guys that were mentioned including Matt Stamford who is another guy that's in the mix for roles outside of the rotation," Leary said.
The two names that are considered to be locks for the bullpen as solid, reliable arms are senior Chris Butera (1-1, 4.15 ERA) and junior Matt Hand (0-0, 4.15 ERA),who both play offense and find time on the mound as well.
"With all of that said, what we like is that there's enough options where we have almost a dozen guys who can be in those roles for us."
Sophomore right-hander Sam Wurth (0-0, 3 G) "has made the biggest jump forward of any pitcher on the team." Freshman left-hander Cole Humes is another player like Butera and Hand that will find ways to contribute as an arm on the staff and as a position player in the infield.
"The attitude of this group has been so positive and we don't really have anyone on our staff that's concerned about their role," said Leary. "Everyone is just really excited to contribute."
Overall, the Mountain Hawks are gearing up for a season with a lot of unknowns surrounding the complexion of the team, especially when they get into Patriot League play, however, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives on what kind of team Lehigh brings to the table in 2019.
"We don't have to be special, we have to be fundamental, we have to be consistent which is a tough thing to do in baseball," said Leary. "We really think our pitchers are going to be able to take the pressure off of our hitters.
"And if you get four runs everyday, we could win 35 games and we believe that we have enough talent here to do that. That's been our focus."
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Head Coach Sean Leary and his coaching staff has spent the offseason gathering information, re-building a roster and getting prepared to have a chance at getting back to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2016. Lehigh narrowly missed punching its ticket for the final spot into the tournament by just one game. With an intriguing bunch of players especially on offense with an infusion of promising freshman talent, a pitching rotation that could argue for supremacy in the Patriot League and a team that is hungry to compete on a high level, the Mountain Hawks are eager to begin where they left off at the tail-end of last season.
Lehigh (22-27, 10-15) was selected fifth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll by the league's coaches and sports information directors after finishing fifth in 2018. A berth in the postseason at season's end would be the Mountain Hawks' 11th appearance in the league tournament as they search for their third league title.
The Mountain Hawks will miss three key players from last year's starting lineup in James Bleming, Ryan Bonshak and Chris Kersey. They will rely on many young, talented players to fill the void left in the offensive production.
Key returnees include senior catcher Jeff Shanfeldt (.280 AVG, 55 TB, 20 RBI) and junior infielder Tony Gallo (.314 AVG, 38 TB, 19 RBI) who were both All-Patriot League Second Team selections in 2018, as well as junior center fielder Mike Maguire (.255 AVG, 52 TB, 17 RBI) and senior left fielder Ryan Malloy (.227 AVG, 3 HR, 44 TB, 19 RBI).
The pitching rotation is ready to take off with junior right-handers Levi Stoudt (3-8, 3.03 ERA, 67 K) and Jason Reynolds (4-5, 3.60 ERA, 51 K) returning and more prepared than ever. Senior lefty Ethan Frohman returns as an option in the rotation as well as in a closing role, where he has 11 career saves, second all-time in program history. Freshman righty Mason Black has already made his presence known without even playing his first collegiate game – named Baseball America and D1Baseball.com Patriot League Freshman of the Year. Black will also compete for time in the rotation early on as well as in the back-end of the bullpen when needed.
Coach Leary provided a more in-depth look at each of the Mountain Hawks' positional categories from the top down as they prepare for this weekend's series at Duke Feb. 15-17.
Catchers
Senior Jeff Shanfeldt returns for his final season with the Brown and White behind the plate. Friday's matchup with the Blue Devils will be his 100th game caught behind the plate with Lehigh. His power in the lineup, as well as the ability to get on base (.376 OBP in 2018) will allow the Mountain Hawks to continue to provide consistent offensive production from that position for the 2019 campaign.
Freshman Casey Rother will start the season as the team's backup behind the plate. With a 6-4 frame and coming off a decorated career at Tamaqua, Rother will be an impressive option behind Shanfeldt for the season.
"As we progress this season, Casey is a feature guy for us," said head coach Sean Leary. "He's a big strong guy for us and will find ways into the lineup all season.
"Very quickly, you're going to see that Casey has some upside potential."
Junior Tim DiLoreto and sophomore Joe Yupp also return to the Mountain Hawks this season and provide important depth at the position moving forward, especially in the ever-important third catching spot on the roster in the case of injury.
First Basemen
First base is an intriguing position for the Mountain Hawks this season especially with three upperclassmen fighting for time at the corner.
"First is probably the most jumbled position because we have Thomas Schumacher and Jake Kochmansky there right now, but Tony Gallo was all-league there last year," said Leary. "So he's (Gallo) moved to second."
Schumacher slashed .198 AVG/.317 OBP/.349 SLG in 2018 with a .995 fielding percentage with 204 putouts. Kochmansky slashed .206/.243/.265 in 15 games last season with a .974 fielding percentage. Gallo has the ability to play at a multitude of positions for Lehigh this season and could eventually return to first where he thrived in 2018 once the dust settles after a few weeks.
To add to an already deep position, freshman Charlie Von Werne also adds extra depth to the roster at first base.
Second Basemen
As Leary said previously, junior Tony Gallo will find himself starting at second base when the season begins on Friday in Durham, N.C.
However, there are new options at the position that could play a factor as the season progresses, especially between a couple underclassmen.
"We have the flexibility that if Chase Carlson or Eric Cichocki plays really well early, Tony can bump back to first and they can play second," Leary said.
The versatility of Gallo allows a lot of movement in the infield as needed for Lehigh's defense, especially with Carlson and Cichocki both looking for prominent time at second base. Gallo has the tools to make an impact at both second and first base.
Shortstop
As the season shifts from the preseason to the regular season, the Mountain Hawks already have a grasp on who will be the team's shortstop for the season.
"It's pretty clear right now that shortstop is Matt Hand," said Leary. "And backing him up is probably going to be Chase (Carlson) and probably even (Eric) Cichocki. Those guys kind of just rotate in the middle."
Hand, a junior, found time in the lineup in 44 games last season, starting in 34. He slashed .221/.270/.288 and finished with an OPS of .558. He fielded .938 for the year and has already proved that he is the right option as an upperclassman to begin the season as the Mountain Hawks' primary shortstop.
Like many of Lehigh's infielders, both Carlson and Cichocki have the ability and awareness to play all around the diamond, especially between shortstop and second base.
Third Basemen
Third base is another position where Lehigh is pretty dead set on handing the reins to a fresh face, as freshman Gerard Sweeney will begin the season as the Mountain Hawks' glove on the hot corner.
"He's pretty entrenched there actually," said Leary. "Joe Gorla is going to back him up, but our infielders are pretty much like interchangeable parts."
According to Leary, both Gorla and Cichocki will be in the mix at third base to back up Sweeney to start the year.
While the Mountain Hawks' offense is still a little bit of an unknown with new guys coming in from all different areas, the team has the capability to adjust in certain situations.
Outfield
While it's nice to have the ability to determine who will be playing each of the three outfield positions at this point, there are four names that are fighting for three of those spots who are all well-rounded enough to gets reps in right, left or center field.
The outfield gets a boost in leadership and experience with Ryan Malloy, who plays primarily left field, while sophomore Tyler Schreiner (.158 AVG, 9 TB, 4 RBI), junior Mike Maguire and sophomore Quinn McKenna (.263 AVG, 32 TB, 15 RBI) are also in the mix for the rest of the positions.
"Those four guys are where the line is drawn, those four are fighting for three spots at the moment and the DH spot," said Leary. "Paul LaNoce is backing up in the outfield, Chris Butera is a two-way guy for us and Jake Kochmansky also plays some outfield."
"I think Maguire has grown tremendously from last year to this year just understand that the only stat that matters for him is runs scored," Leary said. "He just needs to get on base and score runs and once you start playing every day, you worry less about walking."
Starting Rotation
If there was one strength of this team this season no matter what the circumstance was, it would be the starting rotation for the Mountain Hawks, who have to continue to compete with an already rotation-heavy Patriot League all across the board.
"The two guys that not only have talent but have a tremendous amount of experience in the Patriot League are Levi Stoudt and Jason Reynolds," said Leary. "They just have worked so hard at their craft to get better, not just to say that they're in the rotation. They just set their goals to lead the rotation and they've both put themselves into these positions to succeed based off of their hard work."
Both Stoudt and Reynolds "have the stuff to be front-line kids" for Lehigh. With those two arms at the front of the rotation, the two of them have already raised the bar for the rest of the staff heading into the year.
"We have a guy in Ethan Frohman, who we might use as a starter this year because he's so savvy and talented and he might be the right person to throw between those two guys (Stoudt and Reynolds)," Leary said. "Mason Black will be tremendous for us in either a closing role or starting role. The first three weeks will dictate not whether he's ready for either one, but what our team needs more."
Aside from the combination of Stoudt, Reynolds, Frohman and Black, the Mountain Hawks also have the ability to throw other guys into the mix like sophomore right-hander Peter Woltersdorf (6-0, 3.08 ERA, 43 K), sophomore right-hander Matt Svanson (0-1, 4.73 ERA, 10 K), freshman southpaw Luke Rettig and sophomore right-hander Yash Rane (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 3 K), all of which could be fighting for fourth and fifth spots in the rotation this season. Even sophomore lefty Cameron Van Hoorebeke, who is coming off an injury from last season, will compete for a starting role.
"There's some really exciting arms that we may not be forced to starting right away," said Leary. "And yet a month from now, it wouldn't shock me if any of those guys are our number three pitcher. With that said, a month from now, we'd love to have some roles to find for some of those guys."
Bullpen
"Mason (Black), Ethan (Frohman), and all of those other guys that were mentioned including Matt Stamford who is another guy that's in the mix for roles outside of the rotation," Leary said.
The two names that are considered to be locks for the bullpen as solid, reliable arms are senior Chris Butera (1-1, 4.15 ERA) and junior Matt Hand (0-0, 4.15 ERA),who both play offense and find time on the mound as well.
"With all of that said, what we like is that there's enough options where we have almost a dozen guys who can be in those roles for us."
Sophomore right-hander Sam Wurth (0-0, 3 G) "has made the biggest jump forward of any pitcher on the team." Freshman left-hander Cole Humes is another player like Butera and Hand that will find ways to contribute as an arm on the staff and as a position player in the infield.
"The attitude of this group has been so positive and we don't really have anyone on our staff that's concerned about their role," said Leary. "Everyone is just really excited to contribute."
Overall, the Mountain Hawks are gearing up for a season with a lot of unknowns surrounding the complexion of the team, especially when they get into Patriot League play, however, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives on what kind of team Lehigh brings to the table in 2019.
"We don't have to be special, we have to be fundamental, we have to be consistent which is a tough thing to do in baseball," said Leary. "We really think our pitchers are going to be able to take the pressure off of our hitters.
"And if you get four runs everyday, we could win 35 games and we believe that we have enough talent here to do that. That's been our focus."
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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