Pitching leads way for 2016 Tigers
Second-year coach Mark Erickson is optimistic the 2016 Red Oak Tigers have pieces in place for a successful baseball season.
Erickson’s excitement extends to his coaching staff – Nick Crouse and Steve Erickson have been working with the team for several weeks.
“I couldn’t ask for a more knowledgeable, dependable, and hard-working assistant coach. He knows baseball and does a great job of breaking down our players’ mechanics in order to help them improve in all facets of the game,” Erickson said of Crouse.
He also has help from a familiar face in Steve Erickson, a first-year volunteer assistant.
“I am excited to have my brother on board. He’s already building great relationships with the players. He is an intelligent baseball mind who will only add to our positive team attitude and work ethic.”
In the season-opener at Shenandoah, the Tigers’ pitchers didn’t allow an earned run, but the team lost the game, 5-1. On Monday, the Tigers once again had great mound work and defeated Atlantic at Principal Park in Des Moines.
“We had 19 of our 25 players throwing bullpen sessions throughout the winter-spring period. Coach Crouse has done an outstanding job working on routines and pitching mechanics with our players,” Erickson said.
“Carlos Guerra and Jesse Taylor are our top returning starters. Beyond that, we will look to a number of other players to step up to give us some good innings on the mound. Murphy Porter, Colin Bruce, Ryan Lundgren, Will West, Mario Lepe, Ryker Connell, Connor Johnson, Isaac Bower, and Carter Bruce threw a significant amount of bullpen sessions over the winter/spring period and could factor in throughout the season as pitchers. We also have other younger pitchers who are knocking at the door as well.”
Guerra was second team all-Hawkeye 10 last year and Taylor was honorable mention. They are lone returnees who received league honors in 2015.
Meet the team
Erickson talked about the players on the team, starting with the seniors.
• Clay Selberg: Has not played baseball since his little league days; great character and work ethic and will only add positive energy in the dugout.
• Murphy Porter: Shoulder and knee injuries throughout his career; cleared to play and looking forward to seeing what he can add to our lineup.
• Ryan Dyson: A great example for the young guys, shows great leadership skills, one of the best contact hitters on the team, willing to do anything asked of him.
• Jesse Taylor: Second on team in runs - 13, first in hits - 23, first in RBI - 13, batting average of .329, OBP of .405; pitched 48 innings, only 17 BBs, ERA of 4.67 with 30 strikeouts; big time competitor on the mound and the plate.
• Colin Bruce: Third in runs - 12, second in hits - 21, led in triples, second in BA - .333, first in OBP of .440; main guy behind the plate; matured as a person and player, knows when to talk to our pitcher, started to throw runners out at a good clip toward the end of last season.
Juniors
• Connor Johnson: Led the team in walks – 13.
• Carlos Guerra: Led team in runs - 16, second in steals with five; pitching ERA of 3.90, struck out 49 batters in 41 innings pitched; love his passion for the game; looking for a breakout season from him.
• Ryker Connell: Second in RBI - 11, second in BB - 12, OBP of .413; led infield with a fielding percentage of .955; great communicator and stayed as positive as anyone on the team in tough games.
• Mario Lepe: Tied for the lead in HBP with three; starting to see a more committed player.
• Ryan Lundgren: Second in infield fielding percentage with .939; tied for second in stolen bases – four; probably led the team in most hard hit balls right at people; really excited about his potential for this season.
• Will West: Led team in batting average with .370, second in OBP with .420, led team in doubles with seven; missed some games last year and excited to have him for the entire season.
Sophomore
• Ryan Messinger: Suffered an elbow injury and won’t be able to pitch for us, we’re looking for him to help us out with his bat.
Freshmen
• Isaac Bower and Carter Bruce: Both showed toughness against tough competition last year as eighth graders. We threw them into the fire and they performed admirably under the circumstances. We’re looking for them to continue to develop and compete like they did last season.
• Cam Vanderhoof: Will fill a nice role for us as a courtesy runner or pinch runner.
Conference race
“The Hawkeye 10 Conference has many well established baseball programs and coaches. If people get the chance to see a Hawkeye 10 game, they’ll see some of the best players in our state,” Erickson said. “I can’t point to only a few teams for the conference race as there will be many teams that had great seasons last year and have great players coming back. We are looking to climb the ladder in terms of where we finish in the conference. The grind of our conference certainly helps us prepare for our tournament season.”