With the loss of power in the hitting lineup, the Ball State baseball team will be looking toward their pitching staff to win games for them.
"Our pitchers need to keep us in the games at all time; to stay close and give us a chance to win," first year assistant coach Mike Stafford said.
Stafford comes from a distinguished baseball background having pitched for Ohio State University and coached for the Columbus Clippers, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. His father, Bill, played for the New York Yankees for eight seasons and was part of the '61 and '62 World Championship teams.
"Taking the college route as a coach, you get a better response from the players. They know where you've been, and they're very receptive about what you have to say," Stafford said. "I just like the way the players respond as far as wanting to learn and get better on a daily basis."
Stafford takes over a staff that lost Jason Paul and Bran Lynch, who combined for 15 of the team's 36 wins. Lynch posted a 3.21 ERA and had seven complete games in 15 appearances. He was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies.
The current three-man rotation includes senior co-captain and lefthander Mike Johnston, senior Andy Anderson and sophomore Joe Ness, but is without a marquee player such as Bryan Bullington, who was drafted as the first pick in the first round of the 2002 MLB Draft, or Lynch of last year's staff.
"I think that while some people look at that as a weakness, it will be a strength," Johnston said. "With that in mind, we're going to have a lot of guys that are going to step it up."
With mid-week games or potential spot starts, there will be a need for a fourth starter to step it up, which Stafford believes could be filled by freshmen Richie Fralick and Ryan DeGeeter, or junior Jeff Michael.
While the team has one of the more deeper bullpens in the conference, Stafford believes it weighs in equally with the starting rotation.
"We've got a good strong staff and a good supporting bullpen. I think they work well as a unit," Stafford said. "I wouldn't put a nametag on which one's better."
Senior righthander John Pettibone returns to his closer's role after totaling nine saves in 19 appearances with a 3.04 ERA.
Middle relief will come from many of the same pitchers competing for the fourth starting position such as Michael and Fralick along with junior Michael Hale, Chris Hansen and sophomore Ryan Hammonds.
Lefthanded reliever Kory Bucklew, who pitched in a team-high 25 games, has been experiencing minor elbow problems heading into the season.
"We don't know the exact extent of that injury at this point, but Kory is a major player in our bullpen and hopefully things work out where that elbow is going to be okay," head coach Greg Beals said.
The pitching staff has had the opportunity for no outdoor practices this offseason, but they have been given time in the batting cages pitching to a live catcher and batter.
"We really pound a lot of drill work in the offseason and I've seen some very good improvement in a lot of pitchers since I've been here in the fall," Stafford said. "I think we've made some good strides with a lot of different players mechanically, and it's shown in their stats as far as what we do in the cages against hitters."
The team will begin its season at 2 p.m. this Friday against Valparaiso at the Governor's Cup in Evansville. Johnston will be making the start for the Cardinals.
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