A Bucks baseball revival seems to be coming at the hands of head coach, Robert Fravel, who has high expectations for his 2016 squad.
The 2016 season will be Fravel’s first full season with the team; last season Fravel was called upon after Lou Pacchioli stepped down as head coach just two weeks into the season.
“Well last year I simply had to play the hand I was dealt. We only had a dozen or so players, half of whom didn’t really realize how much work goes into playing college baseball,” Fravel spoke on the matter.
Not only was Fravel able to work with the team for a longer period of time, but he was able to recruit players.
At a time when Bucks athletics has struggled with getting players to come out for their teams, the baseball team has seen impressive numbers thanks to recruiting.
Fravel said, “Last season we ended the season with 11 players. This season we will have an 18 man roster. Being able to go out, recruit and have other members of the coaching staff do the same, coupled with getting the word out about the re-generation of the Bucks baseball program has really helped with growing the roster.”
Of course, the number of players doesn’t matter if they can’t perform come game time.
To prepare for the season Fravel says the players have exhibition games in the fall, team practices in the facilities at Bucks, gym workouts, a strength and conditioning program, then the team moves back outside for practice when the weather becomes warmer.
Coach Fravel will be looking towards a group of five returning players make up the leadership of the team.
Fravel says these players have a huge impact on the fall and preseason because they set the example for the first year players.
As for the season, which will begin in just a few days, Fravel’s main concern is his pitching staff.
“We lost a few arms over the winter and as a result we are going to have to stretch our pitching staff quite a bit to get through the year. The arms that we have are more than capable, and they have the talent to get the job done, but we will need to find a way to get through 250 innings with less than a dozen pitchers,” Fravel said.
Fravel believes his team will overcome their pitching adversity and they will make it to the Region 19 tournament for the first time since Bucks has joined Region 19.
Their journey to the Region 19 tournament begins on Feb. 20 with a double header against King’s College’s Junior Varsity team.
The first game will begin at 12:00 p.m. at Diamond Nation; the second game will begin at 3:00 p.m.
As always Bucks students are encouraged to come out and support their Centurions.