Photo by: Al Samuels
2017 CofC Baseball Preview: Pitchers
2/15/2017 1:02:00 PM | Baseball
Outfielders | Infield/Catchers
With the 2017 baseball season opening on Friday, CofCSports.com will take a position-by-position look at this season's team.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Perhaps no position on the College of Charleston baseball team at the start of the 2017 season is more solidified than that of the Cougars' Friday night starter, as redshirt junior Bailey Ober (Charlotte, N.C.) returns to anchor a pitching staff loaded with talent and potential. Boasting two former Freshman All-Americans and several promising young arms, the Cougars hope to combine a potentially lethal lineup with a dominating weekend rotation in their quest for a sixth conference championship.
Ober will once again slot in at the top of the rotation, electing to return for his junior season after being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last June. A 2014 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, Ober posted a 7-4 record with a 3.53 ERA and 96 strikeouts last season, and is one win from moving into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time victories list.
Promising sophomore Evan Sisk (Chester, S.C.) is expected to slot in as the Saturday starter after making 17 appearances and five starts a season ago. In 38 and one-thirds innings, Sisk fanned 37 and posted a 1-2 record.
The Sunday role will likely be an ongoing battle between a pair of newcomers in junior transfer Tucker White (Sterling, Okla.) and freshman Jakob Frishmuth (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). In two seasons at Cowley County Community College, White compiled a 14-1 record with a 3.82 ERA and 125 strikeouts – including a 9-0 mark with 86 punch outs and a 2.73 ERA last spring. Frishmuth posted a 3.50 ERA and 61 strikeouts at Carolina Forest High School in 2016.
The Cougars have several options to fill the mid-week starting role, including junior Justin Baker (Huntersville, N.C.), as well as freshmen Kris Kuhn (Summerville, S.C.) and Griffin McLarty (Buckner, Ky.) – all three of which are also expected to fill valuable bullpen innings.
Returning to anchor the bullpen are the talented trio of Carter Love (Charlotte, N.C.), Will Detwiler (Camden, S.C.), and Nathan Ocker (Middletown, Pa.). Love enters the season ranked fifth on the program's all-time saves list with 14 after closing out 10 games last season. Detwiller and Ocker combined for 48 appearances – mostly out of the 'pen – in 2016 with 65 strikeouts between them. Freshmen Christian Shiver (Monroe, Ga.) and Trent Rider (Warfordsburg, Pa.) are also expected to make an impact out of the bullpen this season.
Head coach Matt Heath on Pitching Staff:
"Our pitching staff is obviously anchored by our Friday night guy, Bailey Ober, and it filters back from there. What I like most about this year's staff is the competition we have for the Sunday job, which is something we haven't had in a long time. That's what you look at. How good is your pitching staff? Friday and Saturday was pretty well established coming out of the fall with Ober and Sisk. I think we've had a lot of competition for the Sunday job, because a lot of those guys are still young and you never know what a young player can do. There are some guys in the mix that I like, and even the possibility of starting Carter Love is exciting. I think the bullpen needs to shore up, some guys need to step up and really take some of those roles."
Be sure to check back tomorrow when we take a look at this weekend's season-opening matchup with Georgia.
With the 2017 baseball season opening on Friday, CofCSports.com will take a position-by-position look at this season's team.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Perhaps no position on the College of Charleston baseball team at the start of the 2017 season is more solidified than that of the Cougars' Friday night starter, as redshirt junior Bailey Ober (Charlotte, N.C.) returns to anchor a pitching staff loaded with talent and potential. Boasting two former Freshman All-Americans and several promising young arms, the Cougars hope to combine a potentially lethal lineup with a dominating weekend rotation in their quest for a sixth conference championship.
Ober will once again slot in at the top of the rotation, electing to return for his junior season after being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last June. A 2014 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, Ober posted a 7-4 record with a 3.53 ERA and 96 strikeouts last season, and is one win from moving into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time victories list.
Promising sophomore Evan Sisk (Chester, S.C.) is expected to slot in as the Saturday starter after making 17 appearances and five starts a season ago. In 38 and one-thirds innings, Sisk fanned 37 and posted a 1-2 record.
The Sunday role will likely be an ongoing battle between a pair of newcomers in junior transfer Tucker White (Sterling, Okla.) and freshman Jakob Frishmuth (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). In two seasons at Cowley County Community College, White compiled a 14-1 record with a 3.82 ERA and 125 strikeouts – including a 9-0 mark with 86 punch outs and a 2.73 ERA last spring. Frishmuth posted a 3.50 ERA and 61 strikeouts at Carolina Forest High School in 2016.
The Cougars have several options to fill the mid-week starting role, including junior Justin Baker (Huntersville, N.C.), as well as freshmen Kris Kuhn (Summerville, S.C.) and Griffin McLarty (Buckner, Ky.) – all three of which are also expected to fill valuable bullpen innings.
Returning to anchor the bullpen are the talented trio of Carter Love (Charlotte, N.C.), Will Detwiler (Camden, S.C.), and Nathan Ocker (Middletown, Pa.). Love enters the season ranked fifth on the program's all-time saves list with 14 after closing out 10 games last season. Detwiller and Ocker combined for 48 appearances – mostly out of the 'pen – in 2016 with 65 strikeouts between them. Freshmen Christian Shiver (Monroe, Ga.) and Trent Rider (Warfordsburg, Pa.) are also expected to make an impact out of the bullpen this season.
Head coach Matt Heath on Pitching Staff:
"Our pitching staff is obviously anchored by our Friday night guy, Bailey Ober, and it filters back from there. What I like most about this year's staff is the competition we have for the Sunday job, which is something we haven't had in a long time. That's what you look at. How good is your pitching staff? Friday and Saturday was pretty well established coming out of the fall with Ober and Sisk. I think we've had a lot of competition for the Sunday job, because a lot of those guys are still young and you never know what a young player can do. There are some guys in the mix that I like, and even the possibility of starting Carter Love is exciting. I think the bullpen needs to shore up, some guys need to step up and really take some of those roles."
Be sure to check back tomorrow when we take a look at this weekend's season-opening matchup with Georgia.
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