University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Season Prospectus: Bulldog Baseball Begins Preparations for 2017 with First Practice Friday
01.25.2017 | Baseball
2017Â Quick Facts
2017 Schedule
2017 Roster
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – It may still be January, but on Friday, Jan. 27, the UNC Asheville baseball team will officially open the 2017 season with the first official team practice of the regular season. Once the Bulldogs hit the field for that practice, it will be just three short weeks before first pitch on the road against Samford in the season-opener, and head coach Scott Friedholm and his staff couldn't be more excited to get the year going.
2017 will mark the third season for Friedholm and his coaching staff in Asheville. While the first two seasons have seen growing pains, there have also been plenty of positives to build off. Last season included a huge road win over 11th-ranked North Carolina as well as series wins over Mount St. Mary's, Presbyterian and Charleston Southern.
The biggest thing Friedholm would like to see his team do better in 2017 is how they approach each game.
"This season, I would like to see a more consistent approach to how we play the game," Friedholm said. "Being able to go out and compete in 56 games the same way no matter if we've just won or lost, whether we are up or down. To put the utmost attention and focus on each game as they come. I would like us to pitch and play defense better and I think we will just because of some more depth in areas. On offense, we will have more opportunities and I would like us to continue our approach and have the guys continue to buy into what we are doing here."
Friedholm will have a roster of 26 players to work with this spring, including eight true freshmen. He returns 18 players from last year's roster, including four of the top five offensive producers from last season's team. While the team is young, Friedholm won't be afraid to ask his team to compete.
"We are young, which is fine. There is a difference in being young and not being good," Friedholm said. "We are young, but I think we have a chance to be good as long as our upperclassmen continue to lead by example because they know what it takes to get through a 56-game schedule, whereas the freshmen do not. The sophomores, I consider them upperclassmen with the experience they got last year. I think with those eight freshmen, they have 18 guys to lean on when they run into a hard part of the season. The upper classmen have done a great job trying to get them ready. We challenged our guys the last two years to see how quickly we can make a freshman… not a freshman. If we can do it in the fall, then we're on the right track. And our upperclassmen and leadership have done a great job of that."
The Pitchers
Of the 26 players listed on the 2017 roster, 13 pitchers will be ready to go this season, including six who tossed at least 20 innings last season. Back are the top two ERAs from last season in Nick Boyles and Eric Whitecavage. Boyles led all Bulldogs on the mound last season with a 1.91 ERA and a 2-0 record in 18 appearances. He also held opponents to a .156 batting average over 28.1 innings of work. Whitecavage ended the season with a 4.15 ERA in 26 innings of work. He recorded a team-best three saves on the year and struck out 20 batters.
Asheville should also benefit from Joe Zayatz returning after redshirting for most of last season along with Austin Fahr, Danny Wilson and Spencer Orr. Before redshirting, Zayatz boasted a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts in three appearances and 20.0 innings of work. They will also be joined by freshmen Blake Brown, Greg Gasparro, Brandon Harris and Kole Harris.
The Catchers
For 2017, the Bulldogs will look to utilize three catchers highlighted by sophomore Andrew Friedholm. Friedholm saw action in 29 games last season, making 25 starts, and registered 133 putouts and 14 assists. But he will be pushed for playing time by a pair of talented freshmen in Tyler Serricchio and Joe Gruszka.
The Infielders
The Bulldogs' infield will be in good hands this season and on into the future as they return three of the four positions. They return sophomore first baseman Danny Wilson, senior shortstop Derek Smith and sophomore third baseman Carmine Pagano. Also back is Jake Madole from a redshirt season last year.
Wilson played in 53 games last season as a true freshman, batting .270 for the season with nine extra base knocks and 31 RBIs. He also had 393 putouts in the field. Last season, Smith batted .252 in 39 games and led the team with 122 assists and Pagano saw action in 47 games, batting .246 with eight extra base hits.
Added to the quartet for this season will be freshmen Kole Harris, Brandon Lankford and Chris Troost.
The Outfielders
The outfield stands to be an embarrassment of riches for the Bulldogs highlighted by 2016 Big South All-Conference second-teamer Joe Tietjen. He is joined by fellow senior Kyle Carruthers in right field. The third outfield spot will be contested for by redshirt juniors Tanner Bush, Zayatz as well as Woods.
Last season, Tietjen led the team with a .344 batting average and a .553 slugging percentage through 54 games. He was also tops on the squad with 25 extra base knocks, including 15 doubles and 10 home runs. Tietjen batted in 55 runs and scored 44 of his own and swiped 12 bases.
Carruthers was fourth on the team last year with a .271 batting average, making 45 starts while seeing action in 51 games. He scored 22 runs and collected 49 hits, including 12 doubles, and batted in 27 runs.
The Schedule
The 2017 schedule features 56 games, 25 at home, and a complete Big South Conference slate of 24 games. Once again on the schedule are Tennessee, UNC and N.C. State as well as traditional foes USC Upstate, Wofford, Western Carolina, Furman, Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Charlotte and North Carolina Central.
The Bulldogs will play the first nine games, three weekends on the road, including starting the season in Birmingham, Ala., at Samford.
"We as a staff have made a decision that February in Asheville is not always conducive to playing, so we are looking from this year and into the future to always travel the first two, sometimes three weekends just to give ourselves a better chance to be able to play and prepare for the conference schedule," Friedholm said. "With the improvements to our stadium's playing surface, we want to try to play as many home games as possible once the weather is better. 25 games is roughly half of our season. The ability to play at home in March and April, can have a huge impact for our program, not only from the baseball standpoint but also for our guys academically and health-wise."
The team will start the season off on the road, but once the calendar turns to March, the Bulldogs will benefit by playing 12 of 20 games at home, including one game against Western Carolina at McCormick Field.
Also on the schedule will be Tennessee, preseason 14th-ranked N.C. State and 17th-ranked UNC. Last season, the Bulldogs traveled to Chapel Hill and toppled the nationally-ranked Tarheels 3-2 off six hits and capped by a Tietjen diving catch that resulted in a double play to seal the victory. That victory was the first-ever for any Bulldog program over UNC.
"It was huge not only for the university, but especially for our program," Friedholm said. "It showed the younger guys, especially our freshmen last year, that when we get this program rolling, we will be able to compete with anybody in the country on any given day. We can compete and I think that game gave those younger guys a validation about what we're trying to do here and it carried over into the fall because the team came back with a little bit of confidence. We had a very good fall. We want to take the confidence we have building in this program and use it to fuel our consistent, focused approach to each game, to win each pitch."
The schedule begins on Friday, Feb. 17 when UNC Asheville travels to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Samford in a three-game series. The Bulldogs' home opener is slated for Friday, Mar. 3 against Iona at Greenwood Field, the first of a three-game series.
2017 Schedule
2017 Roster
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – It may still be January, but on Friday, Jan. 27, the UNC Asheville baseball team will officially open the 2017 season with the first official team practice of the regular season. Once the Bulldogs hit the field for that practice, it will be just three short weeks before first pitch on the road against Samford in the season-opener, and head coach Scott Friedholm and his staff couldn't be more excited to get the year going.
2017 will mark the third season for Friedholm and his coaching staff in Asheville. While the first two seasons have seen growing pains, there have also been plenty of positives to build off. Last season included a huge road win over 11th-ranked North Carolina as well as series wins over Mount St. Mary's, Presbyterian and Charleston Southern.
The biggest thing Friedholm would like to see his team do better in 2017 is how they approach each game.
"This season, I would like to see a more consistent approach to how we play the game," Friedholm said. "Being able to go out and compete in 56 games the same way no matter if we've just won or lost, whether we are up or down. To put the utmost attention and focus on each game as they come. I would like us to pitch and play defense better and I think we will just because of some more depth in areas. On offense, we will have more opportunities and I would like us to continue our approach and have the guys continue to buy into what we are doing here."
Friedholm will have a roster of 26 players to work with this spring, including eight true freshmen. He returns 18 players from last year's roster, including four of the top five offensive producers from last season's team. While the team is young, Friedholm won't be afraid to ask his team to compete.
"We are young, which is fine. There is a difference in being young and not being good," Friedholm said. "We are young, but I think we have a chance to be good as long as our upperclassmen continue to lead by example because they know what it takes to get through a 56-game schedule, whereas the freshmen do not. The sophomores, I consider them upperclassmen with the experience they got last year. I think with those eight freshmen, they have 18 guys to lean on when they run into a hard part of the season. The upper classmen have done a great job trying to get them ready. We challenged our guys the last two years to see how quickly we can make a freshman… not a freshman. If we can do it in the fall, then we're on the right track. And our upperclassmen and leadership have done a great job of that."
The Pitchers
Of the 26 players listed on the 2017 roster, 13 pitchers will be ready to go this season, including six who tossed at least 20 innings last season. Back are the top two ERAs from last season in Nick Boyles and Eric Whitecavage. Boyles led all Bulldogs on the mound last season with a 1.91 ERA and a 2-0 record in 18 appearances. He also held opponents to a .156 batting average over 28.1 innings of work. Whitecavage ended the season with a 4.15 ERA in 26 innings of work. He recorded a team-best three saves on the year and struck out 20 batters.
Asheville should also benefit from Joe Zayatz returning after redshirting for most of last season along with Austin Fahr, Danny Wilson and Spencer Orr. Before redshirting, Zayatz boasted a 2.25 ERA and 16 strikeouts in three appearances and 20.0 innings of work. They will also be joined by freshmen Blake Brown, Greg Gasparro, Brandon Harris and Kole Harris.
The Catchers
For 2017, the Bulldogs will look to utilize three catchers highlighted by sophomore Andrew Friedholm. Friedholm saw action in 29 games last season, making 25 starts, and registered 133 putouts and 14 assists. But he will be pushed for playing time by a pair of talented freshmen in Tyler Serricchio and Joe Gruszka.
The Infielders
The Bulldogs' infield will be in good hands this season and on into the future as they return three of the four positions. They return sophomore first baseman Danny Wilson, senior shortstop Derek Smith and sophomore third baseman Carmine Pagano. Also back is Jake Madole from a redshirt season last year.
Wilson played in 53 games last season as a true freshman, batting .270 for the season with nine extra base knocks and 31 RBIs. He also had 393 putouts in the field. Last season, Smith batted .252 in 39 games and led the team with 122 assists and Pagano saw action in 47 games, batting .246 with eight extra base hits.
Added to the quartet for this season will be freshmen Kole Harris, Brandon Lankford and Chris Troost.
The Outfielders
The outfield stands to be an embarrassment of riches for the Bulldogs highlighted by 2016 Big South All-Conference second-teamer Joe Tietjen. He is joined by fellow senior Kyle Carruthers in right field. The third outfield spot will be contested for by redshirt juniors Tanner Bush, Zayatz as well as Woods.
Last season, Tietjen led the team with a .344 batting average and a .553 slugging percentage through 54 games. He was also tops on the squad with 25 extra base knocks, including 15 doubles and 10 home runs. Tietjen batted in 55 runs and scored 44 of his own and swiped 12 bases.
Carruthers was fourth on the team last year with a .271 batting average, making 45 starts while seeing action in 51 games. He scored 22 runs and collected 49 hits, including 12 doubles, and batted in 27 runs.
The Schedule
The 2017 schedule features 56 games, 25 at home, and a complete Big South Conference slate of 24 games. Once again on the schedule are Tennessee, UNC and N.C. State as well as traditional foes USC Upstate, Wofford, Western Carolina, Furman, Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Charlotte and North Carolina Central.
The Bulldogs will play the first nine games, three weekends on the road, including starting the season in Birmingham, Ala., at Samford.
"We as a staff have made a decision that February in Asheville is not always conducive to playing, so we are looking from this year and into the future to always travel the first two, sometimes three weekends just to give ourselves a better chance to be able to play and prepare for the conference schedule," Friedholm said. "With the improvements to our stadium's playing surface, we want to try to play as many home games as possible once the weather is better. 25 games is roughly half of our season. The ability to play at home in March and April, can have a huge impact for our program, not only from the baseball standpoint but also for our guys academically and health-wise."
The team will start the season off on the road, but once the calendar turns to March, the Bulldogs will benefit by playing 12 of 20 games at home, including one game against Western Carolina at McCormick Field.
Also on the schedule will be Tennessee, preseason 14th-ranked N.C. State and 17th-ranked UNC. Last season, the Bulldogs traveled to Chapel Hill and toppled the nationally-ranked Tarheels 3-2 off six hits and capped by a Tietjen diving catch that resulted in a double play to seal the victory. That victory was the first-ever for any Bulldog program over UNC.
"It was huge not only for the university, but especially for our program," Friedholm said. "It showed the younger guys, especially our freshmen last year, that when we get this program rolling, we will be able to compete with anybody in the country on any given day. We can compete and I think that game gave those younger guys a validation about what we're trying to do here and it carried over into the fall because the team came back with a little bit of confidence. We had a very good fall. We want to take the confidence we have building in this program and use it to fuel our consistent, focused approach to each game, to win each pitch."
The schedule begins on Friday, Feb. 17 when UNC Asheville travels to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Samford in a three-game series. The Bulldogs' home opener is slated for Friday, Mar. 3 against Iona at Greenwood Field, the first of a three-game series.
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