Bates Season Preview

Bates (19-17, 5-7 in 2013)

What they lost:

From last year’s seniors only two were impact players, Ryan Sonberg and Kevin McGregor. The impact of those two on the Bates offense was enormous as both posted on-base percentages above .400. McGregor, despite being the bigger of the two, was actually a walks savant, and Sonberg had 11 more total bases than any other Bobcat last year. The biggest loss however might come from the departure of last year’s innings-pitched leader Tom Baroni. Baroni ought to have been a senior this year but has decided to step away from the team this season. Whatever the reason for his absence, his 63.2 innings pitched and 2.12 ERA would have been very useful for the Bobcats.

2014 MVP: C Mekae Hyde ’15

The junior catcher enjoyed a great sophomore campaign capped off with a first team All-NESCAC honor. The stocky catcher is a Lewiston native so he has been right at home from day one on the Bates campus. Hyde is a powerful and balanced hitter with three home runs and a .324 average last year. Hyde might see some time besides catcher especially on the second game of doubleheaders in order to keep him fresh and let veteran catchers Jeff Gunn ’14 and John Anagnost ’15 get some at-bats. Still, Hyde is most valuable at catcher where he combines elite offense and defense.

2014 Pitcher of the Year: Brad Reynolds ’14

The 6’2” left-hander made the switch from reliever to starter last year with great results. He held batters to a .208 average in 43 innings last year which is low for a top of the line starter. This year he is likely to pitch close to 60, but it isn’t likely he will get worn out from the increased workload. Reynolds, like many other southpaws, relies more on deception to induce weak grounders and flyballs than overpowering hitters. If he cuts down on the 23 walks he gave out last year, he will be able to lead a Bates staff that boasts some other talented arms.

Season Outlook:

There is a lot of talent up in Lewiston, but that doesn’t mean results are a given. The team already completed their trip to Georgia and posted a record of 1-6. Hyde only played in the last two games so hopefully he is healthy when the team resumes play this weekend. Last year, Bates played a lot of close conference games including three one run losses against Trinity. They should win more of those games this year given regression to the mean, but that alone doesn’t guarantee a better record. The team’s disappointing performance in Georgia can be attributed to their shoddy defense. They averaged 3.6 errors in their seven games, and considering the team lacks any overpowering starters, the defense needs to be rock solid. If they improve there they have the bats to make some noise, but the pitching will not be enough to get Bates to the top.