Hamilton Season Preview

Hamilton (16-21, 4-8 in 2013)

What they lost:

Gabe Klein will certainly be missed as he left with the best career on base percentage (.469) in Hamilton history. Thankfully, he and Sam Fuentes are the only starting position players that left the team, meaning Hamilton has an experienced group of everyday players this spring. Hamilton is only losing two pitchers, Mike Williams and Steve Wright, who both struggled with ERAs over 7.00 in limited action last year. Other than Klein, Hamilton has not lost a lot which means their entire team should be used to playing together which will only help in terms of chemistry.

2014 MVP: SS Zack Becker ’16

Starting in 29 games last year, Hamilton’s sophomore phenom is looking to build on an impressive batting average of .323 to go along with a .434 on-base percentage. With the loss of Klein, Becker will have to step up and lead the team into 2014. That can be a daunting task for a sophomore who will likely move up from fifth to third in the lineup this year. However, Becker’s previous stats show he’s up to the challenge. He will set the pace for an offense that does not hit a lot of home runs (only five total last year, four by Klein), and focuses on average and base running to score. Look for Hamilton to move up in the standings if Becker can pick up where he left off.

2014 Pitcher of the Year: J.J. Lane ’15

Lane had a tough freshman year, going 2-6 with a 7.80 ERA over nine starts. He gained confidence and turned everything around in his sophomore campaign, at 1-2 with a 1.46 ERA over eight starts. While some falling off is expected, anything near Lane’s 2013 dominance would be impressive. He will head up an experienced rotation that includes fellow junior Alex Pachella ’15 along with senior Colin Henneberger ’14 and sophomore Cole Dreyfuss ’16. If Hamilton’s offense can improve their run support, Lane should win most of his starts this year.

Season outlook:

Despite four straight finishes at last or tied for last in their division, Hamilton has improved it’s NESCAC record each year from 1-11 in 2010 to 4-8 last year. They won one game against each NESCAC opponent, and will look to change that into winning serieses in 2014. The season hinges on a number of juniors who will need to step up in their first year as upperclassmen. Production from Becker and Lane should be expected, but players such as Andrew Jaffoni ’15, Tyler Reinhold ’15 and Alex Pachella ’15 could make or break Hamilton’s season.