University of Memphis Athletics
@MemphisBaseball Begins Fall Practice Tuesday
Oct 06, 2014 | Baseball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Coming off a fourth-straight 30-win season, the University of Memphis baseball team returns to the diamond to begin fall team practices at FedExPark. All practices throughout the fall are open to the public.
The Tigers return six position starters and two-thirds of its weekend rotation from the 2014 squad that posted a 30-29 record. Particular positions of interest in fall practices will be second base, third base and shortstop with the departure of seniors at all three positions. The Tigers have to replace weekend starter Jon Reed (8-3, 3.23 ERA) and closer Bryce Beeler (2-2, 4.61 ERA, 8 saves) as well.
"We have returning pitching that is exciting this year," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "We lost a weekend starter in Jon Reed that will be difficult to replace considering the body of work he put together, but we have a lot of other components of the staff that are returning. A few of those guys are hurt this fall, but it's going to be fun to see the return of Alex Gunn and see him get back to live work after Tommy John surgery. We get a big boost with Nolan Blackwood returning, but we have to find a replacement for Bryce Beeler on the backend. There are questions to answer about the pitching staff that will determine how many live scrimmages we have."
The Tigers will be without an experienced shortstop for the first time since 2011 with departure of Ethan Gross. Second baseman Zach Willis was a mainstay at second base and the Tigers lost senior Drew Griffin midway through the 2014 season due to injury. Both Tucker Tubbs and Carter White saw action at first and third base last season, so the infield defense remains a question heading into the new campaign.
"A key will be finding who will be the guys at third, short and second," Schoenrock said. "We will have a two or three man battle at every spot and I am excited to see that unfold. We will have Coach (Lee) Parks charting the number of routine plays we make. We lose a guy in Ethan Gross that was dominant in the routine play and occasionally made a spectacular play and that's what you look for in that position. We've stressed to the guys that we want dominance of the routine play."
Four players will see time behind the plate this fall with Nate Rupiper, Damo DeMatteo and Corey Chafin likely getting the bulk of the innings with Carter White seeing time at third and first base as well.
"Nate (Rupiper) and Damo (DeMatteo) are going to battle and I expect that Corey (Chafin) will be in the mix behind the plate as well," Schoenrock said. "Rupiper has been very good in the preseason swinging the bat and he's picked up where he left off last year. He had a really good summer in the California League and swung the bat well. They'll all battle for that catcher spot. With Carter seeing time at third base, it opens up a big opportunity for those guys. All three of them have something different they bring to the table and it's going to be neat to see those things come out."
Perhaps the most experienced group heading into the 2015 season is the outfield. The trio posted 20 outfield assists, including 12 by Jake Little. After a steady freshman campaign, Darien Tubbs returns to centerfield. Kane Barrow led the Tigers with a .319 average a season ago and returns for his senior year as the left fielder.
"We've toyed around a little with Jake Little returning to the infield to play second base," Schoenrock said. "Jake came in here as an infielder and then we migrated him to the outfield to provide depth. If we want to flip things and go to a more offensive lineup, second base is where he may land. Jake will also double up time in center with Darien. I expect Chris Carrier to make a big jump this year after he got some big at-bats in key moments last year and he's also progressed well with his physical skills. Chris has just got to put it together in a game setting. Now that Kane has a year under a belt, we expect even more out of him."
"Tucker (Tubbs) will kind of be the swing man this season," Schoenrock added. "As long as he swings the bat, he could see time at first or third. We want to look at a lot of guys, mainly at third base because that will answer a lot of questions at other positions if we get that solidified."
The Tigers have 13 newcomers in the mix this fall and Coach Schoenrock is very encouraged by what he sees out of the talented group.
"We are very encouraged by all of them, but especially the young pitching," Schoenrock said. "Connor Alexander has thrown very well in the preseason. Colton Hathcock and Drew Crosby are two others that have shown progress as Coach (Russ) McNickle has asked them to make adjustments. The lights are brighter for these guys and the speed of the game is different. We'll see how these guys handle the game situations. It's a very capable group and they are showing why they were highly recruited kids and they will all be factors come opening day."
The Tigers coaching staff has scheduled scrimmages for the first two days of team practice. This fall, the team will have a three-game series for the Rookies vs. Veterans scrimmages. The annual Garibaldi's series begins on Nov. 6 and fall practice wraps up with game seven of the series on Nov. 18. A full list of the scheduled scrimmages are below. For daily updates on scrimmage times and any changes due to weather, follow @MemphisBaseball on Twitter.
| Scrimmage Schedule | |
| Tuesday, Oct 7 | 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday, Oct 8 | 3:45 pm |
| | |
| Rookies vs Vets | |
| Friday, Oct 24 | 2:45 pm |
| Saturday, Oct 25 | 1:00 pm |
| Sunday, Oct 26 | 1:30 pm |
| | |
| Garibaldi's Series | |
| Thursday, Nov 6 | 3:45 pm |
| Saturday, Nov 8 | 1:00 pm |
| Sunday, Nov 9 | 1:30 pm |
| Wednesday, Nov 12 | 4:00 pm |
| Friday, Nov 14 | 2:45 pm |
| Sunday, Nov 16 | 1:30 pm |
| Tuesday, Nov 18 | 5:00 pm |
| All Times Subject to Change | |
