Pitchers warming up their arms by shoveling snow. It may sound like a routine to prepare for a winter baseball league, but it is the current reality for the Shippensburg University baseball team, days removed from the opening to its regular season.
Raiders baseball will migrate south and begin the 2016 season with a 10-game road stand in North Carolina against Belmont Abbey University, Wingate University, Catawba University and the University of North Carolina.
Remaining focused will be key for SU as the team prepares for the season’s start in the snowy conditions of the northeast. “We’re going to find out if shoveling is a good, functional activity for baseball,” joked manager Matt Jones.
A club with youth, talented hitting and average pitching finished with a 25-25 overall record in 2015.
The Raiders also posted a 17-11 record against teams in the PSAC East Division. Expectations and anticipation surround the clubhouse, as last week, Shippensburg was ranked third in the PSAC preseason coaches’ poll.
“If we can improve a bit on the mound and maintain what we did offensively, we should be in better shape,” Jones said.
The team earned run average in 2015 totaled 6.71, which Jones continued to stress needed improvement.
“I think if we go about a run-and a-half lower we win at least 10 more games and that would get us to 35 wins and probably second or third in the region,” Jones said.
The team’s offensive expectations will remain high with the lineup batting a collective .329 average last season. Once more, Jones touched on his specific numerical targets. “Our goal is going to be to score five runs a game, so if we could be south of that on the mound, on average we should be in good shape,” he said.
With every successful batting lineup in any given league, a power hitter is needed.
Catcher Jake Kennedy shattered myths of a sophomore slump in 2015 by leading the roster in home runs (19), runs batted in (49) and slugging percentage (.721).
“It is all about working hard regardless of whether we are in the gym or out in the cold,” Kennedy said.
Last season’s breakout star from the pitching mound was Gabe Mosser, who earned a 6-2 record his freshmen year, starting seven games. Mosser, a Parkland High School graduate, averaged more than a strikeout per inning pitched and used an unconventional tool rarely seen today by baseball pitchers.
The biggest weapon in Mosser’s arsenal is speed. Not the speed of his fastball, but the speed between pitches.
“I’ve always been a fast worker and trying to move the game along and get the hitters off balance,” Mosser said. “Working quick has just been something that came natural to me. I don’t think much about it.”
The Raiders will open the home portion of the season on Saturday, March 5, against Le Moyne College.
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