2008 Baseball Preview

The 2008 Sea Lions will rely heavily on starting pitcher Chris Honer, who looks to help fill the void of four starters that moved on from last year’s team. Photo by Jorge De La Torre

The Sea Lions’ 30-18 finish last season extended the streak of 30-plus wins to six consecutive seasons. The Sea Lions were off to a great start last year (17-7, 11-5), but after a second-half meltdown and losses to Concordia and Azusa Pacific in the Region II playoffs, the dream for a national title came to an end. With a revamped offense and a new rotation, the Sea Lions are hoping to make a stronger and deeper run in 2008.

“Last year was really tough ... some key injuries and having one of the toughest conferences in the nation made it a pretty tough road,” said senior closer Robbie Naegele. “The seniors all got together this year and decided to go back to the basics and just take the whole season one game at a time.”

The Sea Lions are returning 13 players with an additional 13 newcomers, while losing 10 from last year’s team. PLNU’s pitching staff took the biggest hit, losing all four of its starting pitchers: Tony Kirbis, Johnnie Lowe and Taylor Cameron were selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, and Jared Eskew transferred to Cal Poly. But associate head coach Joe Schaefer feels his new pitching staff will go a long way.

“We aren’t overpowering like last year and probably won’t have the strikeout totals we had, but we throw strikes and get outs,” said Schaefer. “This year’s staff will keep us in ballgames longer and should still be fresh at the end of the year.”

For a team that has relied heavily on pitching the past couple of years, the Sea Lions turn to one of the more potent offenses in recent memories to do some damage. Leading the offense will be seniors Mike Reynolds, batting in the designated hitter spot, and third baseman Andy Reilly, who hit a combined .348 with 10 home runs and 77 RBI last year. Centerfielder Kurt Steinhauer, who led the team in home runs in 2006, missed all of last season due to injury but is healthy and will be asked to produce runs along with sophomore first baseman Ian MacMaster.

Freshman second baseman Tyler Kuehl, one of the most highly touted recruits in Sea Lion history, has met expectations and will bat in the three spot behind shortstop Jesse Gill, who is coming off a solid season that saw him score 40 runs while driving in 37. Junior Kaohi Downing and newcomer Mike Miles (Southwestern Community College) will start in the corner outfield spots and provide speed. Sophomore Drew Bernhard and senior transfer Chris Huston (Tabor College) will vie for time behind the plate.

Led by both power and speed, the Sea Lion offense should be one of the best in the conference.

“I think we are going to score more runs this season,” said Schaefer. “Every player in our lineup is going to be a tough out. All our guys are capable of bunting for a hit, moving a runner and stealing a base when needed. We have a few guys that can hit the long ball on occasion.”

Another key to the Sea Lion team will be their depth in the bench.
“We have a pretty deep bench this year, which allows us to play the best match-ups possible,” said Schaefer. “We have some speed on the bench, some defensive specialists and some guys we can count on for a clutch pinch hit. We were hampered by injuries last season and didn’t have much of a bench to play with. This year we have had position battles all fall and guys have really improved as a result.”

As for the team itself, they all seem to be in tune. Nobody is worried about records or winning a title. They’re just taking it one game at a time.

“Well, I just think we approach each game with a quality team,” said head coach Jack Northam. “I’m just looking forward to the camaraderie.”