Season Preview: 2010 Bulldogs Are a More Experienced Breed
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Fourteen freshmen and
sophomores played significant roles on the Yale baseball team in
2009, and with those players now one year older, the Bulldogs have
quickly grown from the youngest team in the Ivy League to one of
the most experienced. The Elis return 21 letterwinners to the
diamond in 2010 as Mazzuto Family Head Coach John Stuper, now in
his 18th season in Yale dugout, leads the Bulldogs in the hunt for
the program’s third Ivy League Championship.
There will be no “learning curve” around the horn for
Yale, as the Bulldogs entire starting infield returns for another
year, led by First Team All-Ivy first baseman Trygg
Larsson-Danforth. The 6’6 lefty had a breakout season in
2009, hitting .344 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 36 games en
route to earning the G.H. Walker, Jr. Award as Yale’s most
valuable player. Larsson-Danforth, now a senior, also swiped five
bases and made just three errors in 270 chances at first base.
Junior second baseman Gant Elmore made tremendous strides at the
plate last season, improving his batting average from a .264 clip
as a freshman to a solid .294. Elmore also raised his on-base
percentage by nearly 80 points (to .408) and, batting primarily out
of the two-hole in the Bulldogs’ lineup, led the team with
seven sacrifices.
For the third consecutive season, junior Andy Megee will occupy
the hot corner at Yale Field. Megee, who started 36 games for the
Bulldogs last season, led Yale in hits (47), doubles (11), triples
(4) and stolen bases (9) while raising his batting average from
.265 as a freshman to .329 in his sophomore campaign. Megee also
made seven appearances on the mound, including four starts, and
will work out of the Yale bullpen again in 2010. The native of Los
Angeles received the 2009 Paul Sortal Award, which goes to the Yale
player who maximizes his ability to the fullest.
Shortstop Matt Schmidt made an instant impact with his glove last
season, and posted a strong finish to 2009 at the plate as well.
After early struggles as a freshman, Schmidt hit .294 in the month
of April and finished second on the team with nine doubles. The
defensive dynamo was also a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base
attempts.
Despite a lingering injury throughout 2009, sophomore Ryan Brenner
appeared behind the plate in 17 games and looks to take over
full-time catching duties this season. Brenner had one home run and
seven RBI in 57 at-bats last year. Junior Harry Koulos and freshman
Chris Piwinski, both outfielders, also have experience at catcher
and could spell Brenner as a part of the Yale battery.
New to mix in the Bulldogs’ infield are freshman first
baseman Josh Scharff and junior utility player Trey Rallis.
Scharff, a power-hitting lefthander, and Rallis could also see time
in the outfield or at designated hitter.
The outfield has a big gap to fill, left by graduated 2009 team
captain and centerfielder Stefan Schropp ‘09, but several
Elis are ready for the challenge. Sophomore Charlie Neil was a
mainstay in left field for the Bulldogs last season, driving in 13
runs as the team’s only switch-hitter and making 33
appearances in the outfield. Juniors Andrew Kolmar and Andrew
Moore, as well as sophomore Zach Tobolowsky, split the majority of
the innings in right field last season. Kolmar smacked four home
runs and piled up 12 RBI, while Moore had a number of timely hits,
including the go-ahead home run in a 4-1 win over eventual Ivy
League Champion Dartmouth. Tobolowsky hit .320 in his freshman
season, swatting five home runs with 18 RBI. He was the
co-recipient, with closer Eric Shultz, of the David M. Darst Hustle
Cup, presented annually to Yale’s rookie of the year.
Harry Koulos, Chris Piwinski, senior defensive specialist Stephen
Miehls and freshman speedster Cam Squires will also log innings in
the Elis’ outfield.
With the Seattle Mariners organization currently benefiting from
the services of Brandon Josselyn ’09, the reigning Ivy League
Pitcher of the Year, Yale will have a number of arms vying for the
spot at the top of Stuper’s rotation. The Bulldogs’ top
returning hurler is junior Vinny Lally, who went 3-3 in his first
season as a starter in 2009. The southpaw made nine starts and
ranked behind only Josselyn with 33 strikeouts.
Pat Ludwig and Greg Lyons, both sophomore right-handers, worked
primarily out of the bullpen in 2009 but turned in solid starts at
the end of the season. Ludwig was effective in a pair of
no-decisions as a starter and also tossed three innings of one-run
relief to earn a win in his last appearance of the season against
Brown. Lyons made one start, coming away with a no-decision despite
holding Hartford to two earned runs over 5.2 innings and leaving
with a 5-2 lead. Ludwig is projected to be in the starting
rotation, while Lyons will continue to work as a long reliever and
midweek starter.
Two newcomers are slated to join the Yale starting rotation
immediately: junior Brook Hart and freshman Christopher
O’Hare. Both big southpaws have been impressive in the
preseason and are expected to make their debuts on the hill during
the opening weekend of play.
Senior captain Joe Castaldi is among the more experienced pitchers
on the Yale staff. Despite a deceptive 0-5 record in 2009, the
right-hander was one of the Bulldogs' most effective hurlers,
allowing three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 12 appearances
and exiting with a lead on three occasions. Right-handers Andy
Megee, the Bulldogs’ regular third baseman, and senior Chris
Finneran have also had success as members of the Elis’
rotation in their careers.
Right-handed relief pitchers Will Stratton and Robert Gruber, as
well left-handed specialist Alex Young, will all have the
opportunity to log innings out of the bullpen. Senior right-hander
Matthew Smith, who missed all of 2009 due to injury, also re-enters
the fold for his final season in New Haven. Freshman righty Avery
Lanman, whose sidearm delivery proved effective in fooling hitters
throughout his high school career and at Stuper’s World Class
Baseball Camp, should also be an immediate contributor to the
middle innings.
The ninth inning will once again belong to sophomore Eric Shultz,
who converted all three of his save chances in 2009. Shultz
finished his freshman season with a 2.84 ERA. The 6’4
right-hander from Beverly Hills has proven himself as more than
just a one-inning closer, as his rookie campaign was highlighted by
hurling 4.1 innings of hitless relief to earn the win in an
11-inning contest against Fairfield. Shultz shared the 2009 David
M. Durst Hustle Cup as Yale’s rookie of the year with Zach
Tobolowsky.
The 2010 campaign begins this weekend at Maryland-Baltimore County
with a 1 p.m. doubleheader against the Retrievers on March 7 and a
single game at noon on March 8. A run of eight contests at the
RussMatt Central Florida Invitational commences the next day and
continues through March 16. The Bulldogs’ return to the
Nutmeg State starts with a pair of doubleheaders at Hartford on
March 19-20 and a March 24 game at Connecticut prior to 2010
Opening Day at Yale Field, which will feature a doubleheader
against the New York Institute of Technology on March 27.
2010
Roster
2010
Schedule
2009
Final Statistics (PDF)
2009
Results
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity
