University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Wrap Up Fall Baseball Workouts
10/12/2004 | Baseball
Oct. 12, 2004
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond head coach Ron Atkins learned his team has some offensive prowess following the 2004 fall workouts which came to a close last week at Pitt Field.
"I thought our fall went pretty well," head coach Ron Atkins said. "We are going to be a very young team. We may start five, or even six, freshmen. Offensively, I thought we were better this fall than we were last fall."
With a roster that includes seven new position players and 12 total newcomers, the Spiders did not put up youngster numbers, evidenced by their .314 team average. Junior Andrew Justice, Richmond's projected third baseman, led the squad with a fall average of .467.
"Andrew's (Justice) fall stood out," Atkins added. "He had a good defensive showing at third base. He swung the bat pretty well and will be a plus-guy for us."
Junior Ben Zeskind, who ranked fourth on last year's team in batting average and is penciled in as the Spiders' 2005 centerfielder, was not far behind with a .462 average this fall.
Zeskind was one of four Spiders to strikeout only once, as he led the squad in on-base percentage (.808). The Miami, Fla., native walked eight times had 12 hits and scored a team-leading eight runs.
"Ben (Zeskind) had a great fall, the best he has had since he has been here," Atkins said. "I think as whole the veterans had a good fall showing. Some may have started out slow, but came on as we got farther into it."
Sophomore Matt McKenna put up the biggest power numbers for the team this fall. The Richmond, Va., native smashed three homeruns, turned in a slugging percentage of .823 and an on-base percentage of .686 in 35 at-bats.
Leading the newcomers was catcher Alex Hale, infielder Austin Reilly and first baseman Joe Mahoney. Hale, a native of Omaha, Neb., led all freshmen with a .384 average. A possible starter behind the dish for Richmond, had an on-base percentage of .538 on 10 hits in 26 at-bats.
Reilly, who was drafted in 2004 by the Montreal Expos in the 45th round, tied for the team lead in runs scored (8). The Aledo, Texas, native had eight hits and an average of .286. Joe Mahoney, the Spiders' replacement for Jim Fasano who was drafted last summer, led the team in doubles with six, hit one homerun and ended the fall with an average of .353.
Junior Tim Rice, coming off a redshirt season in 2004, led the team with a 1.50 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings. Sophomore Rob Berzinskas, Richmond's projected No. 1 starter, carried a 0.00 ERA into his last start and struck out 15 in 13 innings of work. Senior closer John Cronin, coming off a season which saw him secure nine saves, struck out 11 in as many innings, ranking third on the team.
Freshman Brian Alas led the newcomers on the mound. Alas, a native of Port Washington, N.Y., garnered an ERA of 2.07 in 13 innings. The righthander gave up seven hits, walked four and struck out four.
The Spiders will continue individual workouts throughout the fall, then begin spring practice, Jan. 10, 2005. Richmond opens the 2005 slate at the Homewood Suites Shootout, Feb. 18-20, hosted by The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. The Spiders face Coppin State to open the event then play Old Dominion and The Citadel the following two days.
