University of Richmond Athletics
Baseball Picked Sixth in Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
02/12/2019 | Baseball
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its annual preseason poll for the 2019 baseball season Tuesday afternoon. The Spiders were picked to finish sixth in this year's coaches' poll. Last season's regular season and tournament champion Saint Louis is the preseason favorite to repeat, earning nine of the possible 13 first place votes.
The Spiders are coming off of a 32-win season, the most wins in a season since the 2007 season. Richmond returns 11 pitchers from a staff that earned a 3.70 ERA. Richmond lost Sunday starter Robbie Baker to graduation and went on to sign a professional contract with the Boston Red Sox organization, but will look for several key contributions from this year's senior class. Layne Looney (Dallas, Texas) returns to anchor the backend of the bullpen. Looney was named to the NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, the award for the nation's top relief pitcher, as well as being an NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-American. Redshirt senior Brendan McGuigan (Austin, Texas) will start the season in the rotation as he earned a 1-0 mark in 18.2 innings of work last season. Tim Miller (Wayne, Pa.) is back to work in the Friday night role, a spot that saw him earn a 3.13 ERA with five wins in 14 starts as well as Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors.
The offense returns six players from the squad that took the field in the final game of the 2018 season. The outfield will feature three-time team captain and redshirt senior D.J. Lee (Frankfort, Ill.) and redshirt junior Anthony Forte (Hoffman Estates, Ill.). Those two started 51 games apiece last season hitting at .252 and .233 clips, respectively. Forte tallied 16 extra-base hits, while Lee led the team for the third-straight season with 19 stolen bases. Rounding out the opening day outfield will be sophomore Jordan Schulefand (Parkland, Fla.). Schulefand made 29 starts, and appeared in 46 games. Six of his 22 hits went for extra bases including a home run.
The infield will have a different look during the 2019 season. Justin Cook (Virginia Beach, Va.) will slide over to first base, Sage Bruhl (Northbrook, Ill.) at second, with newcomers Daniel Little (Nicholasville, Ky.) and Justin Meyer (Villanova, Pa.) starting on the left side. Cook was an All-Atlantic 10 performer last season and has handled the transition to first base smoothly. He hit for a .311 average in 35 starts, with 20 RBI. Bruhl played all over the diamond last season, hitting at a .280 clip with nine extra base hits, 22 RBI and scored 25 times. Little and Meyer will be making their collegiate debuts. Little transferred in from Louisville and will be seeing his first action. Meyer is a true freshman from Pennsylvania who has proven to be an exceptional defender and handles the bat extremely well.
Tyler Plantier (Poway, Calif.) is slated to start the season as the designated hitter. Plantier hit for a .291 average with 14 doubles and five home runs in 39 starts in 2018. During the summer, Plantier earned midseason and postseason All-Star honors in the Northwoods League, as he finished second in the league with 14 home runs.
Kyle Schmidt (Smithville, Texas) returns behind the dish. The senior backstop started 37 games behind the plate as a junior and hit for a .278 average. He drove in 12 runs and was a key component of the Spider defense. Schmidt threw out 16 attempted base stealers last season and added even more putouts with five pickoffs. Joining Schmidt behind the plate is graduate transfer A.J. Kloehn (Canton, Ohio). Kloehn transferred in from Lafayette and has been a superb defensive catcher during his career.
The Spiders start the 2019 season this Friday as they will head to Atlanta, Ga. for the Atlanta Challenge. Richmond will begin the season Friday night at Georgia State at 4 p.m., before taking on Georgia Tech Saturday at 1 p.m. and finishing the weekend Sunday at Kennesaw State at 1 p.m.
-- UR --
The Spiders are coming off of a 32-win season, the most wins in a season since the 2007 season. Richmond returns 11 pitchers from a staff that earned a 3.70 ERA. Richmond lost Sunday starter Robbie Baker to graduation and went on to sign a professional contract with the Boston Red Sox organization, but will look for several key contributions from this year's senior class. Layne Looney (Dallas, Texas) returns to anchor the backend of the bullpen. Looney was named to the NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, the award for the nation's top relief pitcher, as well as being an NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-American. Redshirt senior Brendan McGuigan (Austin, Texas) will start the season in the rotation as he earned a 1-0 mark in 18.2 innings of work last season. Tim Miller (Wayne, Pa.) is back to work in the Friday night role, a spot that saw him earn a 3.13 ERA with five wins in 14 starts as well as Atlantic 10 All-Rookie honors.
The offense returns six players from the squad that took the field in the final game of the 2018 season. The outfield will feature three-time team captain and redshirt senior D.J. Lee (Frankfort, Ill.) and redshirt junior Anthony Forte (Hoffman Estates, Ill.). Those two started 51 games apiece last season hitting at .252 and .233 clips, respectively. Forte tallied 16 extra-base hits, while Lee led the team for the third-straight season with 19 stolen bases. Rounding out the opening day outfield will be sophomore Jordan Schulefand (Parkland, Fla.). Schulefand made 29 starts, and appeared in 46 games. Six of his 22 hits went for extra bases including a home run.
The infield will have a different look during the 2019 season. Justin Cook (Virginia Beach, Va.) will slide over to first base, Sage Bruhl (Northbrook, Ill.) at second, with newcomers Daniel Little (Nicholasville, Ky.) and Justin Meyer (Villanova, Pa.) starting on the left side. Cook was an All-Atlantic 10 performer last season and has handled the transition to first base smoothly. He hit for a .311 average in 35 starts, with 20 RBI. Bruhl played all over the diamond last season, hitting at a .280 clip with nine extra base hits, 22 RBI and scored 25 times. Little and Meyer will be making their collegiate debuts. Little transferred in from Louisville and will be seeing his first action. Meyer is a true freshman from Pennsylvania who has proven to be an exceptional defender and handles the bat extremely well.
Tyler Plantier (Poway, Calif.) is slated to start the season as the designated hitter. Plantier hit for a .291 average with 14 doubles and five home runs in 39 starts in 2018. During the summer, Plantier earned midseason and postseason All-Star honors in the Northwoods League, as he finished second in the league with 14 home runs.
Kyle Schmidt (Smithville, Texas) returns behind the dish. The senior backstop started 37 games behind the plate as a junior and hit for a .278 average. He drove in 12 runs and was a key component of the Spider defense. Schmidt threw out 16 attempted base stealers last season and added even more putouts with five pickoffs. Joining Schmidt behind the plate is graduate transfer A.J. Kloehn (Canton, Ohio). Kloehn transferred in from Lafayette and has been a superb defensive catcher during his career.
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The Spiders start the 2019 season this Friday as they will head to Atlanta, Ga. for the Atlanta Challenge. Richmond will begin the season Friday night at Georgia State at 4 p.m., before taking on Georgia Tech Saturday at 1 p.m. and finishing the weekend Sunday at Kennesaw State at 1 p.m.
-- UR --
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