Preseason Wrap - 4/12/10 thru 4/18/10

Martin Medina did it all for CS
Bakersfield this week.
Photo credit: Goldpanners.com

It's time once again to look at last week's top pre-season performances among ABL recruits. As always, we've had some superstar performances in the collegiate ranks. Some are names we've heard before, and there are also a few that we haven't. So let's cut to the chase and see who did what: 

Should they let him try managing?

Because Martin Medina (Panners) has proven that he can do just about everything else on the field for Cal State Bakersfield. He kicked things off with the bat on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI's and a pair of runs. On Saturday he turned around and threw three perfect innings of relief, striking out six batters. As if he hadn't done enough on the weekend, he went back to the plate on Sunday and went 2-for-5, hitting a team-best tenth homer of the year. What else can Medina do? Can he play hoops? Can he sing? Can he dance? Can he cure cancer?


Tough-luck losses for two tough pitchers

Alex Keudell (Pilots) showed poise on the mound for Oregon on Sunday. He gave up five runs on 6 innings against first-ranked UCLA, but only one of those runs was earned. He kept his head in the game after a first-inning error allowed four unearned runs to cross the plate, and picked up 7 strikeouts along the way while only walking one. For prospects who might be thinking about taking their game to the next level, I think it's as important to see how well they handle discouraging situations as it is to see how well they can avoid them. Keudell showed that he's got the mental toughness to keep his team in the ballgame after a rough first inning, and that will be a big plus if he hopes to move on to pro ball.

Randy Hoelscher (Bucs) had a hard-luck outing this week as well. Like Keudell, he gave up four unearned runs over six innings, but surrendered none in the earned column on Sunday when he took the hill for Southern Illinois. Over the half-dozen frames he also gave up no walks, something he's become quite adept at. According to the Salukis website, he's walked just one of the last 99 batters he's faced. Despite the four unearned runs, Hoelscher left the game with a three-run lead, only to see it squandered as Illinois State fought back to win it 9-7.

Charting new territory

Here's a first for a guy we've talked about a lot: Darian Sandford (Panners) knocked his first career collegiate round-tripper on Friday, which counts for one of his two hits on his 4 at-bat day. This homer explains how he managed to reach base twice but only steal one base on the day, because as we all know, Sandford is not the kind of guy who squanders an opportunity to swipe a bag. In our interview he stated that he wanted to work on his power hitting, which is not known as one of his strong points, so it's nice to see him go yard.

Glacier Pilots recruit Charlie Robertson was solid for Fresno State on Sunday, pitching six innings, allowing 2 runs (only one earned) and walking only two. The most notable part of his day was his 9 strikeouts, though, which were a career high for Robertson. He got the win for his efforts and improved to 3-2 on the collegiate year.

Colby Everett (Fire) out of Northwestern racked up four hits in 5 at-bats on Friday, adding on a run and an RBI. This occasion marks the first time in Everett's collegiate career that he's put up 4 H's.  His performance helped the Wildcats rally back from an early deficit, but they fell just short of catching up to Minnesota and lost by a final score of 7-8.

A little bit goes a long way

Stanford OF Jake Stewart (Panners) may have had a ho-hum 1-for-4 day on Sunday, but he was dangerously productive regardless, plating four runners. Three of those four RBI's came on a third-inning funk blast, his second homer of the year. He drove in another runner with an infield sacrifice later in the game, helping the Cardinals complete their season sweep of Oregon State.

A week's worth of goodness

A pair of Panners weren't just good in one or two games, they were outstanding all week long. Catcher Kevin Roundtree out of USC had three consecutive solid performances, going 5-for-10 on the week. The sophomore has been pretty consistent at the plate this season, hitting at a .310 clip, third best among qualifying Trojan batters. But if you think that's good, consider his future ABL teammate Jesse Sikorski out of Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jay went 9-for-19 this week, and smacked in a whopping 11 RBI. His biggest game of the week was on Friday when he went 3-for-5 with 4 batted-in. He's riding a nice 13-game hitting streak as of today.

Master's Fire on fire and displaying mastery

In case you didn't get the meaning of the little heading above, a pair of AIA Fire recruits from Master's College put up back-to-back, deep, solid pitching performances last week. On Wednesday Zack Anderson went eight strong, gave up 6 hits, 3 earned runs, and struck out 9 while walking 5. This was definitely good enough for the win. Not content to let his Mustangs/Fire teammate outdo him, Tyler Bersano followed that up with a nine-inning performance (though he did not get the CG since the game went 10 frames) on Thursday and also picked up the big W. On the day he gave up 7 hits and 3 ER. The pair helped the Mustangs pick up the first two in a four-game series against Pt. Loma Nazarene. Master's would go on to drop the final two matches and split the series.

Inside the park...outside the park...what's the difference?


Jarrod Berggren (Panners) had two hits, two runs and two RBI for Northern Colorado on Saturday. Both of his hits were homers, which is notable, but the unusual thing was that one of his home runs was of the inside-the-park variety. Two-homer games are notable by themselves, as are inside-the-park home runs. But both in the same game? I've never seen that before. His performance that day beefed up his hitting streak to 15 games.

The best of the rest:

Here's another example of a guy who's doubly good: Cody Terry (Fire) had a 5-for-8 day in Tennesee-Martin's Saturday doubleheader against Southeast Missouri. He also managed to knock in five runners and touch home plate a couple times himself. On the year, Terry is batting .302 with 7 homers, and is tied for team second-best in RBI with 32.

Mike McCarthy (Panners) for CS Bakersfield -- Tuesday: 9IP 7H 2ER 2BB 13K

Trey Wimmer (Fire) for Liberty -- Friday: 2-for-3 R 4RBI...2-run homer, second of the year.

Zach Vincej (Bucs) for Pepperdine -- Saturday: 3-for-4 with a two-bagger, plus a walk, and an RBI.