Feb. 19, 2003
The Duquesne University baseball program is coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history and tenth year head coach Mike Wilson looks to make 2003 the program's breakout year by qualifying for the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time in University history. All the tools are in place as the Dukes return six position starters and the bulk of its pitching staff from a team that finished the 2002 campaign with the most wins in Duquesne history. In addition, the 26-23 record the Red and Blue posted last year marked the first above .500 season for DU since 1988 and its 12 conference wins equals an all-time high.
Senior Jim Popp will lead the young, but experienced pitching staff. Popp led the Dukes in ERA last season at 3.54 and posted a 3-3 record in nine starts with two complete games. He was fourth in innings pitched with 53.1 and was also fourth with 34 strikeouts. Popp, who is the school's career ERA leader at 3.89, was chosen by the Colorado Rockies in the 48th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft, making him the third Duke in the past five years to be drafted. Assisting Popp will be one additional senior in Chris Lewis and two juniors in Jesse Cramer and Matt O'Neill. The trio combined for just 11 appearances and two starts last year due to a variety of injuries, but are expected to bounce back this season to offer support to the five sophomores and five freshmen who complete the staff.
Last year's top hitter, junior Pete Maropis, will lead the offense. Maropis led the Dukes in batting average at .364 as well as in hits (63), home runs (11) and RBI (46). He was named to the Baseball America Pre-Season All-Atlantic 10 Team this year as well as being tabbed the Best Defensive Third baseman in the conference. Maropis will move to second base this season to fill a void left by a departed senior. Also expected to produce with the stick will be seniors John Rieg and Sean Wilson as well as juniors Jonathan Kelly and Dan Schwartzbauer who all hit over .300 last season.
PITCHERS The Dukes return 10 pitchers, six of whom accounted for 15 of the team's 26 wins last year led by Popp (3) and sophomores Bob Reifschneider (4) and Ken Strader (5). Also returning with wins under their belts are sophomores Ryan McGill, Jon Smith and Eduardo Vivoni with one each. Reifschneider is the top returnee in innings pitched with 59.1 and was the team's strikeout leader last year with 54. After making 12 appearances and eight starts as a freshman, he will be a strong candidate to be a starter for conference games. Strader posted a 5-2 record for Duquesne in 2002 and was a perfect 4-0 in his four starts. He was second on the team in ERA at 4.31 and pitched 39.2 innings while striking out 25.
After making two early starts and an injury last year, Cramer received a medical redshirt. This year he hopes to regain the form of his freshman season when he was 7-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 84 innings of work. He is currently the team leader in career wins with nine and is fourth on Duquesne's career ERA chart at 4.39. Lewis made just three appearances last year after a combined 27 the previous two while O'Neill's outing were cut in half from 12 as a freshman to six last season. Both should see more action and be instrumental to this year's success.
McGill, Smith and Vivoni should also acquire quality innings on the hill. As with Reifschneider and Strader, this three-some was thrown into the fire as freshmen and came out seasoned veterans. They combined for seven starts and 25 appearances with three wins and a save between them. McGill tallied 15 innings and seven strikeouts, Smith added 24.2 innings and 12 K's while Vivoni posted 29.2 innings and 27 whiffs. Expect all those numbers to improve this season. Five freshmen will also battle for time on the rubber this season as Scott Chisholm, Gavin Church, Bob Hartle, Adam Haun and Travis Rife present a forecast of Duquesne's pitching future.
INFIELD The Dukes come to the field this year with one of the most experienced infields in recent memory. With Rieg at third, Schwartzbauer at short and Maropis at second you're looking at a plethora of offensive and defensive talent. Add to the mix, the first base talents of Kelly and sophomore Mike Duganich, and you have solid bats and gloves around the horn.
Rieg batted .315 for the Red and Blue with four homers, nine doubles, 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases while Schwartzbauer hit .321, set a school record with 25 stolen bases and scored the second most runs in school history with 58. He was also second on the squad with seven round-trippers and added a team-best 17 doubles. In addition to leading the team in several categories, Maropis had a team-best 11-game hitting streak, hit safely in 39 of 46 games and never went two consecutive games without a hit.
Kelly, who will split time at first and right field, batted .326 last season with six home runs, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases. He was one of the hottest Dukes at the end of the campaign when he had an eight-game hitting streak, going 15-30. Duganich showed signs of promise as a frosh, hitting .227 with a homer and four RBI in 22 at bats. Freshmen Joe Berletic and Steve Maiolo will be waiting in the wings should one of the upperclassmen slump or need a rest.
OUTFIELD With Kelly seeing the majority of time in right field last season, senior Chad Williams made the most starts in center and Luke Taggart had most of the starts in left. There is not doubt these three will see extended playing time in the outfield this year as will junior Bill Swart, who played all three positions last season.
Taggart had the best batting average of the bunch at .286 while scoring 23 runs and swiping 11 bases. Swart chimed in with a .241 average with six of his 14 hits going for extra bases while Williams fell to .234 after hitting at a .299 clip as a sophomore. Each of the three is sure to improve their offensive production after another year of experience.
There will be no room for error however, as junior Randy Vulakovich will also be pushing to get into the line-up. Used mainly as a pinch runner and emergency pitcher in the past, his speed could definitely be an asset on defense. The new face of freshman Corey Bugno will also compete for playing time.
CATCHERS/DESIGNATED HITTERS As the team's third leading hitter with a .330 average, Wilson is penciled in as the team's designated hitter. Wilson relished that role last year and was one of the best on the team in putting the ball in play. In fact, he had the lowest percentage of strikeouts per game on the team.
Slated to handle the catching duties are senior Brian Frey and sophomore Mike Grecco. Used as a back-up behind the plate in previous years, Frey will be given the opportunity to display his talents as a starter this year as well as help mold the young talents of Grecco. Grecco had six hits in 28 at bats last year including two doubles and two RBI.
Senior Andy Gallina could be used as both a catcher and DH, but will likely be one of the team's top pinch hitters. Gallina was off to a hot start last year with hits in four of the first seven games and a .308 average, before an injury halted his production the rest of the season. As a sophomore, he hit .294 with four of his 10 hits being doubles.
SCHEDULE This season marks Duquesne's earliest start ever as the Red and Blue open the 2003 campaign on Friday, Feb. 21 at nationally ranked South Carolina. After that three-game series, the Red and Blue will head to Bradenton, FL on Friday, Feb. 28 to play 10 games during Spring Break. In Florida, the Dukes will face Assumption, Boston College, Harvard, Holy Cross, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis (NY) and Valparaiso as well as playing the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, March 5.
Once back in Pittsburgh the Dukes will face traditional rivals from the surrounding area including Pitt, West Virginia, Akron, Cleveland State, Kent, Ohio and Youngstown State. The Red and Blue will also travel to first time opponents Maryland and William and Mary. The home schedule begins on March 19 as the Dukes host Youngstown State at 2:00 pm at Duquesne Field and Duquesne's first ever appearance at PNC Park is slated for Tuesday, May 6 at 1:00 pm as the Dukes face cross-town rival Pitt.
In Atlantic 10 Conference action, the Red and Blue will have a three-game series versus each of the west division schools as well as against east foes Massachusetts, Fordham and Saint Joseph's for a total of 24 conference games. The Dukes face St. Bonaventure twice in Florida, but those contests will not be counted as league games. The top two teams from each division as well as two wild cards will qualify for the Atlantic 10 Championship.
