Baseball Preview, Part 6: UIC

Feb. 20, 2008

As winners of the last six regular season championships and three of the last five tournament crowns, the UIC baseball team has established itself as the perennial power of the Horizon League.

The Flames have also matured into one of the best programs in the Midwest, with only five programs in the area boasting of a better wining percentage the past four seasons than UIC's .633 clip of victory.

UIC is also just one of 16 schools across the country to have won 35 or more games in each of the last six seasons, proving that the Flames are making noise on the national level.

With such a high standard established on the diamond for UIC, some may believe it may be asking too much of the Flames to strive for such lofty goals in 2008 given the amount of new faces on board plus the loss of seven starting position players and the entire starting staff from last year's NCAA Regional team. The League's coaches even pegged the Flames for second place this year, the first time in five years that UIC was not the circuit's preseason favorite.

But don't tell that to head coach Mike Dee and his team. Armed with the most talented newcomer class during Dee's tenure and a solid core of veteran returnees, the same expectations that have driven past UIC teams to postseason success will be in place during the drive for a second straight Horizon League trophy.

Infielders
The experience begins in the infield for the Flames, who return 2007 All-Horizon League Second Team selection Jake Carr. The junior began 49 ballgames last year in his first full season as a starter, spending the majority of his time manning first base.

In one of the most potent lineups in the League last year, Carr hit .306 with six home runs and 29 RBI. Three of those long balls came in the postseason, including a mammoth shot in cavernous Blair Field during the 2007 NCAA Long Beach Regional.

Tabbed as one of the League's most underrated hitters by College Baseball Insider, Carr will carry more of the power load while assuming more of a leadership role as one of the oldest returning players on the team. His versatility will also be relied on; Carr can wear a glove at every infield position and even made an outfield start last season.

Other options at first and as designated hitters are juniors Brett Schaefer and Ryan Schweikert. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Schaefer is the front runner to be UIC's Opening Day DH thanks to his all-around offering of size, power and experience, while the 6-foot-6, 248-pound Schweikert showed flashes of big-time strength in limited duty as a sophomore. Both can spell Carr at first, while Schaefer also has a background in catching that can be called upon if need be.

The rest of the infield will feature an entirely different look. 2007 postseason stars Nick Rainwater, Chad Schroeder and David Cales have moved on, so UIC will dip into its deep talent pool of youngsters to fill the void.

From the group of redshirt freshmen, Stagg High School product Andy Leonard will be among the leaders to start at second base. Leonard was an All-Area shortstop as a prep player with gaudy offensive stats before using last season to get ready to make an impact on the college level.

One of the first names to jump out from the Flames' depth chart at the shortstop position in true freshman Rafael Garcia. The highly-touted player out of Chicago's Clemente High School was named the state of Illinois' top shortstop prospect as a junior before injuries slowed down his senior campaign. Garcia's total package of offense and defense contained in his 6-foot-2 frame presents the potential to make him one of the best to ever play the position in a UIC uniform.Jason Ganek, a Mount Prospect native out of Hersey H.S., is another true freshman who could see significant playing time, particularly at the hot corner. The 6-foot-3 Ganek finished a prep career laden with accolades on the diamond as well as the ice, since the rookie also played hockey at Hersey. He has power to spare and can make an immediate impact.

Another Hersey product, Brandon Harwell, could also see some time in the infield. A two-year standout at Vernon College in Texas, Harwell comes with college experience and a high level of work ethic that the staff looks for in each of its student-athletes.

Tony Altavilla joins the program after playing last season at the College of Southern Idaho. A speedy All-Region selection on the JUCO circuit and another player with prep hockey experience, Altavilla, who assistant coach Sean McDermott has dubbed "a dirtbag-type kid" that brings leadership and toughness, will also be in the hunt for infield duty.

Catchers
UIC will have many new faces behind the plate. The lone returnee from last year's catching corps is sophomore Ryan Meehan, who flashed some power at the plate in occasional late-inning duties. Meehan can also bring selflessness and versatility by playing first base if needed.

Junior Kevin Coddington is the favorite to begin the season as one-half of the Flames' starting battery. The 6-foot-5 West Linn, Ore., native spent the last two years at Chemeketa College in Salem, Ore., where he was an All-NWAACC selection on the field and in the classroom. His numbers at the plate were impressive last year, with a .358 batting average and a .462 on-base percentage. But his reputation as a defensive catcher who can control the running game has also been praised heavily.

Outfielders
Sophomore Ty Rubio is the only starting outfielder to return for the Flames, but do not mistake the lack of returning veterans past the infield as a weakness. Rubio will bring stability to a young but very talented outfield group.

Last season Rubio took over the starting duties in right field for the Flames in late April. The Palatine, Ill., native thrived as a rookie, finishing the campaign with a .253 average and 27 runs scored in 21 starts as UIC's spark near the end of the lineup. Look for Rubio to be an important table setter in his second season.

Fellow sophomore Chris Rutta had his share of playing time as a rookie, making 23 starts and appearing in 40 games. Rutta's skill set of power (four extra-base hits in limited at-bats), run production (nine RBI), speed (4-for-4 in stolen bases) was on brief display, but 2008 should see the Wisconsin native earn even more opportunities.

Another Rosinski joins the outfield fray as redshirt freshman John Rosinski joins the playing time conversation this season. John follows in the paths his brothers, former Flames standouts Bob Rosinski and Ted Rosinski, took and puts on a Flames uniform to see some action in the field.

A pair of true freshmen enter the outfield conversation with plenty of credentials. Devin Melecio of Chicago's Clemente H.S. and Steve McGuiggan of Minnesota high school Apple Valley entered the clubhouse this fall as outfielders who can make an instant impact for UIC.

Melecio, along with prep teammate Garcia, helped Clemente become a force on the field throughout their award-winning careers. A three-time All-City honoree, Melecio is as fast as they come and will shore up the Flames' outfield defense and offensive running game. The 5-foot-6 Chicagoan can create havoc with his bat, which can uses to hit for power and average, and his legs, which propels him to extra-base hits and stolen bases aplenty.

McGuiggan, who excelled in baseball and football while at Apple Valley, has big shoes to fill in center by taking the spot of the graduated Larry Gempp Jr. Gempp was a three-time All-Horizon League centerfielder and a 2007 All-Region selection, but McGuiggan is up to the task. His list of accolades as a centerfielder and a running back in high school are many to list, but they all prove that the rookie is ready to run, hit and do whatever it takes to contribute early and often.

Pitching
UIC has always prided itself on pitching. Under Dee's watch the past nine years, UIC has finished first or second in the Horizon League in earned run average and finished among the Top 10 in the nation on two occasions (2002, 2003).

With all three of last year's starters gone, including current professional hurlers Ryan Zink of the New York Yankees organization and 2007 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year Zach Peterson of the Kansas City Royals, the Flames will go with a whole new staff in 2008. But that doesn't mean UIC will lose a beat on the mound.

Sophomore left-hander Don Phillis returns to UIC after taking last year off to take care of some personal things. Phillis had some big moments as a rookie during a 7-4 campaign in 2006, and the young southpaw is rejuvenated and ready to take a bulk of the pitching load.

Junior college transfer Mike Kool is ready to enter the rotation. The Davenport, Iowa native, who pitched for Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill., last year, excelled on the bump and in the classroom in junior college and will bring his savvy and strikeout ability (55 Ks in 52.1 IP in 2007) to UIC.

Derrick Miramontes will remind many Flames fans of Peterson when he steps on the rubber this season. With a similar build (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) and bulldog-like attitude that Peterson displayed for four seasons in a UIC uniform, Miramontes will flash the stuff that made him the 2006 Golden Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year for Butte College in Oroville, Calif.

Along with new arms, the Flames will have some veteran hurlers to rely on in both the rotation and the bullpen.

Grant Kohlstaedt is the only senior on this year's squad. The right-hander had some nice outings in his first Division I go-around and will look to improve his numbers and his fellow pitchers with leadership a only fourth-year collegian can provide.

Chris Kovacevich will see his first batter in a Flames outfit after sitting out last season to recover from Tommy John surgery. The transfer from Coastal Carolina, who played high school ball at Lincoln-Way East, gives the Flames a crucial left-handed option.

Taking back the closer's role will be junior right-hander Adam Worthington. As a rookie in 2006 the Warren H.S. product saved six ballgames and posted a 2.62 ERA. After adjusting to a new role last season as a set-up man to Cales, the 2007 Horizon League Reliever of the Year, Worthington will return as the Flames' ninth-inning man with sights on his best year yet.

Brad Riegler had a strong rookie season out of the pen, holding his own in 20 appearances. Riegler was strong in early-season looks against the likes of Georgia Tech and should continue to be one of Dee's first calls for relief.

Junior Zack Wright is back to stymie hitters with his unusual arm angle, while Peter Ifft had some impressive moments as a redshirt freshman last season.

Other newcomers who strengthen UIC's pitching depth are Mike Bjerke, a 6-foot right-hander out of Brooklyn Center, Minn., and Eric Wyman, a 6-foot-3 lefty from West Chicago. Bjerke and Wyman signed during the early period in 2006 and should prove to be great finds for the Flames.

Bjerke is a three-time all-conference hurler who lost just once during his last two seasons as a prep. He brings a football toughness to the bump after playing middle linebacker for Champlin Park H.S.

Wyman was also a highly-touted football prospect as a quarterback for West Chicago High, where he set the school record for career wins for a pitcher.

The Outlook
As has been the case since Dee's arrival, UIC will have no shortage of tough competition on the schedule. The Flames open with a tough Tulane squad on Feb. 22, followed by a trip to the QTI Baylor Classic in Waco, Texas, where UIC will face Big 12 squad Baylor, Stephen F. Austin, and in-state rival/sister school Illinois.

The Flames make a return trip to Nashville to take on national power Vanderbilt. Last season UIC gave the top-ranked Commodores fits on their home field, limiting Vandy's high-octane offense to its lowest run outputs in a year after back-to-back one-run UIC losses.

UIC fans will get a look at the Flames under the Les Miller Field lights earlier than ever before. The Flames' home opener takes place on March 13 against local rival Northwestern, thanks to the installation of brand new FieldTurf that prevents the unpredictable elements of Chicago weather from wreaking havoc on UIC's playing surface.

The Flames will use the regular season as a tune-up in their defense of the Horizon League Championship, which begins on May 20 and runs until May 25 in Niles, Ohio.

When the UIC baseball team wants something, every member of the program works hard to attain it. Six straight League regular season titles, three League tournament championships in the last five years, a trio of NCAA berths and some of the best facilities in the country do not come by way of resting on laurels.

Even though you may not recognize most of the names on the roster, each player on the 2008 UIC baseball team expects to do what UIC teams have done for a long time: win.

Story provided by UIC Office of Sports Information