Baseball coach Michael “Doc” Beeman said he has a formula for success: pitching and confidence.
“At the end of the day, if you feel you can make that one pitch that will carry us over, if you think you can do it, that’s half of it,” Beeman said.
More than halfway through the baseball season, Beeman said the team has had trouble finding consistency in pitching.
Injuries hurt team
Beeman said ongoing injuries to the pitching staff have contributed to the inconsistency. Last year’s star pitcher David Musch, communications senior, opted last month to have surgery on a bone spur. Beeman said the tem turned to mathematics senior, right-hander Bryan McCaulley.
He leads the team with a 4-1 record and with 17 strikeouts. He also has a 3.31 ERA.
Veteran pitchers James Blakeman, communications sophomore, and Jeff Pippenger, criminal justice senior also stepped up to the challenge, along with general studies freshman Paul Neill, who was chosen Gulf Coast Athletic Conference pitcher of the week March 21-27.
At this point last year, the 2003-04 team had about the same record and finished the season 21-24. But Beeman is optimistic with Musch’s return to the lineup only 29 days after his surgery.
Doc’s history of success
Loyola’s strongest weapon may be Beeman, who has a history of turning programs around. In his two years at Georgetown, the Hoya’s ERA fell from 8.24 in 2002 to 5.64 in 2004. Georgetown’s overall record improved from nine wins the season before his arrival to 25 wins in 2004.
Prior to Georgetown, Beeman was associate head coach at his alma mater, Trinity University in San Antonio. During his four years with the Tigers, the team ERA fell from 4.92 in 1999 to 2.26 in 2002, a mark that led NCAA Division III. In 2002, Trinity was one game short of the NCAA Division III College World Series, losing in the Regional finals.
Experience not always a good thing
All starting pitchers are returning players and are testaments to the team’s veteran edge. The ‘Pack’s pitching rotation is commanded by experience with six seniors and 15 pitchers.
Beeman said that the team’s experience has not always been advantageous.
“It’s an advantage and a disadvantage,” Beeman said. “The advantage is experience; they have had ups and downs on the mound. Experience is what it’s all about. It’s a disadvantage because we rely on our experienced players, and injuries have forced us to look elsewhere.”
Blank slate
Soon after Beeman took the job as head coach at Loyola, he hired Abe Ambroza, a former Ohio Northern University pitcher.
“The first thing I did was hire a pitching coach,” Beeman said. “It’s important to have someone there working with them, and it’s not fair to the team for me to split my time.”
Beeman confesses that when deciding on the pitching rotation he never looked at last year’s statistics. Instead he made his own evaluations.
“I have no idea who was in it last year,” he said. “I have been pretty happy with starters. I truly believe I put my best chance to win on the mound.”
Michael Nissman can be reached at [email protected].
