By Gary Fauber
The Register-Herald
April 22, 2008 04:55 pm
—
Tim Epling has been pleased with the performance of his pitching staff this season. Still, part of him can’t help but wonder, what if.
What if one of his top prospects, a native of the Dominican Republic, had been able to obtain a green card?
What if another had not become an academic casualty? What if the paperwork on yet another had been filed in time for him to be eligible this spring?
That’s a lot of what-ifs.
“The sad thing about it is our top six (pitching prospects) are not with us,” said Epling, WVU Tech’s head coach. “Really, we’re throwing our seven through 12 guys.”
But those guys have been more than sufficient. They’re part of the reason the Golden Bears have locked up a winning season, no matter how they do in this week’s Mid-South Conference tournament.
Tech is 21-15 and carries a three-game winning streak into the tournament, which begins Thursday on the campus of Georgetown (Ky.) College.
Epling said the difference between this year and recent seasons has been putting a more competitive team on the field. More scholarship money has translated into better players overall.
And while a prime offensive attack has been the main reason for Tech’s successful year, Epling has been surprised at how well his young pitching staff has held up.
Sophomore Jeff Krauklis is 5-2 with a pair of saves and has an earned-run average of 3.38. Junior Tim Crace is 3-1, and sophomore Donovan Reeves is 4-3 with a 5.05 ERA.
The Liberty graduate had one of the highlights of the season for Tech when he threw a no-hitter March 10 against Alice Lloyd College. He had six strikeouts in a five-inning, 12-0 win.
It was the third no-hitter for the Bears in as many seasons. Marty Wiesler threw the first two.
“(Reeves) was just spotting his pitches,” Epling said. “He’s not overpowering right now. His velocity has gone up, but he has the best changeup on the team. He’s nicknamed ‘The Professor’ because he is a (Greg) Maddux-type. When he spots his pitches, he is very tough. Plus he’s smart.”
Epling added that freshmen Victor Zayas and Richard Kestner have vastly improved as the year has gone along.
Offensively, senior shortstop Tommy Nutt led the conference with a .419 batting average going into Sunday’s season-ending win over Bluefield State.
“He’s been strugglng lately, but he has been one of our most consistent hitters,” Epling said.
Junior first baseman Phil Brockman leads the conference with nine home runs.
Catcher Gerardo “Gee” Hernandez has been impressive. The junior from Venezuela is hitting .330 with four homers, including a moon shot against the West Virginia Power in an exhibition game at Appalachian Power Park.
Hernandez also has exhibited great skills behind the plate. He threw out three Power runners trying to steal, and also gunned down University of the Cumberlands leadoff hitter Trevor Urbanik three times.
Urbanik leads the MSC with 59 stolen bases.
Epling doesn’t expect Hernandez to be around next year.
“He is by far the best catcher in the conference,” Epling said.
Tech is the fourth seed in the double-elimination tournament and will take on No. 3 Campbellsville at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The teams split their four games this year, with each sweeping a doubleheader.
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