Depth and Veteran Leadership Key to Success in 2019
Heading into his fifth year at the helm of Asbury baseball, Head Coach Manny Cervantes is confident in his team's ability to compete in the challenging River States Conference. "The fall was excellent. Our practice schedule, successes in the classroom, and our trip to Alabama has created great momentum during these first couple of weeks of the new year.
The depth of our roster and experience in key positions will be our team's greatest strength. Everyone is ready to get this season started."
Home Schedule and Strong Competition Await in River-States Conference
The strongest asset of the 2019 AU baseball team could be its home heavy schedule. A total of 35 contests will be played at Cecil Zweifel Field inside the Kirkland Complex.
The home field advantage could be a significant factor in conference play. The most challenging stretch of home laden schedule could possibly come between April 12-20 when Asbury will travel to New Albany, Ind. to play the Grenadiers of IU-Southeast (RV) then host defending RSC tournament champion Point Park University (16) the following weekend.
AU baseball was tabbed for a seventh-place finish in the RSC preseason poll after receiving 28 votes.
Options and Experience
Options is the word best associated with the 2019 Asbury pitching staff.
Anchored by junior Will McDonald (Shelbyville, Ky.) and senior Logan Reitter (Cincinnati, Ohio) who combined to log over 120 innings during the 2018 campaign, experience against conference opponents is not lacking.
New additions to the pitching staff will add much needed depth out of the bullpen. Freshmen Alec Lush (Shepardsville, Ky.), Chase Thomas (La Grange Ky.), Tyler Morrison (La Grange, Ky.) and Jacob Cervantes (Wilmore, Ky.) are all expected to contribute early in their collegiate career, while junior transfer Austin Shaw (Paducah, Ky.) is expected to assume the closing role.
Balanced Offensive Attack
Catcher Joe Williams (Mason, Ohio), outfielder Alejandro Jivanjee (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), infielder Paul Haupt (Louisville, Ky.), senior Joey Stenger (Cincinnati, Ohio), junior Josh Blancet (Nicholasville, Ky.), and junior Colton Back (Columbia, Ky.) all return to add experience in a balanced AU offensive lineup.
Haupt, a six-foot, 200-pound sophomore, hit an impressive .323 for the season and led the team in total at-bats during his freshmen campaign.
Senior Alejandro Jivanjee, and senior Joey Stenger combined for over 50 hits last season and are expected to be key players for the offensive attack.
Transfer junior Payton Mattingly (Holland, Ind.) and sophomore Garret McIntire (Louisville, Ky.) are also expected to contribute towards run production with a combination of speed and power potential.
The Eagles will open their season February 1 against University of St. Francis at Cecil Zweifel Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
