Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Fall Scrimmages Breed Competition, Excitement
9/19/2017 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
First Scrimmage begins 3:30 PM on Wednesday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn – After weeks of individual and group workouts to start the school year, fall practice has officially begun for the Middle Tennessee baseball team.
This year's team has a fine balance between returning veterans and newcomers. With 12 new players on the roster, including five junior college transfers, one MLB draft pick and one high school All-American, the competition for starting spots looks to be fierce across the board.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing to keep an eye on is how those on the mound fare with new pitching coach Caleb Longshore now commanding the helm.
"We've had three weeks of group work with Longshore for him to get his program in place," said head coach Jim McGuire. "I think the reaction from the players has been very positive going forward. I think he relates to them really well."
The Blue Raiders have an abundance of depth on the mound with 18 pitchers on the roster, but only nine recorded an inning for Middle Tennessee last season.
The key for the intra-squad scrimmages during the fall will be determining who can separate themselves from the pack, as either a weekend starter who can provide consistent, quality outings or as a bullpen reliever who can carry the torch to the end.
Among the newcomers on the mound, keep an eye on left-hander Peyton Wigginton and right-handers Andy Rivera and Zach Keenan.
"Among all the new players, the guys with all of the accolades to the guys with not as many, I feel really good about this class from top to bottom," McGuire said. "They all bring a very important piece to the table to mix with the returning players.
"I think that's what could take us over the top."
In the field, the Blue Raiders hope to replace four everyday starters gone from last year's team: Riley Delgado (shortstop), Brad Jarreau (centerfield), Kaleb King (first base) and Chaz Vesser (catcher).
"The biggest competition battle is going to be behind the plate," McGuire said, "just because we have four guys that I already have confidence in that I could put them out there at any time."
Whether it's experience, consistency or plain raw talent that takes them a step above, McGuire is looking for a blend of the three from Will Schnure, Aaron Antonini, Alex Carignan and Jake Hagenow to emerge as the anchor at catcher.
Apart from position battles, perhaps the most important aspect of this fall is determining who will lead this year's team on the field.
"That's the key to this whole thing. With all of the returning guys we have, are they able to step up and lead this team," McGuire said. "Now they have more responsibility and the expectations from ourselves are way higher.
"Now not only do they have to handle all of that, but they have to be able to bring the new guys along with them."
The first step in getting better and determining the staff and lineup comes this Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 3:30 p.m. for the first scrimmage at Reese Smith Jr. Field. Overall, there will be 14 intra-squad scrimmages.
The traditional culmination of the fall will be the Blue & White World Series, beginning Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. The entire scrimmage schedule for the fall can be found here.
