Baseball Opens 2000 Against 19th-ranked Arizona
1/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
1999 Season Recap:
Saint Mary's closed out the 1999 season with a 6-1 victory over Portland and finished the season 22-32 overall, 14-16 in WCC action. The Gaels added 10 more w's in the win column than 1998, the school's largest single season turnaround since a 12-game boost from 1989 to 1990. The 14 conference wins were a school-high since the WCC started the 30-game schedule in 1992.
Saint Mary's closed out the 1999 season with a 6-1 victory over Portland and finished the season 22-32 overall, 14-16 in WCC action. The Gaels added 10 more w's in the win column than 1998, the school's largest single season turnaround since a 12-game boost from 1989 to 1990. The 14 conference wins were a school-high since the WCC started the 30-game schedule in 1992.
Gaels Open 2000 Against 19th-ranked Arizona:
After a very positive Fall, the 2000 Saint Mary's team will open the season against perenial Pac-10 power 19th-ranked Arizona. The #19 ranking is the highest preseason ranking for the Wildcats since 1993. The three game series against the Wildcats will begin on Friday, first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm. The series will continue through the weekend with single games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at noon. The 1999 season started with a three-game series against Arizona and the Gaels were swept by the Wildcats, 19-6, 7-2 and 9-0. After last season's three game series, Arizona holds a slight 3-2 advantage in the series with Saint Mary's.
Head Coach John Baptista:
Saint Mary's head coach John Baptista (Sacramento State, 1978) is 22-32 after his first year at the helm of the Gael baseball program. Baptista was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Gaels before being named the head coach. He also served as an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco, Kansas State and Arizona. Baptista was the pitching coach at Yavapai JC in Prescott, AZ from 1990-93 where he helped lead the team to a National Championship with a record of 45-15 in 1993.
Bap Retuns to Arizona:
Coach Baptista started his collegiate coaching career at the University of Arizona as a volunteer assistant coach for the 1989 season. In that season U of A won the Six-Pac title and was the #1 ranked team in the nation for the majority of the season. Since being named head coach, Baptista has a 0-3 record against his former team.
Saint Mary's Returns Starting Rotation:
The 2000 Saint Mary's starting rotation returns three starters from last season. Senior RHP Jason Morgan-Voyce (Sacramento, CA) will head the staff as the number one starter. Morgan-Voyce compiled a 6-7 record in 1999 and led the team with 123.1 innings pitched and eight complete games. Behind Morgan-Voyce will be sophomore left-handed hurler Mike Byer (Simi Valley, CA). Byer led the team with 19 appearances in 1999 and had a 1-7 record with a 5.21 ERA. The third pitcher in the rotation will be senior RHP Evan Rust (Ben Lamond, CA) who led the team with a 3.67 ERA in 1999 and had a 6-6 record. He started 12 games as a junior with four complete games pitched.
Say Good-BYE:
Senior Chris Bye (Englewood. CO) will get the closing duties this season after making 16 appearances in 1999. The right-handed reliever was second on the team with 13 starts last year, but will use his big curve-ball to shut the door for Saint Mary's this season.
Summerville Returns After Injury:
Centerfielder Kaazim Summerville (Burlingame, CA) suffered a broken right ankle in the off-season and returns to the top of the Gaels line-up. The speedy Summerville led the team with 13 stolen bases last season and will look for even more in his junior season.
Waugh Returns to the Outfield:
Jason Waugh (Bakersfield, CA) will return to his more comfortable right field position this season. Waugh started his freshman year in right field and was hitting .326 before moving to catcher after his cousin Mike Waugh broke his thumb after 30 games. Waugh saw his average drop to .299 by seasons end and the move back to right field should help him return to 1999 mid-season form.
Newcomers to Power-up Gaels Line-up:
Saint Mary's will start four newcomers in 2000. With vacancies at second and third base, coach Baptista has brought in two players from Yucaipa High School to fill the voids of Rashad Nichols (2B) and Olin Cohan (3B). Freshmen James Gaulke (Yucaipa, CA) is the early favorite to play third base and Mark Teahen (Yucaipa, CA) should see a lot of time at second base and freshman pitcher John Guthrie (Arcadia, CA) will get a chance to show off his hitting skills in the designated-hitter role. The fouth newcomer to make a good impression is junior college transfer Brian Houle (San Mateo, CA). Houle played catcher for San Mateo Junior College before coming to Saint Mary's and will start behind the plate at Arizona.
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