By Sean Mickey, Staff Writer
After the St. Bonaventure men’s baseball team had its most successful season since 2008, the Bonnies look to continue their success, despite losing its three best players to the MLB draft.
Coach Larry Sudbrook is proud of his athletes that made the step to professional baseball but realizes the importance of the holes they left behind. David Hollins (Miami), Cole Peterson (Detroit) and Aaron Phillips (San Francisco) all signed professional contracts, ending their collegiate careers.
“On the day of the draft, you’re obviously very happy for [players signed by MLB teams],” Sudbrook said. “Those guys not only got bonuses, which were in the six figures, they also get their last year of college paid for. It’s also something that is a good reflection for the program and helps you recruit in the future. A few minutes after that draft though, you also realize you just lost your three best players that would have been back next year. So, it’s really good and bad.”
After losing players, Sudbrook began to plan for the future, knowing his lineup would have immense changes.
“Everybody wants to continue the success, but we lost seven of nine position players,” Sudbrook said. “Anytime you lose seven players, the next year offensively is going to be a challenge. We’ve added some good guys this year including junior college All-Americans. There’s always an adjustment time to Division I. They throw a little harder, the breaking balls are better and they locate a little better. But we certainly want to be competitive and try to get back to the Atlantic 10 Tournament.”
Sophomore pitcher Murphy O’Brien is looking forward to the challenge of replicating past successes.
“Coach Fiske gave us a great off-season lifting program, and that’s a great way to get stronger and prepared for the season,” O’Brien said. “After losing Aaron Phillips to the MLB draft, each pitcher has to step up and play their role.”
Catcher Isaac Porter, who was a redshirt last season, looks to continue the team’s success and have new personal success.
“Our goal is to make it back to the Atlantic 10 conference tournament like last year,” Porter said. “We want to continue that success into this year and hopefully make some noise in the tournament in the process. [Being a redshirt] I had the opportunity to get comfortable with everyone on the team and witness firsthand what it takes to compete at a high level in the A10. It gave me a good indication of what I needed to work on before this season comes around.”
The Bonnies begin their season Friday, Feb. 23 in Port Charlotte, Florida. Porter is looking forward to his first trip to Florida with the team, as is O’Brien as he makes his return.
“We’re all extremely excited to get the season started, so I think live competition is what I’m looking forward to the most,” Porter said. “It’s also nice to play some different teams that we don’t usually play throughout the year that could give us some different looks. The nicer weather is always a plus, as well.”
O’Brien agreed.
“All of this cold weather and snow has prevented us from getting on the field, and I’m super excited to get on the field down in Florida and finally play some baseball,” O’Brien said. “I’m excited to get on the field and play some legit competition.”
Although the games in Florida are in fact real competition, not scrimmages, these games are important to Sudbrook in finalizing his roster.
“The first nine games in Florida will really be a bit of figuring out who’s playing where and who’s batting where for when we get into Atlantic 10 play,” said Sudbrook. “When you think you have something figured out and that player doesn’t hit a lick, you’re back to square one.”
