Freshmen to play key roles for Falcons

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Feb 6, 2007 | by SORAYA NADIA McDONALD THE GAZETTE

Warmer weather might finally allow the Air Force baseball team to begin its season Wednesday when York College is scheduled to face the Falcons in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. behind the Cadet Field House.

The schedule called for an opener last Saturday against Colorado Christian, but that game was postponed by snow and the games against York were pushed back. The game against Colorado Christian hasn't been re-scheduled.

Air Force has four seniors on the 37-man roster and no captains. Six of the 21 freshmen on the roster could start Wednesday, coach Mike Hutcheon said.

"It's a lot to ask, obviously, anywhere in the country, but especially here," Hutcheon said of the challenge of winning at the academy. "You can't redshirt, you can't keep a kid out a year and not use eligibility, so it was very important for us to be able to find guys who can handle that."

The Falcons were 10-38 last season and 1-23 in the Mountain West Conference.

Academy leaders investigated Hutcheon after players accused him of religious intolerance. Eight players quit the team last season, and one, senior captain Paul Pratt, was cut after he wrote an e- mail to players' parents asking them to urge academy officials to fire Hutcheon. Hutcheon was given a new three-year contract last May.

"I know the reason we're back is for the opportunity to play college baseball," senior pitcher Mitch Brown said. "Definitely not ready to give that up. There wasn't a decision to be made. It was, 'There's a baseball season to be played, let's play it.'"

The remaining seniors -- Brown, Geno Salazar, Karl Bolt and Joe Peterson -- said they'll be happy if this team can finish the season near .500.

"We think it's tangible with the talent we have and the freshmen," Salazar said.

Instead of captains, Hutcheon has appointed a "core leadership group" of all seven juniors and seniors.

"They're captains in our minds, we just can't call them that," Hutcheon said. "Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll get back to a point where we're able to do that. But I just thought, in the situation we were in, we really don't want to single guys out into those roles. A lot of times, if you name a couple guys captain, the other guys are going, 'What about me?' You don't want to be the one left out."

The Gazette reported that athletic director Hans Mueh asked the Mountain West Conference last June if the Falcons could leave the league for baseball, but the request was denied. Instead, Air Force is allowed to play eight more non-Division I opponents than other conference teams. York College is Division III.

This season, only the top six teams will qualify for the conference tournament. Hutcheon said he now does not want to leave the conference.

Hutcheon, in his fourth year as coach, said he wanted to "achieve climate change and mentality" and improve recruiting before he started to focus on winning.

"Before we can even ask for that, in a realistic world, we needed to make sure all the pieces were in place," Hutcheon said. "As far as our platform or our base, we had to make sure that was in place before we could move on to the rest of the structure. The winning is definitely what we want, but we understand it's going to take these other things to happen, and that's not just going to happen overnight."

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4807 or soraya.mcdonald@gazette.com

SEASON INFORMATION

Opener: Wednesday, 11 a.m.

Opponent: York College

Last season: 10-38 overall, 1-23 MWC

2007 team by class:

Seniors: 4

Juniors: 3

Sophomores: 9

Freshmen: 21

Likely starters:

Pitcher: Jake Pitro (So.) or Gary Whiteman (Fr.)

Catcher: Josh Meents (Jr.)

First base: Spencer Tate (Fr.) or David Miller (Fr.)

Second base: Geno Salazar (Sr.)

Third base: Ben Osmond (Fr.)

Shortstop: Kanaljit Randhawa (Fr.)

Left field: Addison Gentry (Fr.)

Center field: Chay Derbigny (Jr.)

Right field: Karl Bolt (Sr.)

Designated hitter: Jon Falgout (Fr.)

This season, only the six best teams qualify for the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Previously, all seven teams played in the tournament.