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February 19, 2009 There comes a time in every collegiate athlete’s career that they must step into the spotlight and take on the burden of being one of their team’s top stars.
Led by senior southpaw Ian Thomas (Virginia Beach, Va.) and junior Phillip Deane (Richmond, Va.), the Rams boast a stable of talented arms, but eight of the 14 hurlers on the staff have no more than a year of collegiate experience. “We’re young, but extremely talented on the mound,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “If you look at it, we only have a handful of guys that have over two years over experience. We’re going to need some of those juniors and sophomores to really step up this year.” Thomas finished the year strong for the Black & Gold with a 3-3 mark in 60.2 innings, while striking out 45 and walking just 18 on the year. “We started with Ian in the bullpen last year and he quickly emerged as one of our top guys,” Keyes said. “He’s battled a couple of odd injuries throughout the fall, but we feel like he’s going to be one of the top arms in the conference this year.” Deane has been a part of the starting rotation for the past two seasons and will look to put a tough 2008 season behind him and regain his 2007 form which saw him post an ERA of just 4.02 in 65.0 innings of work, while walking just 16 and striking out 47. “Phillip had a tough season last year, but has worked hard in the off-season and really has been lights out so far this spring,” Keyes stated. Battling for the other spots in the rotation will be junior right-handers Will Hirsch (Suffolk, Va.), Darryl Stringfield (Wakefield, Va.) (right) and freshman Ryan Crosby (Broad Run, Va.).
“Will is a guy we see a lot of potential in,” Keyes said. “Obviously he came from a great program in Georgia Tech, but he had a tough transition last year. He has been outstanding in most of his outings this spring and we really need him to continue that consistency throughout the year for us be successful.” Stringfield is a powerful right-hander that was used out of the bullpen last season, but has the versatility to transition into a dominant starter this year. He posted 24 strikeouts in just 25.0 innings of work, but also walked 12 during that span. “String is another guy that has all the ability in the world, but we’ll need to get more consistency from him, especially with throwing strikes,” Keyes stated. Crosby has shown flashes of brilliance in the preseason with a stellar array of pitches led by an overpowering fastball and a nasty slider to hold hitters off-balance. “Ryan is one of those freshmen that you know is going to be a key part of your program for years to come,” Keyes said. “With freshman though, you don’t want to throw them right into the fire. For us this year, we might have to do that, but we have the confidence in him that he can fill the role we need him to fill.” The freshmen tandem of Kyle Pelchy (Yorktown, Va.) and Seth Cutler-Voltz (Richmond, Va.) are two right-handers that could see time in a variety of roles. Both have adjusted nicely this spring and will vie for time as either a starter or out of the bullpen for the Rams.
“Aaron is a huge part of our success, not only this year but for years to come,” Keyes said. “He has the ability to come into a game and completely shut down the opposition. That’s what you need at the back end of the bullpen.” Setting it up for Morgan in the final innings will be right-handers Robbie Andrews (Covington, Va.) and Josh Alford (Midlothian, Va.). Andrews picked up two saves in 28.1 innings of work and walked just nine. Alford is a side-winding right-hander that could join a long list of VCU side-winders like Cla Meredith and Mick Mattaliano. “Robbie and Josh have the talent to really give us great middle to late innings on any given day,” Keyes said. “Again it comes down to both of them being able to step up and take on the roles that we are going to put them in.” Adding valuable depth to the Rams staff will the be a trio of right-handers in sophomores Howie Deemer (Washington, N.J.) and Anthony Askey (Manassas, Va.), along with freshman Taylor Perkins (Dinwiddie, Va.). “In order to have a good staff, you need guys who are going to eat innings for you,” Keyes said. “All three of those guys have the ability to really give us quality innings whenever we need them.” |
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That time is now for most of this year’s Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team’s pitching staff. 
Hirsch struggled in his first year with the Black & Gold after transferring in from Georgia Tech. He finished 0-6 with an 8.01 ERA, but has put in a lot of work with pitching coach Shawn Stiffler and looks to have regained his form that he had with the Yellow Jackets. 
Redshirt sophomore Aaron Morgan (Sutherland, Va.) (left) is the cog of the Black & Gold bullpen after posting just a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings of work last season. He struck out 33 hitters, while holding opponents to just a .188 batting average against. All rights reserved.
