University School Counting On Strong Pitching In 2013

Practices are pretty busy these days for University School, where the Suns enter this year with the unenviable task of replacing some of the top players from last year who helped them to a second-place finish in District 4A-13.

Just who did the Suns lose exactly? A .326 hitter in Charlie Gomez, a solid catcher in JJ Cormier, a .305 hitter in Diego Perez, who drove in 19 runs and scored another 19.

“We lost some pretty key players and it’s no secret we’re going to have some big holes to fill,” Manager Eddie Tisdale said. “When you lose a player like Diego Perez, or JJ Cormier behind the plate, those are quality high school baseball players who go out on a daily basis and get the job done. They’re tough to replace, but we’re going to have to find guys to step up and do the job for us.”

The Suns picked up one freshman in place of the six seniors they lost, leaving the team thin in some spots.

The Suns can take some comfort in the fact that they return some quality arms. The ace of the staff will be Michael White. White sparked the Suns last year, going 9-2 with 78 strikeouts and a 0.43 in 64.2 innings. Shane Wise and Andrew Denis were other key members of the pitching staff. Wise went 3-3 with 33 strikeouts and a 1.72 ERA in 36.2 innings while Denis went 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA in 23.2 innings.

“Our pitching staff speaks for itself from statistically what they accomplished last year to what they’re goals and aspirations are this year,” Tisdale said. “We’ve got Mike White back. He’s going to be a key for us. We’ll go as he goes. Andrew Denis is a guy we’re expecting to step in and he’s gotten a lot better over the summer. We’re expecting him to play big for us. Shane Wise, say time of deal. He got some really key innings playing travel ball this summer. We expect him to come in and same thing get the job done.”

Tisdale said “Mike’s our bulldog. He goes out there and every time he’s out on the mound, he brings a different attitude to our team. Our team plays at a different level when he’s on the mound. We expect him to lead and be successful.”

He said White has a good fastball, good slider, good change-up. He locates well and goes out on the mound expecting to win.

Denis is a lefty who, like White, brings that desire to win with him to the mound.

“Attitude is everything for him as well,” Tisdale said. “He’s out there on the mound expecting to be successful and when guys who expect to be successful, more often than not, they are. He’s a fastball, slider guy. He’s got a pretty good change-up that he’ll show at times. His velocity has gotten up there pretty good this offseason.”

Wise primarily will be a reliever or closer as of now, Tisdale said.

“He’s a guy that has a closer mentality,” he said. “He’s ready every day to pitch and ready every day to get a job done. He’ll come off the bench and shut the door. And he can get a lot of guys out locating and also getting a lot of guys out with velocity. It’s rare to find that in high school.”

Freddie Sultan, a lefty who threw 14.2 innings and struck out 17 last year, could end up as the number three starter. He’s improved his velocity this offseason, Tisdale noted.

White will play at first when not pitching, and Brendon McKendry, who was hurt most of last year, will be there the rest of the time. Those two also will play at third along with Adam Sinkoe.

Another big plus for the Suns this year is the having Sebastian Diaz back at short stop. He hit .397 last year and drove in 29 runs. He belted 12 doubles and five triples.

“He’s probably one of the best players in the county if not the region,” Tisdale said. “He’s done a lot to get stronger, put on weight during the summer. We expect him to hit in the middle of our lineup and be a contributor.”

Returning outfielders include Daniel Epstein, Isaac Zinger and Denis. Brendan McKendry and his brother, Evan, also may play in the outfield.

Promising younger player include Perry Latrelle, a first baseman/outfielder; Alexander Berry, who has moved from infield to behind the plate to fill a void there; Julian Cabrera, who is coming off an injury last year and Cameron Chafetz, whom Tisdale said has one of the best work ethics he has seen.

“We have a lot of guys who have a lot to prove,” Tisdale said. “They’ve proven it to themselves and in the games we’ve played, that they can play at a high level, so the confidence is there. Now it’s just they have a little chip on their shoulder. They hear everybody out there saying we lost a bunch of guys and there’s going to be a lot of question marks around our program and it puts a chip on their shoulder. It makes them that much more determined to reach our goal. I think it’s going to play to our advantage when the spring rolls around. And I think we’ll be ready to compete.”

Coming out fired up is the way to go to get through a district that includes last year’s champion Coral Springs Charter and Chaminade-Madonna, the team that knocked University out of the playoffs. The rest of the district, which includes North Broward Prep, Pine Crest, Somerset and Cardinal Gibbons, is fiercely competitive as well. University got a strong footing in the district last, starting 3-0.

Tisdale described the district like this: “The way I put it to people who talk about it is it’s like tip-toeing through a minefield at night. It’s an amazing district. Every team has arms at the top of their rotation who can shut you down if you’re not careful. And every team can score runs.”

Wise had these wise words: “You can’t take a game off. You can’t just throw one of your underclassman pitchers or not-as-great pitchers because every game matters. You have to try your best to win every single game. You can’t let up on any team or take anyone for granted.”

The Suns won’t be taking it easy outside of their district as they have games scheduled against Coral Springs, Coral Springs Christian, Jacksonville Bishop Snyder, Hialeah and Sagemont among others.

“We worked hard to make it a consistently competitive schedule,” Tisdale said. “Every game has to be looked at as an important game. In high school, it’s a 25-game season [in Florida]. With a 25-game schedule, you have to start game one and you have to be firing all cylinders. It’s my philosophy that we have to come out of the gate in game one playing just as well as we play game 25, and that comes down to mental toughness, physical conditioning, practice. We have to be ready to go game one and stay at that high level without taking any games off.”

Tisdale isn’t worried with the schedule knowing how hard the team is working this offseason.

“The work ethic on this group of guys is through the roof,” Tisdale said. “It’s fun to watch them get better. It’s hard to keep up with them, but it’s fun to watch them get better.”

Wise said having coaches such as Tisdale and Hofman around inspire him and his teammates to push themselves.

“Coach Hofman has been around for a long time,” Wise said. “He’s very knowledgeable about the sport and he knows how to win. That’s the biggest thing. We want to win. He’s always at practices. He knows the right things to stay. And he doesn’t let us take a second. He always wants us working hard.”

Away from the hard work on the field, the players remains a unit through their everyday lives.

“Off the field, we all act like a big family,” he said. “We’re always sitting together at lunch. After school, we’re always hanging out. It’s not that we’re just there for baseball. We’re all a group of friends.”

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