Men's baseball:
Koopman says his kids
can play
By John Baracani
As the date draws near for the season’s first home game on March 19, Apache baseball Coach Bob Koopmann knows the key to being successful this year.
"Winning or losing will depend on pitching," he said "Nine of our twelve pitchers are freshmen."
With a pitching staff made of predominantly first year players, Koopmann looks to his three returning starting pitchers, left-handers Brian Lewis and Tim Breuning and right-hander Bobby Torres, to help carry the pitching load.
Lewis looks forward to the prospects of the upcoming season for the team and for him as an individual.
"We have a young team this year, especially the pitching staff," he said. "Things look good in practice."
"Personally I would like to improve my performance because a sub-par season would not get me or the team to the next level."
The next level, according to Lewis, would be a Regional victory, a feat the team fell just shy of accomplishing a year ago.
While the pitching staff may be questionable, Koopmann has no doubt what his club’s strength will be.
"Hitting, by far is definitely our strength," he said, adding that sophomore infielders Garret Dinges and Tony Nelson will play important roles. Nelson is coming is coming off an injury that cost him playing time last season.
"We’re anxious to see him play," said Koopmann.
Sophomore outfielder Jeff Szczupaj echoed the importance of the team’s hitting.
"Our team speed and hitting will be our focal point," he said. "Overall I hope we can get back to (the level we played) a year ago."
On February 29, the Apaches traveled to Minnesota’s MetroDome, where they played Kirkwood, a team from Iowa. The two teams split a pair of games, with IVCC winning one contest 6-4, and Kirkwood prevailing 7-2 in the other.
Two days later, they traveled to Florida for the annual spring trip from March 3-12, after press time.
When the home portion of IVCC’s schedule opens, the Apaches hope to be playing on their own field for the first time in over two years.
"We are under the understanding that the field is going to be playable," said Koopmann.
Although Larry Rousey, director of the physical plant, maintained that the field would be ready, some players wonder if that will be the case.
"To be straight to the point, our field is repulsive," said Szczupaj. "Our first home game looks like it is going to be an away game."
"The conditions are still undesirable," said Lewis. "But it is still early yet and the field is supposed to be done and ready to play so we’ll have to wait and see what happens."
The March 19 home game against Spoon River is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Other upcoming games for the Apaches include March 20 at home against McHenry at 1 p.m., March 21 at Elgin, and March 22 at Kankakee.