At the onset of preseason practice, UCF baseball head coach Greg Lovelady reiterated several times that he thought pitching and defense would have to lead the charge this season.
That wasn't a surprise, given the fact the lineup would largely consist of newcomers. Lovelady still believes pitching and defense must lead the way - that can be said about any team - but he's now much more encouraged when he assesses the state of UCF's hitters.
"Coming into all this, I was impressed by our pitchers coming into practice, just with their experience and all that kind of stuff," Lovelady said. "The inexperience in our offense was a concern. We knew we had the talent. But in the last three weeks our offense has probably been better than our pitching staff which is crazy to think if you told me that three weeks ago. I'm really impressed with the offense and how far they've come along.
"But again, pitchers have done well. The guys that you'd expect to do well have done well. Some guys maybe need to lock it in a little bit more. You put somebody else in the other dugout and you see what happens when the lights come on. Who are the guys to rise to the occasion?
"I'm excited. We're in a good place. We definitely a lot further along than I thought we would be at this time which is good. Excited to get going on Friday."
UCF hosts traditional opening opponent Siena in a four-game series this weekend (Saturday is a doubleheader). Lovelady confirmed the first rotation of the season:
Friday: Colton Gordon
Saturday (Game 1): Trevor Holloway
Saturday (Game 2): Hunter Patteson
Sunday: TBD
Colton Gordon is a big lefty who comes to UCF by way of Hillsborough Community College after spending his freshman season at Florida.
"He has some of the best stuff on our team," Lovelady said. "The angle is hard with the height, being a low arm angle lefty. He's really difficult on guys. He was also the most consistent guy. He has the best stuff and was the most consistent in practice. He deserved it. He earned it. Sometimes you maybe go with the guy that has the most experience and has done it at this level. You might lean towards that, but not really having that guy except for Joe (Sheridan) who is coming back (from injury), we just felt like (Gordon) was the best guy."
Trevor Holloway began the 2019 season as a weekend starter, but saw his season cut short due to injury.
Hunter Patteson, who is from Vero Beach, has one of the Knights' most impressive freshman.
"He was really consistent and has consistently gotten better," Lovelady said. "If you had told me this the second week of October, whenever it was we started fall practice, I would have been like, 'Nah, he's not ready.' But he's just worked hard. Coming back in January those freshmen were able to take a deep breath and have an understanding of what the expectations are. You can see the growth he's had. He's put on weight. He's gotten stronger. His velocity is up. His breaking ball has really tightened up. He's super competitive and he's been consistent and consistently good."
Sunday's starter will likely come from a trio that includes Zack Hunsicker, Joe Sheridan and Jack Sinclair.
Jeffrey Hakanson is poised to resume his role as closer. Lovelady said David Litchfield will likely be used as a setup man, an eighth inning pitcher. Billy McKay is a utility pitcher of sorts - he can start, do long relief or close. Same goes for Jack Sinclair. Jaylyn Whitehead can do long relief as well, though it seems Lovelady is also looking ahead to possibly starting him next Tuesday against Stetson. Chad Luensmann could also be a possibility as well.
"We're 11 or 12 deep and that's something we really haven't had since I've been here," Lovelady said. "We've got to stay healthy. We say that every year. After last year, you say it more. We're excited about the depth and the different angles and matchups we can provide."
Assessing the lineup, Lovelady said he plans on mixing things up this weekend to give multiple players opportunities.
"Gephry (Pena) has locked down center field and Dalton (Wingo) in right," Lovelady. "Tom Josten, Jordan Rathbone and Josh Crouch have proven they have to play somewhere. Trying to fit those pieces in while at the same time trying to keep guys fresh and give guys chances, I think it allows us to do different things.
"I think Pablo Ruiz and Jordan Rathbone will be the two left fielders, depending what lineup we go with. If we want to get Pablo in the game, that slides Rathbone to either first or DH. Nick Romano and Connor Allen have been really good at first base. Really made it tough on us on who should play. They've both been hitting. Connor is a slight defensive edge with his size, plus he's left-handed so he covers the four hole. He's also a big target for some of the younger guys.
"Matt Archer is going to play third base. Noah Orlando has really done a great job at shortstop, but Andrew Brait has really come on strong. He missed the fall with an injury, but he put on weight after the break after he was able to get in the weight room. He's really impressed us defensively and offensively. He's put himself in a position to play shortstop, him and Noah. Still got to decide on that. Josten can play second, third or DH. His bat will be in the lineup. One decision here changes a lot of different things."
What's been the biggest surprise so far?
"This whole year, Gephry Pena has been our biggest surprise. Just the growth he's had. David Litchfield on the mound. The consistency and the velo, finally being healthy has been huge. Obviously Andrew Brait. Then seeing guys like Tom Josten and Josh Crouch and Jordan Rathbone. Those guys offensively, you knew you had Dalton and you needed people behind him, I think those three guys have stood out offensively that we weren't sure of... It gives us a great 3-4-5 behind Dalton.
Opening Week Schedule:
Friday, Feb 14 - Siena (6 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 15 Siena (2 p.m., then second game 45 minutes afterward)
Sunday, Feb. 16 - Siena (1 p.m.)
Tuesday, Feb. 18 - Stetson (6 p.m.)
