THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702071041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 40 lines
Being young is OK, so long as there is depth. Being thin is OK, so long as there is experience. But being young and thin? That's a combination that presents quite a challenge for the Old Dominion baseball team.
The loss of second-team All-American catcher Matt Quatraro (drafted in the eighth round by Tampa Bay) and three starting pitchers, combined with injuries to the team's starting catcher and leftfielder and a number of pitching recruits going pro has left the Monarchs searching for a bench as they begin their season today at the Citgo Southern Challenge against Western Carolina.
``We had a lot of freshmen play last year in support roles,'' said ODU coach Tony Guzzo, who has taken the Monarchs to the NCAA tournament in each of his two seasons, ``but they'll have to step up for us this year.''
The roster has no seniors and only three juniors.
The Monarchs' strength is in the infield. All four starters from last year's 39-17 CAA championship squad return, including third baseman Ron Walker, a junior All-American candidate after batting .335 with 11 homers and 55 RBI. Walker also went 6-1 with 10 saves as the team's closer, though Guzzo is expecting set-up man Bobby Holland to take over Walker's role.
First baseman Tony Forelli (.309, 28 RBI), second baseman Eric Folmar and shortstop Tony Gsell fill out the infield. All are sophomores.
The outfield - already thin after first-team All-East Region performer Brian Fiumara (.364, 51 RBI) graduated - suffered another setback when David Winter, a sophomore from First Colonial, suffered internal injuries while diving for a ball during fall practice. Winter could be out for the season and may be in danger of losing a kidney, thus ending his career.
Guzzo is looking to a four-man starting rotation, though only three spots are secured. Jesse James, who went 8-6 last year with a 4.61 ERA and a pair of complete games, is the opening-day starter. Indian River High alumnus David Bailey and junior-college transfer John Cocca also start, with the fourth starting job open.