Baseball Series With Charlotte Cancelled

Baseball 2/21/2008 5:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

2008 Baseball Pitchers Preview

The three-part season preview started Wednesday with the overall outlook, which can be read by clicking here. The season preview will conclude Friday with the position player preview.

The depth of the Griffs starts in the rotation with six pitchers vying for spots in the four-man non-conference rotation and more importantly the three-man weekend rotation used during the MAAC schedule.

The three starters returning from last year's squad are junior Alex MacKenzie (Keswick, Ont.), junior Ryan McGorman (Arden, Manitoba) and sophomore Mike Goemans (Guelph, Ont.). By the end of the season, Goemans took over the No. 1 spot in the rotation and threw 89 innings with a 4.25 ERA, 21 walks, 41 strikeouts and two complete games, which included a two-hitter against Fairfield.

MacKenzie settled into the second spot in the rotation, throwing a team-leading five complete games, which came in the final six games of the regular season. The 6-foot righthander allowed a total of six earned runs during that stretch with 26 strikeouts and eight walks in 37 innings pitched. By the end of the season, McGorman held the third spot in the weekend rotation and went 3-0 in his final five starts with a 1.52 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched.

The other three names in contention for the starting rotation didn't pitch for the Griffs in 2007 -- redshirt freshman Shane Davis (Belmont, Ont.), senior Josh Sawatzky (Altona, Manitoba) and junior Andrew Van'tWout (Guelph, Ont.). Davis redshirted the 2007 campaign and was a member of the Team Ontario team that won a gold medal at the 2005 Canada Cup. Sawatzky also redshirted the 2007 season after playing three seasons at Niagara University where he was recruited by McRae and posted a 3.54 ERA in 89 innings pitched in 2006. Voted the MAAC's top newcomer in 2004, the 6-foot-4 righthander was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 36th round out of high school. Van'tWout transferred to Canisius after two seasons at Genesee Community College.

The first arms out of the bullpen will be juniors Aaron Boag (Burlington, Ont.) and Matt Weber (Troy, N.Y.) along with freshman Josh Marshall (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). When pitching consistently out of the pen, Boag has been most effective. The 5-foot-11 lefthander posted a 2.59 ERA in his final nine appearances last season with a 3-2 record as opposing batters hit .218. Weber has pitched in 31 games during his first two seasons and in his last nine appearances in 2007, the 6-foot-1 lefthander posted a 4.74 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. Marshall played for the Saskatoon Giants during the past three years and had a 2.20 ERA in 65 innings pitched with 102 strikeouts last season.

Three other players who will have opportunities to be contributors are Bryan Smith (Cicero, N.Y.), Chris Cox (St. George, Ont.) and Eric Hawes (Massena, N.Y.). Smith and Cox have “great stuff” according to McRae, but the challenge for that trio will be how quickly they can come around and be consistent options.

The one spot on the pitching staff that could be labeled as a question mark is the closer position. Mike Bax held that position last season but only had two saves in 17 appearances. McRae doesn't view the lack of an established closer as a concern. Van'tWout and McGorman serve as the primary options heading into the season with the duo providing alternate looks as McGorman's a righty and Van'tWout's a lefty.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Mike Bax: P; 5' 10"; Senior

#36 Aaron Boag: P; 5' 11"; Junior

#23 Chris Cox: P; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#32 Shane Davis: P; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#19 Mike Goemans: P; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#25 Eric Hawes: P; 6' 0"; Freshman

#35 Alex MacKenzie: P; 6' 0"; Junior

#30 Josh Marshall: P; 5' 9"; Freshman

#15 Ryan McGorman: P; 6' 1"; Junior

#27 Josh Sawatzky: P; 6' 4"; Redshirt

#10 Bryan Smith: P; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#20 Andrew Van'tWout: P; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 Mike Bax
: 5' 10"; Senior
: P

#36 Aaron Boag
: 5' 11"; Junior
: P

#23 Chris Cox
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: P

#32 Shane Davis
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: P

#19 Mike Goemans
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: P

#25 Eric Hawes
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: P

#35 Alex MacKenzie
: 6' 0"; Junior
: P

#30 Josh Marshall
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: P

#15 Ryan McGorman
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P

#27 Josh Sawatzky
: 6' 4"; Redshirt
: P

#10 Bryan Smith
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: P

#20 Andrew Van'tWout
: 6' 1"; Junior
: P