Feb. 12, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - When Rob Cooper looks at this year's roster for the Penn State baseball team, there's not one set lineup that jumps out to him.
That's because Cooper, now in his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions, doesn't believe that any player has to be automatically penciled into any one batting spot or position. For him, it's all about taking advantage of who is performing well at that given time.
"When I do a lineup, I don't really look at it from the traditional fastest guy leads off, the guy who can bunt and handle the bat is second and your best hitter is third," Cooper said. "I try to get the guys who are swinging the bat the best up as many times as possible during a game. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do from a batting lineup standpoint yet."
With 11 returning position players that saw time in at least 20 games last year, not to mention six that started at least 30, Cooper has plenty of options as well as experience at his disposal. When the season kicks off this Friday against Elon however, the key for the Nittany Lions will be staying consistent.
Last year, Penn State showed plenty of flashes of how dangerous a team it could be, winning 12 of 14 games during a stretch from March. 18 to April 11. Now, the next step will be sustaining that success over a longer period of time.
"I think the biggest thing we have been trying to talk about is just taking care of today," Cooper said. "And then just being more consistent, trying to cut down on the `freebies,' whether it's an error or a walk or a hit by a pitch, and giving the other team more outs to play with."
Lineup wise, the biggest hole the Lions need to fill is right at the top, where last year's leadoff man and top offensive player Steve Synder (.321 AVG, .395 OBP, 9 SB) has graduated. Right now, the most likely man for the job is junior James Coates, who will also be a candidate to replace Synder in centerfield.
Coates, who was the team's primary right fielder and two-hitter last season, is coming off a campaign in which he hit .277 with a .395 OBP and was fourth on the team in RBIs with 15. Though just a junior, Coates has already been cited by Cooper as one of the strongest leaders on the squad.
As for the rest of the outfield, the Lions have multiple players who can play any of the three spots. After Coates, the competition for playing time will mostly be between senior Ryan Richter, senior Aaron Novak and junior slugger Greg Guers.
"James Coates can obviously play out there," Cooper said. "Ryan Richter had an unbelievable fall for us. He'll mainly be an outfielder but he can still play some infield. I think between those two guys, Aaron Novak, Greg Guers is going to be more of an outfielder this year, so we've got some pretty good competition out there."
While there will also be competition in the infield, the Lions return a strong core of players there. Last year's double play duo, senior second baseman Taylor Skerpon and sophomore shortstop Jim Haley, are both back along with senior first baseman and middle of the order threat J.J. White.
The biggest addition to the crew is redshirt sophomore Christian Helsel, a transfer from Ole Miss who has the ability to play third base, shortstop and second base.
"[Helsel] is just another guy that likes to come in every day and pour his heart out onto the field," Skerpon said. "Having a bunch of guys like that, it's definitely a lot of fun.
"I think [Haley] is really a completely different player. It's amazing what one year will do for a young guy like that. His maturity level has gone way up and I'm excited to see what he can do this year."
Other players who will likely see time are junior third baseman Tyler Kendall, who started 31 games last season and drove in 13 RBIs, and junior catcher Alex Malinsky, who split time in 2014 with senior Alex Farkes.
Although the batting order is far from set, Cooper has plenty of confidence in Guers and White to produce in the three and four spots once again. Last season, the duo each cranked two home runs and both topped 20 RBIs (Guers with 27, White with 24).
Cooper's message to the pair is the same as it is to the entire team. While they need to play at a more consistent level, the way to do so is to be relaxed and enjoy the game they're playing.
"We have to be more consistent as a team," Cooper said. "But what I would say to that is, what do both of them need to do to be more consistent. With both of them, you're seeing what I call a `mentally lighter' player. They're just trying to have great quality at-bats and not put too much pressure on themselves. And that's the biggest thing."