by Emily McKeehan, Triangle staff writer
With new additions to the Bryan College baseball team, Head Coach Taylor Hasty has high hopes for the Lions this year.
In the midst of an eight-week fall practice preseason, Hasty said that it is too early to predict a lot of things about how the season will go, but, overall, the team this year is much better than last year’s.
The first addition to the team is pitching coach Nathan Beuster. According to Hasty, Beuster is one of the “best young pitching coaches of the nation” and is an enormous asset to the team. Originally from Geneseo, Ill., Beuster graduated from Culver-Stockton College (Canton, Mo.) in 2007.
For the past two years, Beuster worked as the pitching coach for Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), which is one of the top 15 NAIA baseball programs.
One of the baseball team managers, Diana Rice said that the team Beuster coached last year won 20 games before they lost, an outstanding accomplishment. Rice holds high expectations for Beuster’s influence on the team this season.
“The guys really respect him,” Rice said, and senior pitcher Daniel Zimmerman agreed.
“[Beuster] is an exceptional coach,” Zimmerman said.
Another addition to the baseball program this year is a junior varsity squad, which includes an excellent incoming class.
Hasty said that while the team did not do well on the field last year, the team excelled off the field as far as recruiting new players. According to Hasty, this year holds one of the best recruiting classes in several years.
Good team chemistry and some competition for starting lineup positions indicate to Hasty a good up-coming year. Still, several players have stood out during fall practice.
In Hasty’s opinion, juniors J.D. Davis (shortstop) and Pablo Rodriguez (first base), as well as sophomore Zach Breault (pitcher) and freshman Joseph Delrosario (outfield) have all done very well in practice so far.
New additions Rodriguez and Delrosario are international transfers. Rodriguez is originally from Cuba, and Delrosario is from the Dominican Republic. Both of these players, according to Rice, are very talented and will be major assets to the team.
“But they’re not the only ones,” Rice said. Both Rice and Zimmerman said that the team is overall more physically talented than last year’s team.
Hasty said that the team last year was “bitten by the eligibility and injury bug,” and, though it is still early in the season, they have not had to deal with that this year.
“The tenor of the team has changed significantly since last year,” Zimmerman said.
Hasty anticipates a much better baseball season this year and is excited to see how the varsity and junior varsity teams will compete with their new players and pitching coach.