Daily Herald Preview
PALATINE, Ill. – First pitch is just around the corner for the Harper College baseball team. The Hawks start their 2016 season with a doubleheader at Morton College on Saturday afternoon.
"During the beginning, it's a learning process. This year, everyone has to touch the ball for us to be successful," said Harper head coach Cliff Brown, who is in his seventh season as the Hawks' coach.
Harper has a 20-man roster and returns seven players from the 2015 team, including Nick Leone (Elmhurst, Ill. /York), Nate Paprota (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central), B.J. Wingerter (Prospect Heights, Ill. /Hersey), Matty Donovan (Chicago, Ill./Saint Patrick), Eddy Valenzuela (Melose Park, Ill. /West Leyden), Gabe Farrowe (Bloomingdale, Ill. /Lake Park ), and Clint O'Neal (Farmer City, Ill./Blue Ridge).
"They're going to have to prove what they can do. They work hard," Brown said. "It's just a matter of execution. If we execute, we'll do well."
Here is a positional breakdown of the 2016 team:
Infield
Leone will likely do a lot of the catching for the Hawks in 2016. The Hawks will also feature a good amount of athleticism up the middle with Wingerter, Savannah State University transfer and shortstop David Dugger (Matteson, Ill. /Rich Central), and first-year player Jeremiah Mack (/Westinghouse).
Freshman Matt Youkhanna (Morton Grove, Ill. /Niles West) will see a lot of action at first base, and Christian Poulsen (Schaumburg, Ill. /Schaumburg) will be utilized in the infield as well as on the mound. Nick Kouzios (Crystal Lake, Ill. /Prairie Ridge) is capable at both second base and outfield. Matty Donovan (Chicago, Ill./Saint Patrick), who will primarily play outfield, can rotate around the infield as well.
Branden Davis (/Rich East) will be used at shortstop as well as in the outfield. First-year player Jerry Rivera (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) is another catching option for the Hawks along with O'Neal.
Outfield
Matty Donovan (Chicago, Ill./Saint Patrick) is the lone Harper player with experience in the outfield from a year ago. Other outfielders will include Davis, O'Neal, Anthony Nishimura (/Lake Central), and Justin Reaves (Chicago, Ill. /De La Salle).
Pitching
Brown is excited to see freshman Travis Lindquist (Madison, Wis. /James Madison Memorial ) on the mound, who he feels has a lot of upside. The returning group includes Paprota, who pitched the most innings of any player returning, along with Valenzuela, Farrowe, and O'Neal. Other new arms include Paul Kramolisch (/Bolingbrook), Adam Kowalski (Arlington Heights, Ill. /Buffalo Grove), and the staff's lone southpaw, Steven Perille (Barrington, Ill. /Barrington).
Conference Schedule
The North Central Community College Conference (N4C) made changes for the conference slate beginning in 2015, and those changes will be implemented for a second straight year. The Hawks will play 24 total conference games again this year. They open conference play on Friday, March 25 with a doubleheader at Joliet Junior College.
In 2015, the Hawks finished fifth in league play with a 6-18 record. Madison College was the top team in the conference with a 23-1 mark and 42-12 overall record and advanced to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma. Joliet Junior College finished second in conference with a 17-7 record and 38-25 record. The Wolves won the NJCAA Region IV Div. II Tournament and advanced to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Kinston, North Carolina. College of DuPage (39-20, 16-8 N4C in 2015) will look to improve upon its third place finish in the N4C a year ago.
Triton College (26-27, 12-12 N4C in 2015), Rock Valley College (11-38, 7-17 N4C in 2015), and Milwaukee Area Technical College (6-39, 3-21 N4C in 2015) will look to rise in the standings in 2016.
Postseason Play
The Region IV Sectional Tournament will be played May 7-8, followed by the Region IV Baseball Finals hosted by the higher seed May 13-15. If the Hawks were to win the region championship, they would play at the 2016 NJCAA DIII Baseball Championship.
Final Thoughts from Cliff Brown
"If we do what we need to, the outcome will take care of itself. I'm not interested in excuses. I'm interested in results. I always feel like we play our best baseball towards the end."
Resources for the Season
Roster/Bios
Schedule/Results
Stats
@Harper_Baseball and @HarperHawks on Twitter for updates
