Webster University Athletics

    The Gorloks are coming off a record breaking season. In 2007 they captured their second St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship in 3 years and received their third consecutive bid to the NCAA national tournament. The Gorloks have laid a foundation of success that has seen their program rise to the top of the SLIAC and put them in contention on a national level year in and year out.  The Gorloks open the season ranked 32nd nationally in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. 

    Bill Kurich enters his second season as head coach compiling a 31-14 record last year, breaking the all-time school mark. The 2007 Gorloks found themselves in the driver’s seat in the SLIAC for most of the year compiling a 15-3 record including an undefeated mark at home in the conference. After winning their 3rd straight Conference Tournament Championship, the Gorloks traveled to Bloomington, IL, site of the NCAA Regional Tournament. There they faced off with #6 ranked Illinois Wesleyan and captured their first Tournament win in school history beating the Titans on their home field.

    Kurich realizes just how special this program is and believes that the team has put itself in a position to not only win another conference championship but to take the next step to Appleton, Wisconsin, site of the Division III World Series. “Last year we grew a lot as a team. We figured out how to play the game hard and the right way, and gained some much needed experience. This year we return a group of players that have taken their game to the next level and are ready to take this program to the next level,” said Kurich. “Although, there is no question that we will dearly miss the seniors that graduated last year, the coaching staff feels that between the new players that we have added along with the returners from last year, we are more talented and deeper then ever before. After being only two games away from the College World Series, the Gorloks goals have been set very high. Kurich added, “I will not say that our expectations aren’t very high, because they are. We know we can win a lot of games with this team, but we can’t just throw our gloves out there, we have to worker harder then we ever have and play with a chip on our shoulder.”

Pitching

    The Gorlok staff will see itself more seasoned then any other staff in school history returning 9 pitchers from last year while only losing 4. The 2007 staff led the SLIAC in wins (31), strikeouts (241), and least amount of walks per game (2.88), while finishing second in many categories including E.R.A. and shutouts. This year’s staff will look to their experience to help them stay on top. Seniors Wes Hilliard (Sr., Lindale, TX), Joe Malat (Sr., Shiloh, IL), Eric McKinley (Sr., Benton, IL), and team captain James Powell (Sr., Waterloo, IL) are all returning starters that will be the key catalysts in leading the Gorlok staff back towards another conference championship. Along with these four is Senior Brett Mueller (Sr., Manchester, MO) who will find himself moving from the closer role to one of the top starters for this year’s staff. Solidifying late inning relief will be Senior captain Logan Johnson (Sr., Paxton, IL), Greg Bade (Sr., Augusta, MO) and Mike Sartore (Sr., Springfield, IL) “These seniors are the reason we are so excited this year,” said Kurich. “Wes was named our pitcher of the year for last season and Brett gave up one earned run all year. Eric hasn’t lost a game yet and Joe and James both have proved to be two of our strongest competitors. Every good staff has a strong bullpen and with Logan, Greg, and Mike being our experienced leaders, we feel we will be strong for 9 innings. We expect a lot out of these guys.”
    The only other returner from last year’s team is Sophomore Will Savage (So., Lisle, IL). “Will grew a lot last year as a pitcher and learned what it takes to pitch at this level. He is so talented that we could use him everywhere from a starter to a closer this year,” Kurich said. Many new faces will be welcomed to the staff. They include Junior College transfers Eric Broughton (Jr., Petersburg, IL), Craig Brodbeck (Jr., Bridgeton, MO), Ben Hannam (Jr., Galesburg, IL), and John DuHadway (So., St. Louis, MO). “These guys are so important to us because it brings college experience to our team over night,” Kurich added. “Eric and Ben were the top two starters at their college and we look for the same this year out of them. We have high expectations for John after a great fall; we look for him to compete for the top three spots in the rotation. Craig is an absolute gamer who not only brings experience but some versatility with the fact that we can use him both as a starter and out of the bullpen.”  Rounding out the newcomers are Freshmen Carlos Burgosmorey (Fr., Ballwin, MO), Tom Kotis (Fr., Rockford, IL), Chris Cravatta (Fr., Streator, IL), Barrett Dugger (Fr., Lebanon, IL), and Colin Bickel (Fr., St. Louis, MO). “These new guys have been a welcomed surprise for us,” Kurich says about the freshmen. “Carlos, Barrett, and Colin have all shown that they can compete at this level and will definitely be key factors in the team this year. Tom and Chris are two-way guys for us so we hope that they cannot only contribute on the mound as we think they will but be key forces at the plate and in the field this year. All five of these guys will log many innings this year and we hope they gain the experience to propel themselves in the future.”
“We are going to go as far as this pitching staff takes us. With the experience that returned from last years championship season to the newcomers that we have added, we feel we have a pretty special group on the mound this year and it will take an entire staff effort to reach our ultimate goal.”



Infield

    The Gorlok infield will have a bit of a makeover this year, graduating two of its starters and another moving to the outfield. However, the team looks to second basemen and team captain Kyle Starnes (So., Sugarland, TX), third basemen and team captain Greg Steen (Sr., Belleville, IL) to be their veteran presence this year. “Kyle and Greg were here last year and understand what it takes to win. They are two of our best hitters and we hope that their success from last year will carry over into this year.” With Greg Steen moving from behind the plate to third base, Kurich hopes that Steen will have and even more productive year then last where he led the team in homeruns. Along with those three guys the team looks to veterans such as Wes Hilliard (Sr., Lindale, TX) and Kyle Wheeler (So., St. Louis, MO). “Wes did tremendous for us last year on the mound and has proven this fall that he can play the infield. He will definitely battle for a number of different positions. Kyle has not only gained a year of experience but is turning into a real nice player. His hard work and dedication pushes the guys around him and has proven to be a key asset to this year’s team.” Shortstop will welcome two new faces to the mix this year, Junior College transfer Andy Fuiten (Jr., Decatur, IL) and Nathan Shelton (Fr., Dittmer, MO). “Both Andy and Nathan have the ability to play second and short,” Kurich states. “We are in a unique position that we have two great shortstops that can move around the field. There is no doubt both of these guys will find significant playing time this year.”  Battling at first base will be new comers Jared Bushor (Jr., Florissant, MO) and Greg Young (Fr., Schererville, IN). Jared brings some experience being a Junior College transfer and Greg brings a big stick to the mix. “Jared has a great swing and will find himself in the lineup anywhere from first base to the DH. His leadership and talent separate him from the competition and we look to him to carry us through the year. Greg showed signs of brilliance this fall using his big bat in key situations. We look for Greg to learn a lot from this veteran team and we expect him to be a definite roll player on this team. Chris Cravatta will battle it out primarily at third base but both have the ability to move to different positions. “We led the conference last year in fielding and that is a main reason we were as successful as we were. We think this infield will have the same kind of results and even better,” Kurich states.

Outfield

    The outfield will welcome back one familiar face in reigning SLIAC batting champion Dave Umfleet (Sr., O’Fallon, MO) as well as a member of last years infield reigning SLIAC Player of the Year Alex Raetzloff (Jr., Florissant, MO). With these two hitters in the lineup the Gorloks expect a lot of production in the outfield. “Dave and Alex were absolutely tremendous last year for us. I couldn’t have asked for more out of them. We expect them to be a stable force at the top of the lineup and once again carry this team throughout the year”. With Ryan Hoffman, Preston Gross, and Alex Winters graduated there is a spot to be filled out there. The top candidates for that job are Grant Bellak (Sr., Big Rock, IL), Dakota Huey (So., Highland, IL), and Tom Kotis (Fr., Rockford, IL). “We are definitely not short on talented outfielders,” Kurich says. Grant and Dakota saw limited time last year but arguably had the best two falls of anyone on the team. “Those two guys definitely got a year older and it showed. It’s going to be an absolute battle out there for that spot,” Kurich added. Tom Kotis brings some pop at the plate and speed in the outfield this year. “Tom was one of our top recruits and we are thrilled to have him. He can be that rare player in college that plays for four years.” Rounding out the outfield are four new faces, Jesse Watson (Sr., Mt. Vernon, MO), who returns to the Gorloks after a year off, Ben Helton (Sr., Valley Park, MO) who moves to the outfield from the mound, along with Matt Chamblin (So., St. Louis, MO) and Paul Kienker (Fr., Eureka, MO) who begins their first year on team. These four will primarily play the corner positions. “We know Watson can run and we will utilize that in the field and on the bases. Helton is still learning the position but has proven he can hit and will battle for time at the plate.  Matt has been one of our hardest workers and we will look to him to be a catalyst in big situations. And, Paul transferred in at break from Division I IPFW.  He is big and athletic and has tremendous potential.  They are our role players in the outfield and we will need production out of them to assure a successful season. There is no doubt that our outfield will produce at the plate this year, we will definitely look for them to shoulder much of the offensive load.”

Catchers

    The Gorloks will find themselves with a new face behind the plate this year.  Greg Vaeth (Jr., Hillsboro, MO) was slated to be the only returning catch on the roster, but he was recently called to serve his second tour in Iraq.  “Greg made great strides from last year and will be missed tremendously.  We wish him the best as he serves our country and allows us to stay back here and play this game.”  Two new additions to the catching core has got the coaches excited for the upcoming season, Junior College transfer John Combs (Jr., Macomb, IL) and Freshmen Craig Schaefer (Fr., Carterville, IL). The coaching staff will look to John to provide leadership behind the plate. “John has caught two years at the college level and it is that kind of experience that we hope can help bolster an already veteran staff. It is John’s work ethic and leadership ability that gives us the type of control over the infield that we need.” Kurich is very excited about the freshmen addition. “We knew Craig could hit when we recruited him and as the fall went on we realized that he is game ready to catch as well. He will definitely catch in big games this year and we look to him to provide a bat in the lineup that is unique to the catching position. The catcher is the captain of the infield and the coaching staff has no doubt that the mix they have behind the plate will keep this team on top. These two guys have been exciting for us all year. We look to the catcher for defense first, but we believe we have some very talented offensive players in these two.”

Schedule Highlights

    The Webster University Baseball Team opens its 2008 season at Washington University on February 28th. The following weekend the Gorloks make their home opener against Millikin University at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL. Following that the team opens conference play against cross town rival Fontbonne University at home. Then the Gorloks will travel to Tempe, Arizona from March 7th-13th where they will play seven games against the top competition around the country including 13th ranked Wheaton College from Massachusetts and 14th ranked College of New Jersey. This year the Gorloks will play a 40 game schedule highlighted by a 24 game conference schedule and a 16 game non-conference scheduled against ranked opponents such as Wartburg College and Concordia University. The SLIAC tournament begins May 8th in Alton, IL and the NCAA Championships begin May 23rd in Appleton, WI.