The Saint Vincent Baseball team will face several questions as they prepare for the 2013 season.  Last year, the team earned a trip to the PAC Playoffs with a 24-19 overall record and a 12-12 mark in the PAC.  Several key players from that squad were lost to graduation, and a few newcomers will be looking to fill roles as we move into the new season.
 
Zack Galasso, a first-team All-PAC pick from 2012, graduated after posting a .360 average and starting all 43 games, posting 21 extra base hits, scoring 27 runs and driving in 39, most on the team.  Also gone are starting first baseman Mike Hustava (.278), starting catcher Erik Fichter (.314 at the plate, 2.87 ERA on the mound), starting pitcher Paul Kubeja (3-2, 4.54 ERA in 12 games), and workhorse Jeremy Mains (4-5, 15 appearances, 53 innings pitched).  Also graduated is third baseman Jack Shaffer, who started 18 games and had a couple of key game-winning hits, and Zach Bush, a versatile infielder who provided speed on the basepaths.
 
Returning to anchor the rotation is the team's other All-PAC first team selection, senior lefthander Jared Haller.  Haller set a team record with 10 wins (10-3 overall), posting a 2.91 ERA with 8 complete games.  He appeared in 16 games, starting 11, and pitched 89.2 innings.  A control pitcher, he walked just 12 and struck out 67.  He tossed two shutouts and also posted one save on the year.    Haller will serve as a team captain this year.
 
He is joined in the rotation by Gary Gerhardt, and All-PAC pick in 2011 who had an off year in 2012 but still appeared in 14 games, starting 10.  He tossed 67.1 innings and struck out 51, posting a 2-6 record with a 5.08 ERA.  Owner of perhaps the best pickoff move in the PAC, Gerhardt didn't surrender a stolen base in 2012 while on the mound. 
 
Max Henry, who started the season with a strong effort last spring, suffered an injury and only appeared in three games.  He will slowly be worked back into the rotation by conference play.    Also in the mix for starting spots in the rotation are sophomore Steve Janik and freshman Eric Reitz. 

The relief corps is led by junior Alex Kozusko, who set a school record for appearances last season, with 18.  In 28 innings, he yielded just one walk, and posted a 4.45 ERA.  Sophomore Eamon Kelly, a transfer from Seton Hill, will also compete for innings, along with John Malone, a JV player in 2012 who looks to make an impact this year.  Another newcomer is freshman Chris Storm, who is being converted into a sidearm reliever and pitched well in fall ball.
 
First base will likely see a platoon of senior Grant Krally and junior Joey Fearer.  Krally, a two-year team captain, is the school's career leader in hit by pitches.  He batted .330 last year and will supply power as a right-handed batter.  Fearer, a lefty, will split his time between left field, where he started 34 games last year, and first base.  Fearer hit .325 in 2012.
 
The middle infield brings back both second baseman AJ Kavinsky (.278) and shortstop Brad Burkardt (.378).  Kavinsky will again be the team's leadoff hitter.  He drew a team-best 25 walks last year and stole six bases. 

Burkardt, a second team All-PAC pick and team captain, is closing in on the school record for career hits.  According to Coach Mick Janosko, “Brad is working just as hard going into his senior year as when he came on board as a freshman.  That to me is the true sign of a competitive athlete.  He wants to get better and will never rest on his laurels.”
 
Burkardt led the team in hits (56), and scored 30 runs to go along with 36 RBI and seven stolen bases last year, starting 41 games, all at short.
 
At third base, senior Nick Beamenderfer will get the nod.  He hit .315 last season in 30 games.
 
In addition to Fearer, the outfield will see newcomer Tanner Master and sophomore Vince Murphy battle for playing time with senior Nolan Russell and junior Jordan Britcher.
 
Master is a junior who played hockey for the Polar Bearcats the last few seasons, but showed promise in fall ball.  Murphy, a candidate for the starting center field spot, has plenty of speed and is good with his glove.  Britcher hit .267 in 10 games last year while Russell provides depth and experience. 
 
A wild card this year is a sophomore transfer from Grove City, Matt Loftis.  A basketball player for the Wolverines, Loftis has joined the baseball team at SVC and will see time in the outfield as well as three infield positions. 
 
According to Coach Janosko, the catching situation is a tough call.  “Behind pitching, which is always a question mark, the catcher spot is where my biggest concern lies,” he says.  “We lost a four-year starter in Erik Fichter (also an All-PAC selection in 2012) and there will be a lot of competition to replace him.”

The first look will go to senior team captain Andrew Kozusko, who was the team's starting right fielder last season.  Kozusko, who set a school record with 18 hit by pitches, batted .274, scored 35 runs and drove home 21.  Gerhardt may also see some games behind the plate around his pitching schedule.  Also in the mix are sophomore Jon Pauley and junior Geo Muzika.
 
“Overall we have a lot of questions to be answered,” according to Janosko.  “One things is for sure.  I've said in recent years we had one of the biggest, but one of the slowest teams in the PAC.  We now have more team speed, which will change things a little for us.  But we know the key for us will be in the battery.  We need our pitchers to stay healthy and we need to find our everyday catcher.”
 
The season begins on Sunday, March 3 in Winter Haven, Florida against Wittenberg University.