1987_02 The Daily Collegian February 1987

              . Wednesday, Feb. 4,1987 .
Special baseball preview issue    Page 8
FSU PITCHING STAFF
Back row:  (left to right) Steve Wapnick, Mike Goff. Steve Buckholz. Jim Gagnon. Rich Crane.  Front row: Derek Stroud.
John Salles, Dennis Springer, Dean Hartgraves.
*
RcnHoamn/ThaOaayCoatglan
Pitching pleases Bennett
ByJfmBohannon
Co-Sports Editor
"Pitching is the game. Without it you
can't be a good ballclub.'
If the words of Bulldog Head Coach Bob
Bennett are true, then . Fresno State
baseball fans are in for a real' treat this
season. The "Dogs return a pitching staff
that accounted for 28 of the 29 wins
accomplished last year.
Spearheaded by junior Ail-American
candidate Mike Goff, FSU has an
experienced pitching crew that also returns
John Salles, Dennis Springer and Steve
Wapnick. Bennett knows what his strong
staff means to the team.
".(Without good pitching) you. might be
able to do other things well and'not win.
The pitching staff determines winning and
losing," Bennett said. "It (pitching)
controls the. defense and its own team's
offense." , »
The Bulldogs will begin the season with
the same starting rotation they ended with
last year. Goff, Salles and Springer make
. up the , 'Dogs big three. But Bennett does
not rule out the possibility of giving
others a chance. #>■*
P t% £
"Dean Hartgraves, Steve Buckholz and
Derek Stroud have all looked good and any
of them could challenge fof a spot^aid
the coach. "You never know' what will
happen. We'll know if we're eight or nine
pitchers    deep    when    we    start    playing
"If you're going to play baseball at the
NCAA level you need experience. There are
certain sports you can learn in* practice and
there are sports that you can only learn by
playing," said Bennett. "For a pitcher,
pitching in a summer league is another
step he has to take.'*
Goff realizes how much two years of
summer ball has helped him. "Seeing great
players   and  competing   against  them  will
still has room for improvement.
"I need to improve on my commitment.
I need to stay in tune all nine innings for
each and every pitch," he said. "I have to
pot just throw, but pitch the ball. The
difference is that with throwing, you're not
realizing the location and the reason why
you're making that throw. Pitching is
setting up that batter by knowing why you
throw  the  ball  at  a  certain  location  and
"(Without good pitching) you might be able
to do other things well and not win. The
pitching staff determines winning and losing.
It (pitching) controls the defense and its own
team's offense
-Bob Bennett
Most of the pitchers on the staff have
experience playing for the 'Dogs, but Goff
and Salles have a different kind of
experience under their belts. Both have
pitched for the U.S.A. team that tours
during the summer. It is an experience that
Bennett considers essential.
give you confidence. When you play
against committed ballplayers,' it reflects
on you. Those qualities will come out on
'It (summer ball) gave me aJot of
experience in pressure situations," said
Salles, who pitched excellent ball against
meOibiris.   -
In his second season as the ace on the
staff, Goff plays a major role on the team.
"He«$s very important to our success. Mike
is a, good guy to have on a club, he's got
such a positive attitude," said Bennett,
who doubles as the pitching coach. "He is
a quiet type of leader. Mike's a hard worker
that leads by example."
After posting an4- 8-6 record his
freshman season. Goff rebounded from an
0-3 start last season to finish 11-5. His
Fresno State ERA stands at 3.65 and he
has 171 strikeouts to his credit. There. is
not much doubt about his ability, but Goff
why you're throwing that certain pitch."
Goff has blended his pitching
experience with a special relationship to
mature into the pitcher he is. "My
relationship with God has strengthened
me, there have been*'so many times of trial
that have made me grow."
Bennett said the key to Goff pitching
well this year is "making sure that he has
the proper goals set for himself and that
(Goff) only puts the amount of pressure he
needs to put on himself."
Salles, a sophomore right-hander from
Fresno, started 15 games last season in
building a 7-6 record. His 29 walks to 73
strikeouts ratio was most impressive for a
freshman.
"Lasf year he got some very valuable
experience and that was what he needed,"
said Bennett. "He should be ready for a
real good season."
Agreeing with his coach, Salles said his
experiences playing last year (summer ball
included), will help him this season. "I'm
a lot more relaxed and not nearly as
nervous as I was a year ago. I feel more
confident."
As the third starter. Springer looks to
improve on his 6-5 record from last
season. The senior from Fresno compiled a
3.92 ERA over 117 innings. He thinks
that the mediocre record last year (29-27-
1)   will help the team this season.
"Not having had a good year helped the
guys learn what to do to prevent it from
happening again."
Wapnick was 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA in
time as a starter and reliever. Buckholz
was 1-1.
Rounding out the staff arc freshman
Rich Crane and Jim Gagnon, a senior.
"Our pitching is good because we return
people who have done well. They did a
good job at the end of last season and wc
look forward to seeing what will happen
this year." concluded Bennett.
STING
Continued from page 6
Nothing could be further from the truth. If die
colleges keep coming up with Pete Incagvilias,
Will Clarks and Bo Jacksons - players that are
capable of moving from college ball to the
majors with a bare minimum of minor-league
experience - their baseball fallowings will get
larger and larger, and their baseball programs
bigger and better. *
Unfortunately, it is doubtful that collegiate
baseball will ever be able to match football and
basketball in purc*pppulariry* uSet-?are simply
too marry strikes against it Oh the 'other hand,
maybe it's better thatja-ay". If college baseball
never expands to monstrous proportions, maybe
it will remain a sport and not become a big
industry and become damned" overemphasized
like college football and colleg^bftaketball.