(NOTE: This is the second of a six part preview of the 2018 Stetson Baseball team. Tomorrow: Hale No Longer Has To Play The Role of Iron Man)

Over time, athletic programs become known for their success in certain areas. For years, Penn State was known as "Linebacker U", Connecticut and Tennessee are known for women's basketball and Miami for its attitude on the football field.
 
Stetson University has always been known as a baseball school, but especially as a pitching school. Former Hatter Corey Kluber earned his second Cy Young Award last year, leaving him one shy of almost automatic induction into the Hall of Fame. Jacob deGrom is the unquestioned ace of the New York Mets and is on a collision course with his own Cy Young plaque in the near future.
 
Going back further, there was Lenny DiNardo who was a World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox and countless others. Of the eight former Hatters still playing baseball professionally, five are pitchers and two others are catchers.
 
That reputation will only be enhanced this year. Stetson returns 89.6 percent of its innings pitched from last spring to go with 487 of the record 538 strikeouts. All three weekend starters – senior Brooks Wilson and juniors Jack Perkins and Logan Gilbert – return. Each recorded more than 100 strikeouts last year allowing Stetson to join with Rice, Ole Miss, TCU, Oklahoma and UCLA as the only programs to have accomplish that feat this century.
 
Wilson passed up a chance to play professionally to return to Stetson after he was selected in the 24^th round last spring by the Texas Rangers.
 
For coach Steve Trimper, having such talent at his disposal makes for some interesting decisions. Gilbert is the returning ASUN Pitcher of the Year and is projected to be a high first round draft pick, but he was No. 3 on the Stetson staff last year, making his starts on Sunday afternoons. Gilbert went 10-0 with a 2.02 ERA in 15 starts and is coming off an outstanding summer in the Cape Cod League.
 
Wilson was the Hatters' No. 1 pitcher, working on Friday nights last spring. While he only had a 4-7 record in 18 appearances, his 3.01 ERA and 127 strikeouts were certainly ace quality. Perkins filled the Saturday slot, posting a 7-5 mark with a 2.71 ERA in 17 outings.
 
All three will benefit this spring from an offense that should be more productive and from a deeper, and more talented, overall pitching staff.
 
"The beauty of these early season non-conference games is we are going to have to tinker a little bit, because we have a lot of options," Trimper said. "We are looking at moving Jack to Friday night and having Brooks in the bullpen where he can close on Friday and Saturday and then, when we have a really big game, an important RPI game, on Tuesday or Wednesday, he is available to go then.
 
"Brooks is going to be a hybrid this year where he is a starter and a closer, which is unique. He is the kind of guy who can do that because he has so much physicality about him. He also has enough mentally to do that."
 
Wilson will also likely see plenty more opportunities at the plate as a senior. He will see playing time at both first base and as the designated hitter on days when he isn't scheduled to start on the mound.
 
"It is nice to be able to have a Logan Gilbert available on Saturday or Sunday and you know that maybe you aren't going to give up much in those games," Trimper said. "I believe the success we had in the conference last year was because of that. Both our Saturday and Sunday guys could have been Friday guys. We also have some young arms and some transfer arms that may help out as starters."
 
Of course, no matter when he pitches, all eyes – as well as cameras and radar guns – will be on Gilbert. If the Alumni game in January, when there were approximately 20 scouts on hand to see Gilbert work, is any indication, Melching Field will be a popular stop for the people who make decision on such things as No. 1 draft picks.
 
For Gilbert, the key will be keeping the distractions at bay while he is going about his business on the mound.
 
"He is a competitive guy," Trimper said. "It is hard to be perfect, and it will be hard for him to do better than he did last year because you not only want to be a year older, but you also want to be a year better. How do you do that when you had the kind of year he had last year?
 
"Logan just has to build off his strengths, let the team play behind him and see if we can consistently be in position to win games when he, or anyone else, is on the mound. We can't worry about the on-paper outcomes that he is trying to put up or beat from last year. If Logan can go out there every time and give us five to six innings of competitive baseball to put us in position to win games and then turn it over to our bullpen, then he is going to have a tremendous year and be a great asset for our team."
 
In addition to the return of the three aces, the Hatters saw significant improvement from other returning hurlers, not to mention the addition of a number of high-quality arms.
 
The player with the most potential to have a major impact is towering sophomore Mitchell Senger, who grew to 6-foot-7 during the off-season.
 
"You could see last year, as a freshman, that he was a big guy with a lot of downward thrust on the ball," Trimper said. "He had some consistency problems and only had an OK to below average off-speed pitch. He went away this past summer and jumped up a couple of inches, a couple of miles per hour, and his location improved. He is now throwing a tight slider to go with his breaking ball and has really moved up the depth chart."
 
Senger's development, as much as anything, prompted the idea of moving Wilson to the bullpen, but he is not the only candidate to fill the third weekend rotation spot. Despite missing the fall with a low back injury, senior left-hander Ben Onyshko showed at the end of last season, and over the summer, that he could be in the mix, in addition to freshman right-hander Austin Wood.
 
"I really think he has a chance to be a front-line guy for us," Trimper said of Wood, a Volusia County native. "He is a low 90s guy with a really tight slider and a breaking ball in the low 80s. The thing is, he doesn't pitch like a freshman, at least he hasn't shown that he does. He is going to really benefit by being around these veteran guys and will really have a leg up next year. We can use him as a starter or put him in big situations at the back end of the bullpen."
 
Other returners who could get starting assignments, or work in various roles out of the pen include sophomore right-hander Ryan Stark, redshirt sophomore left-hander Erik Wiebke, and junior right-hander Joey Gonzalez. Sophomore Austin Bogart is a two-way player who will again play in the outfield, with spot duty on the mound as a left-handed hurler.
 
The Hatters also added a pair of standout junior college pitchers in Vlad Nunez and Jeremy Orbik, both right-handers.
 
"Vlad has a really big arm," Trimper said. "He throws across his body a little and gives you a tough look as a hitter, especially for left-handers. He throws in the low 90s. The thing for him is that he has to be consistent throwing to spots and not having a lot of walks. If he can have a good strikeout to walk ratio he could be a starter for us because he has good enough stuff.
 
"Jeremy Orbik is the best breaking ball guy on the team. He has an absolutely wipeout breaking ball. We are looking for him to have a huge role on the back end. That doesn't mean we can't come with Vlad, then Orbik and then kick it over to Brooks for a big game – that could be very effective. If we need to throw a lefty in there, we roll one of them out there."
 
Freshmen Chris Gonzalez, another lefty, and right-handers Zemp Schwab and Rudy Travaligni round out the staff. Schwab is coming off an injury that cost him his senior year of high school, but he is big (6-6) and has the genetics, being the grandson of former MLB pitcher Jack Billingham.
 
"Chris Gonzalez is more of a lefty matchup guy, with a good curveball, who can come out of the pen as a freshman and get some outs," Trimper said. "Rudy Traviligni is a sidearm or submarine guy who can come out of the pen and give you a different look for a batter or two."
 
With so many quality arms at his disposal, Hatters pitching coach Dave Therneau will likely not have to rely on his big three for as many innings this spring, spreading the work load around and keeping everyone fresh for the tournament drive at the end of the season.
 
With the fact that there are three aces at the top of the staff, Trimper said they are all very professional in their approach to the game, and he hopes that rubs off on the younger members of the staff.
 
"They are all so different, but they prepare the same because they are on the same pitching protocols from Coach Therneau," Trimper said. "They not only accept their roles with the team, but they thrive in those roles of contributing to the team by winning baseball games whenever they get the opportunity."

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.