Pitcher Steve Franklin throws a pitch during the UM baseball club’s practice Tuesday afternoon at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field. The team started the season by winning their first three games on the road against Boise State last weekend. (Ben Coulter/Montana Kaimin)

Strong pitchers to lead Griz on diamond

by Tyson Alger | March 17, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

Baseball and spring often go hand in hand. Whenever March rolls around, professional baseball players awaken from their winter slumber, grab some sunscreen and head somewhere warm for a month’s worth of training and exhibition games.

This is nice for the professionals, but for the amateurs such as the Montana club baseball team, spring means games, real games, and forget the aspect of warm.

The Griz recently returned home from Boise, Idaho, where the team braved snow and a strong Boise State team to come away with a three-game sweep. 
 
Montana beat the Broncos in a 10-inning thriller on Saturday, scoring six runs in the top of the final frame to win 13-7.
In a Sunday double-header, the Griz rattled off wins of 10-8 and 8-2 to cap the weekend.

Starting out the season with three straight wins against a team like Boise State was a slight surprise for head coach Ryan Sharkey, although not totally unexpected. 

“We had some pretty high expectations coming into the season,” Sharkey said. “We worked our butts off all winter, which we generally don’t do.”

The winter workouts are just one of many changes implemented since Sharkey became head coach three-quarters of the way through last season. 

Junior utility player Brice Hattel said organization has been a key to the early success of the club team.

“The team this year is just way more structured,” Hattel said.  “We’ve really turned it around from last season.  Hopefully we’ll be able to secure a top-10 ranking this year, especially after the Boise games.”
The Griz play in the Northern Pacific division of the National Club Baseball Association.

A record number of players showed up for fall tryouts this season, with around 75 players fighting for positions, Sharkey said.

After cuts were made, Sharkey kept 25 men on the roster. On the forefront of that roster is a strong pitching core.

In past seasons, the Griz would have maybe two or three starting pitchers, Sharkey said. This year, at least 12 pitchers are competing for four to five starting spots, he said.

“Our depth at pitching is by far our strongest point,” Sharkey said. 

The Grizzlies have already seen the positive effects of their pitching depth, as senior Buddy Holcomb pitched a complete game three-hitter in Montana’s 8-2 win over Boise.

The depth on the mound will only continue to get deeper.

Potentially one of Montana’s best pitchers is Griz basketball player Michael Taylor.

Taylor hasn’t played yet for the club team because the basketball season has been extended to the NCAA tournament, but Sharkey said Taylor has quite the arm on the diamond.

“He’s probably our hardest and most accurate thrower,” Sharkey said.

The Griz aren’t too shabby on the offensive side, either. Senior centerfielder Jeff Fritchman and junior infielder Cody Anderson lead the charge at the plate.

Over the weekend, Fritchman blasted two home runs, while Anderson added one of his own en route to providing a 4-6, six-RBI effort in Montana’s extra-inning win.
“I would say those two guys probably had 15 of our 32 RBIs from the weekend,” Sharkey said.
Montana has this weekend off and will spend spring break on an eight-game road trip through Utah and Arizona.

The Griz will return home in mid-April for a home series against Montana State, which will be played at Ogren Park, home of the Missoula Osprey, the local minor league baseball team. The facility will host all of Montana’s home games.

Playing at Ogren Park will be a step up for the Griz, as in past seasons the team hosted foes at the local legion field.

“It’s going to be great,” Hattel said.  “We probably have the best park to play in. To go from an old legion field to having an actual stadium for ourselves is pretty exciting.” 

The baseball team used to play at Ogren Park, but a series of unpaid debts ended that run.

Sharkey said the team made up for the debts this fall in order to secure playing privileges at the park.

“I met with the GM of the Osprey, and it turned out we had like an $800 debt,” Sharkey said.  “So I talked him down a bit, and we had like 30 guys come in and do work around the stadium to pay it off.”

Sharkey said the opportunity to play at Ogren Park will be perfect for this season.

“It’s just a great stadium,” he said.  “It’s a good location for college students and it’s just great for fans to come watch.”

And with the way Montana has opened its season, the Griz plan on being great for fans to watch, regardless of the field on which they play.

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