USD Baseball 1980

THE 1980 FORECAST

After a highly successful Division I debut in 1979. the Toreros are anxiously awaiting the 1980 season. Last year they compiled a 32-19-1 record and finished fourth in the Southern Cal­ ifornia Baseball Association, a tough conference that includes reigning national champs, Fuller- ton State, and the nation's third place team Pepperdine. This year the USD baseball team features a highly potent offense, with an abundance of speed, and some excellent defensive players. Coach Cunningham will carry ten pitchers this season in an attempt to handle the Toreros 60 game schedule, the longest in the school's history. The Toreros return three top pitchers from last years team. Leading the staff will be junior lefthander Jamie McDonald and senior righthander Greg McSparran, the two top starters. Jamie was the stopper last year as he posted a 7-1 record and won second team All-Conference honors. Greg, is a hard throwing righthander, with a moving fastball and an excellent curve. He was 5-4 last year and should be the Toreros

JAMIE MCDONALD

ace this season. The third starter is Marty Sturgeon, a junior righthander. Marty had a good season in 1979 as he chalked up a fine 6-3 record and led the staff with 2.57 ERA. The fourth starting spot is a toss-up and most like­ ly will be shared between several of the remaining members of the staff, un­ less one of them proves consistent enough to start regularly. The lefthanders include seniors Don Alexander and Kevin McCarthy, and freshman Chris Ciampa. Don, an off-speed pitcher with a good change up, will be used in relief. Kevin appears vastly improved with a good assortment of pitches. Chris has acquired better control of his pitches and will be util­ ized in relief. The remaining righthanders are all first year Toreros. Junior Rom Medina, a transfer from Imperial Valley College, has a good knuckleball and excellent control. He will also be number one out of the Bullpen. Sophomore Eric Gaylord and freshman A1 Brehm come to USD from Orange Coast College. Both throw hard and they will bolster the staff this season. Tim Cresto, a freshman from Vil- 1anova High School in Ojai, will be tough with a little-expienee. Offensively the Toreros have the luxury of

returning five .300 plus hitters to this year's team. Whatever line-up is used it will feature plenty of punch and speed. Defensively, USD returns some blue-chip players, but will have a couple of spots needing to be filled. In the outfield the Toreros will feature one of their best trios ever, and probably the best you'll see this year. In right field is senior Paul Engel. Paul, a fine defensive play­ er with an outstanding arm, will be handling the Torero "sun field" for his third season. He hit •302 in 1979. with 3 home runs and 13 stolen bases. In center field is last year's MVP, Don Slater. Don is an excellent fielder, with great speed and quickness, and a knack for making the

PAUL ENGEL

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