Marquette Hoping More Offense Leads to More Wins

baseball coach John Meyer hopes that a few more runs will result in a few more victories for his Mustangs this spring.

The Mustangs defeated Webster Groves, 8-3, at home on Thursday evening in a makeup game from Monday to improve to 6-4 this season. Marquette will play the Statesmen again at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at Plymouth Field in Webster Groves.

The Mustangs had a winning record last year at 12-11. But the lack of offense prevented several more wins.

"It seemed like at least half of the losses came by scores like 3-2 or 2-1," Meyer said. "If we had hit just a little bit better, we could have easily had at least four more victories.

"I feel that we have more ability to hit throughout the lineup this year. I am optimistic that we will score more runs, but we are the type of team which needs to try to manufacture runs and score in every inning."

The Mustangs started the 2011 season with a road trip to Memphis and scored 27 runs in four games. They finished 2-2.

"I think the first game of the season (a 7-3 win) was indicative of the way we can play," Meyer said. "We struggled the next couple of games as we faced two of the top five teams in Memphis, but then came back and finished strong with a 13-1 win.

"In three of our first five games, we have faced very good pitching, but that is going to be the case a lot this season with our schedule."

Marquette's pitching appears to be a strength—the team members have pitched well in every game except two. The Mustangs allowed 12 runs in one of the games in Memphis, but only eight combined in the other three games. They followed that road trip with a 3-1 loss at Parkway West on March 28 and then notched a 6-3 win over Parkway North (at Ballwin) April 1.

Marquette lost last Saturday, 8-2, at CBC, but enjoyed a on Tuesday over Mehlville in its Suburban West Opener. The Mustangs pounded Mehlville on Wednesday, 16-3.

Seniors Andy Bartlett and Matt Seevers are the top returning players for the Mustangs. Bartlett was 3-2 last season with a 3.63 ERA. Seevers, who is the team's top returning hitter at .356, did not pitch much last year because he was recovering from an injury. But he threw a one-hitter in the 13-1 win over Ripley in Memphis.

Sophomores Danny Mannion and Matt Hink also show a lot of promise on the mound. Mannion is already 3-0 and has allowed just six earned runs in 17 innings. Hink allowed just one run in six innings on Thursday against Webster Groves.

"I feel good about our pitching," Meyer said. "We have three or four guys who have the ability to give us quality starts."

Several of the pitchers also fit into the mix in the field. Bartlett plays second base when not pitching. Hink shares time at first base with junior Korey Laughbaum. Seevers starts in left field, and Mannion, who is a very versatile player, can play in several spots depending on who is on the mound.

Senior Sean Johnston is behind the plate, and senior Justin Cook starts at third base. Freshman Keith Grieshaber plays the important shortstop position. Keith is the younger brother of Kyle Grieshaber, a former Mustangs standout who is now a sophomore at Louisville.

Junior Sean Ullrich, who hit .286 with 13 RBI last year, starts in center field with senior Nolan Komnick in right field.

Meyer realizes that his team will need to not only improve offensively but also play much better defensively than they have in the early season.

"We made way too many errors," Meyer said. "We were playing teams in Memphis, which had already played eight to 10 games, and defense is as much about rhythm as offense. We will need to improve in that area."

Meyer feels his team can definitely improve on its 3-5 record in the Suburban West Conference this year.

"We are going back to playing each league opponent twice," Meyer said. "The league is going to be tough again, but I feel we can challenge for the conference title. And playing in the Suburban West will prepare us well for districts, which is also tough. This is a team which is capable of playing well at the right time."