2011 BC baseball preview with College Baseball Daily

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Tomorrow night, the 2011 Boston College baseball season will commence in Conway, South Carolina as the Eagles face Coastal Carolina. It will be the first of 55 regular season games, plus an exhibition against the Red Sox in Fort Myers, for BC this year. We won’t see the Eagles in Boston until the home opener on March 25, so as is the case for most northern ballclubs, they will be on the road early and often.

This season will see a lot of change from last year’s team. Coach Mik Aoki ditched us for the dark side, and we lost three of the Eagles’ best players: Pat Dean, Mickey Wiswall, and John Spatola. They made the ACC Tournament each of the past two seasons, but this year, it may take some more effort.

To get some outside views of how this new season is shaping up for the Eagles, I interviewed Brian Foley, the editor of College Baseball Daily.

STG: As we discussed in our last interview last year, there will be several key changes to Boston College baseball, most notably with their head coach. You’ve talked with and studied up on Mike Gambino somewhat now, so what can you tell us about his coaching style, and how do you think it will compare to Mik Aoki’s?

BF: Gambino has stated on multiple occasions to me that they will not be bunting as much as they did under Aoki. They are going to play for the big inning instead of trying to win every inning like they did under Mik.

STG: Obviously, there were others lost besides Aoki. We’ll start with Pat Dean’s departure: what’s left of BC’s pitching staff, who will lead it, and what do you expect out of them this year?

BF: The BC staff will be led by Mike Dennhardt who will be the Number 1 guy heading into the year. He was good on the Cape. John Leonard has been up and down since getting to BC but has been good in the wood bat leagues so he might be able to contribute. The number 3 starting spot will be filled by LHP Nate Bayuk who has served as a lefty specialist in the past. Matt Brazis is back as the closer and Taylor Lasko will miss the 2011 season with Tommy John Surgery.

STG: Now to position players: All-American Mickey Wiswall, a key cog in BC’s offense, has also gone on to greener pastures. So has John Spatola, another big bat for the Eagles. BC was the 9th-best offense in the ACC last year with them, so how do you figure they’ll be without them?

BF: They will be about the same. They have some key pieces on the bench and in the recruiting class that should be able to contribute this season.

STG: What games stand out to you the most on BC’s schedule for 2011?

BF: Of course, the preseason number-1 ranked Florida Gators are on the schedule and a game against Coastal Carolina, besides all the good ACC games.

STG: Turning to the conference at large: the ACC is usually one of the best baseball conferences going. In your estimation, how does the conference compare this year to recent years? Which team would you say is the most improved? Which team took the biggest step back?

BF: The conference is down at the “elite” level but it’s deeper in terms of any team can beat each other on a given weekend. I think UVA should win the conference based on Danny Hultzen leading the staff and a decent offense. I am not sold on the Clemson Tigers like other people are but I could be wrong.

STG: The Eagles were picked 5th in the ACC Atlantic this season. It sounded about right to me; does that sound about right to you? Can we get a season prediction for the Eagles?

BF: That sounds about right since Maryland is going to be much improved and I think the Terps make the tourney. I think BC will go .500 in and out of conference and be squarely on the bubble for an NCAA bid just like last season.