Last week, Sherman Corbett ? the winningest head baseball coach (211 wins) in school history ? wrapped up his eighth fall season. With two Southland Conference Championships in the last three seasons, the 2007 Clay Gould SLC Coach of the Year has transformed the Roadrunners into perennial contenders in the league standings. He has led the program to back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time in 12 years (1994-95), a UTSA-record 73 victories and the only consecutive 20-win SLC campaigns on school record the past two years.
In his first seven seasons, he has coached 31 All-SLC players, including seven first-teamers. Corbett also has mentored the 2001 SLC Pitcher of the Year (Jared Howton), 2002 SLC Player and Hitter of the Year (Mark Schramek), 2003 SLC Freshman of the Year (Ryan Crew), 2007 Newcomer of the Year (Trent Lockwood), 2007 Freshman of the of the Year (Tim Palincsar) and three Freshman All-Americans ? Crew (2003), Michael Rockett (2006) and Palincsar (2007). Fifteen Roadrunners have gone on to play professionally, including eight who have been selected in the Major League Draft.
In a Fall World Series that was dominated by pitching (combined 1.98 ERA), assistant coach Mike Clement’s Honeymooners rallied from a 1-0 first game loss and defeated volunteer coach Brett Lawler’s Lawdogs in the best-of-three series. Sophomore Ryan Proudfoot (5 IP, 2 H, 6 K) and senior Steven Vasquez (4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K) started the series off with an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. However, the highlight of the series was a combined no-hitter by senior Bradley Chovanec (6 IP, 6 K) and sophomore Zach Calhoon (1 IP, 2 K) in a 3-0 game two victory. Sophomore Eric Johnston was the offensive hero of the contest, as his two-out, bases-clearing triple accounted for all the scoring. It was all Honeymooners in the third and deciding game, as junior J.P. Holton allowed just a pair of hits in six shutout innings while striking out seven in the 6-1 series-clinching triumph.
Rockett was the team’s top hitter during the fall with a .396 batting average (19-48), five doubles, a pair of home runs and seven RBIs in 16 scrimmages of action. Sophomore Ryan Rummel hit .325 (13-40) with two homers and seven RBIs, while senior Trent Lockwood (.319/15-47) and freshman Tyler Carpenter (.314/11-35) also eclipsed the .300 plateau. Freshman Ryan Hutson and junior James Keithley led the Roadrunners on the base paths with seven and six stolen bases, respectively.
On the mound, Holton saw action in seven contests and did not allow a run in 19 innings of work. The Lufkin native allowed a dozen hits (.179 BAA), walked just one and fanned 14 hitters. Meanwhile, Proudfoot posted a 0.78 ERA in 23 innings (seven games), allowed just 12 hits (.154 BAA), walked nine and struck out 19. Vasquez led all hurlers with 26 strikeouts in 16 innings of action.
Earlier this week, Corbett sat down with goUTSA.com to discuss the Roadrunners’ fall campaign.
Coming off a Southland Conference Championship a year ago, how did you want to carry the momentum from that run into this fall and what questions did you want to have answered?
“First of all, we had very high expectations of what we wanted from this team. We wanted to see how the returnees developed and improved over the summer. At the same time, we definitely needed to evaluate our newcomers and how they fit within the team. Those were the two big questions we had going into the fall.”
Were there any specific areas you wanted to work on during the month?
“Any time you come into a new season, you have a new team, so obviously we were eager to see how the chemistry of this group of players would develop, especially with our new players. A number of the leaders we had last year have returned, so we were eager to see how the new guys would mesh with them. One of the main things we wanted to see is how hard this group was going to work this fall, and most importantly, if we were going to work to get better each day and not be complacent. It is always important to not take practice for granted and take advantage of every opportunity in the fall. You always want to see guys work on specific areas to improve fundamentally and we also like to use the fall to try players in different areas to build depth. I was extremely pleased with the effort I saw and one thing I really noticed was how much the guys enjoyed being out there. They pushed themselves every day to become better players.”
Who stepped up to fill some of the roles that were vacated by last year’s seniors (third base, outfield, pitchers)?
“I think we answered the question of who would step in and play those positions. We have very good replacements in those spots because we have recruited very well. A lot of our depth from a year ago was in the outfield and the guys who didn’t get as much playing time last year have moved into roles out there. Our depth from a year ago definitely has come to the forefront this season. Jose Hernandez redshirted a year ago and is ready to play a significant role and Tim Palincsar, although he had an outstanding first season at designated hitter, is healthy again and will find time out there this season.
"In the infield, Lance Brown, who comes by way of Temple Junior College, is a tremendous athlete who can play anywhere. He made some unbelievable plays during the fall at both shortstop and third base, so he definitely has the ability to be a defensive standout for us this spring. We even saw improvement from our returning players because they wanted to do some of the things he was doing defensively. I think that was a great benefit of a new guy coming in and leading by example.
"Our top seven pitchers right now could start for us and do a great job. Obviously, some of those guys will work out of the bullpen to start the spring, but they all are talented enough to fill any role they are asked to. The return of Steven Vasquez, who was our number one starter two years ago, is an added bonus, as are newcomers J.P Holton, Red Patterson and Kris Ruepke. We’re very excited about this group and they are more than capable of filling the shoes of the guys who graduated a year ago.”
How much of a challenge will the condensed spring season be due to the later start date?
“Honestly, I’m not sure right now. It’s going to be a very condensed, long season due to the number of games we will have scheduled each week. More than anything else, our success will come down to our mental preparation. Obviously, everyone will be concerned about the physical side of things, but I think the mental side will be just as important.”
How important will your pitching depth be this season?
“It’s going to be huge. I think the one area where the new schedule challenges everyone in the NCAA is pitching depth. We knew that when we hit the recruiting trail last year and we have 18 pitchers on our roster right now. Obviously, not all of them will be able to pitch for us this year, but it adds depth in a season where we will need it. I’m not saying we just have 18 arms, but we’ve got quality pitchers. Some of them are young guys who will be in relief roles and we’re going to count on each and every one of them. This is not only going to be a learning experience for the players, but it also will be for us as coaches and how we get them prepared each week.”
Were there any freshmen that stood out this fall?
“As far as freshmen, one guy who performed very well was Tyler Carpenter. We recruited him primarily as a utility player. He caught most of the time in high school, but due to a football injury his senior year, was moved to the outfield. He really came in this fall and showed his athletic ability as a utility player. He did a great job for us behind the plate catching this fall in addition to playing solid in right field. Tyler swung the bat very well and was a pleasant surprise. Brett Aguilar, who is from San Antonio Reagan High School, was just as good. He, too, played multiple positions in right field and first base and even pitched an inning. He did those things in high school and again will have the opportunity to do the same thing here. As he matures and gets stronger, we are going to see him become a solid player for us. Ryan Hutson transitioned over to third base after playing shortstop during high school. He showed a lot of athletic ability and can do a lot of things will the bat. We threw a lot of challenges at him and he handled them well. On the mound, Matt Crocker threw well in the first half of the fall before breaking his hand in a freak bicycle accident. He showed good arm strength and was a pleasant surprise. Jason Pearce did not pitch much in the fall, but it is our expectation that he will fill a relief role for us this spring.“
Talk about what you saw in the Fall World Series.
“All three games were very well-played and we even had a combined no-hitter in one of them. The pitching dominated, but that’s to be expected when you split up your best hitters on two teams. Maybe not to the point to which it did, but it was encouraging to see so many strong performances on the mound. Ryan Proudfoot, who threw well all fall, came out and shut out the Honeymooners for five innings to get things going and gave the Lawdogs the momentum. But the next day, Bradley Chovanec came back and threw six innings of no-hit ball for the Honeymooners and Zach Calhoon finished it off for the save, which will be his role again this spring. J.P. Holton started game three and finished off a scoreless fall with six shutout innings to clinch the series for the Honeymooners. He located all his pitches for strikes, and although he doesn’t throw hard, when you do that, you put yourself in a position to be successful. All the pitchers did an extremely good job throughout. Despite the outstanding pitching, we saw some things with our hitters that lead us to believe we will be just as successful offensively as we were a year ago.”
Where does your team go on from here as spring approaches?
“I want to see our guys getting after it in their offseason workouts. I believe this may be the most important part in our preparation for next year. I want to see how the guys respond. How they work on the field in conditioning and in the weight room the next four weeks will determine who has the opportunity to compete for playing time when we start practicing again in January. We also are going to continue to instill team-building exercises, so these guys can really get to know each other and build chemistry.”
Now that you’ve had a month to see this group work together, what are your thoughts as we sit here today?
“It’s exciting. We are going to be one of the teams at the top of the league and one that people are going to try and knock off every weekend. With where we finished last year and what we have coming back, I imagine we will be a preseason favorite. That doesn’t mean a whole lot because it’s what you do out on the field that determines success in this conference. There was nothing that took place this fall that deterred from us feeling that were going to be the team that sits atop the Southland Conference again this spring. That’s our goal and this team has the ability to accomplish whatever it sets its mind to. When I think about this group of guys, the word that keeps coming to my mind is ?versatile.’ There’s a lot of depth on this team and there are five or six guys in our lineup who can play multiple positions or bat in different spots in the order. It’s just a matter of us of putting them in the right spots to be successful.”
