70. ORAL ROBERTS

2008 RECORD. Overall: 48-14. Conference: 24-4 / 1^st in Summit League.

Coach: Rob Walton (221-82, 6^th season).

First Game, 2009: Feb. 20 vs Western Michigan .

 

OVERVIEW: With 11 straight Summit League titles, winning has come relatively easy for Oral Roberts in recent years. As head coach of Team USA ’s undefeated college national team last summer, ORU coach Rob Walton also found wins easy to come by. But with only three returning starters from a year ago after the draft claimed eight ORU players, Walton’s Golden Eagles may find the path to success a little rougher than normal this spring. Junior RHP Jerry Sullivan, one of the nation’s elite arms, should again be a stabilizer at the front of the rotation, however, and ORU routinely reloads with a steady diet of junior-college transfers, the game’s most tried-and-true quick-fix solution, and several newcomers should play prominent roles. All but 10 players on the 33-man ORU roster came from the junior-college ranks.

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

C: Seth Furmanek, Jr. (.350-9-46 at Chandler-Gilbert, Ariz. , CC).

1B: Mike Notaro, Sr. (.336-10-42).

2B: Juan Martinez, Sr. (.329-9-55).

3B: Kyle Price, Sr. (.196-2-11).

SS: Danny Duffy, Jr. (.333-7-33 at Yavapai, Ariz. , CC).

LF: P.J. Sequiera, Jr. (.354-5-39 at Santa Rosa, Calif. , JC).

CF: Justin Mitchell, Sr. (.240-0-6).

RF: Chris Elder, Jr. (.307-2-46 at Sacramento, Calif. , CC).

DH: Johnny Roberts, Sr. (.353-2-6).

1/Starter: Andre Lamontagne, Sr. (2-2, 7.71, 40 IP/27 SO).

2/Starter:  Jerry Sullivan, Jr. (9-2, 3.88, *104 IP/*108 SO).

3/Starter: Mark Soriano, Sr. (4-1, 3.09, 2 SV, 67 IP/52 SO).

Closer: T.J. Kelly, Sr. (2-1, 4.01, *10 SV, 34 IP/31 SO).

 

BEST TOOLS

Best Athlete: Jerry Sullivan.

Best Overall Hitter: Seth Furmanek.

Best Power Hitter: Seth Furmanek.

Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Mike Notaro.

Fastest Base Runner (60 time): Justin Mitchell (6.4 seconds).

Best Base Runner: Justin Mitchell.

Best Defender: Juan Martinez.

Best Infield Arm: Danny Duffy.

Best Outfield Arm: Chris Elder.

Best Fastball (velocity): Andre Lamontagne (94 mph).

Best Breaking Ball: Mark Serrano.

Best Changeup: Jerry Sullivan.

Best Command: Andre Lamontagne.

 

TOP FRESHMAN PROSPECT: Drew Bowen, rhp. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Bowen is an athletic righthander with a fast arm and two potential power pitches. He throws from an over-the-top release point and gets good downhill plane on a fastball that is in the 88-91 mph range. Bowen’s best pitch is a 75-77 mph downer curveball that gets hard spin and bite when he stays on top of it. A local high-school product, Bowen may last only two years at ORU as he will be age-eligible for the 2010 draft.

TOP SOPHOMORE PROSPECT: None. With a heavy junior-college influence on the roster, the Golden Eagles have only four sophomores—none of whom are prospects or are expected to play an integral role on this year’s team.

TOP JUNIOR PROSPECT: Jerry Sullivan, rhp. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Sullivan still is playing catch-up, to a degree, after missing his senior season at a New Jersey high school and being brought along on a cautionary workload as a freshman at ORU while recuperating from Tommy John surgery. He had an electric fastball that touched 95 mph before his surgery, but has been a more customary 89-92 mph since, and his changeup has actually become his best and most dependable pitch. He abandoned a curve last summer in the Cape Cod League, in favor of a slider.

TOP SENIOR PROSPECT: Andre Lamontagne, rhp. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Lamontagne unexpectedly struggled as a junior at ORU after being drafted in the 32^nd-round by the Chicago White Sox in 2007 and pitching his first two college seasons at Long Beach State. But he seemed to re-discover his old form in the fall, and soon began cranking out 90-94 mph fastballs along with an 87-88 mph cutter, with command of both pitches. He exhibited such an impressive turnaround that he actually began the 2009 season in the Friday slot in the rotation, ahead of the higher-profile Jerry Sullivan.