It’s A Big Hit
2014 Winthrop Baseball
the job at third base. Smith started 39 games last
year and hit .290 with 20 RBI to rank second on the
team in both categories. Also battling for a infield po-
sition will be red-shirt sophomore Mark Lowrie from
Akron, PA, and senior Luke Maldonado, Oak Creek,
WI.
Heading into the spring, the battle for the starting
shortstop position is expected to be between junior
college transfer Brad Kaczka and sophomore Kyle
Edwards. Kaczka hit .376 with 40 RBI and 11 stolen
bases last year at Monroe Community College while
Edwards had a very good freshman defensive year.
Weekend Rotation Is Set
Pitching wise, Riginos says the weekend rota-
tion is set for the early season. Red-shirt sophomore
southpaw Sam Kmiec, sophomore right-hander Joey
Strain and red-shirt senior right-hander Jason Driver
will handle the weekend starting roles. Left-handed
junior Josh Strong, freshman right-hander Zach
Cook, and freshman southpaw Matt Crohan will com-
pete for the other starting spot. Right-hander Brock
Goodling, a red-shirt sophomore who is coming off
Tommy John surgery, is projected as the closer.
“Kmiec is a guy who throws strikes. He only
walked eight guys during the spring and summer and
his velocity also jumped up to the 86-88 miles per
hour range,” said Riginos. Kmiec started 12 games
as a freshman and compiled a 3-7 record and a 3.56
earned run average with 57 strikeouts and just five
walks in 78.1 innings.
Strain was 3-5 as a pure freshman with a 3.84
ERA. “Joey will be a solid starter for us,” according
to the Winthrop coach. “He has also improved his
velocity from last year and is throwing between 89
and 93. If he continues to improve, he could be a
good draft pick in 2015.”
Driver has bounced back after recovering from
a shoulder injury. He first came to Winthrop as a
shortstop and reliever. “Jason worked really hard
to rehab his shoulder and is now 100 percent,” said
Riginos.
“Josh (Strong) had a great spring and summer,
he is a solid left-hander who knows how to pitch,”
according to Riginos. “Strong was strictly a reliever
as he made 19 appearances out of the bullpen last
year, compiling a sparkling 1.86 ERA.” He was 2-1
and whiffed 20 batters while allowing only 22 hits in
Sophomore southpaw Sam Kmiec will
be counted on as a weekend starter for
the Winthrop mound corps this season
29 innings.
Riginos says Cook has a very good fastball.
“Zach stays in the 89-91 range, but can throw up to
93 miles per hour,” said Riginos. According to the
Winthrop coach, “Crohan has a big-time left handed
arm and threw up to 92 in the fall.”
As far as the bullpen goes, eight guys are com-
peting for game action. The pen includes a trio right-
handed junior college transfers in Carl Buddin, Travis
Shelley, and Austin Lawrence, Buddin, a product of
Murrells Inlet, SC, played at Brunswick Community
Colleg. Shelley, from Pawleys Island, SC, pitched
at Lancaster Community College, and Lawrence, of
Greer, SC, played at Spartanburg Methodist. The
returning relievers include sophomores Zach Sightler,
from Lexington, SC, and Michael Gilroy, from Colum-
bia, SC;
Three other members of the pitching staff, who
are coming off arm injuries, return for the Eagles.
They include Kaden Hepler, a red-shirt freshman from
York, PA, freshman Justin Pace, Gastonia, NC, and
red-shirt junior Michael Green, Wake Forest, NC.
handed hitting freshman from Trenton, FL, will battle
for playing time at first base. Altman is coming off a
solid sophomore season in which he hit .288 and
tied for the team RBI lead with 21. Leighton Dan-
iels, one of just four seniors on the squad, will be
back as a fourth-year starter and will hold down
second base. Last season Daniels hit .280 and
ranked third in hits with 51.
Rock Hill product Chad Smith and Wallace, a
Chad Smith will help anchor infield
