Despite the impressive numbers produced by senior Brinton Mingle over his first three seasons starting for the Golden Eagle baseball team – and they are impressive: three times batting above .360, three seasons around the top of nearly every offensive category, 11 doubles as a junior, 46 runs over the last two seasons – what’s more impressive is less a number and more a concept.
All … Every … Each.
Since his debut in game No. 1 his freshman season, the borough’s version of the Natural at the plate has been even more dependable in right field, where he’s started every game since 2002-2003.
And he hasn’t just filled a spot. He’s been good. Last year, in fact, he committed only two fielding errors, and both of those came in the first week of the season.
That’s why it will be more than a little bizarre to see Mingle in the season opener at Southern Huntingdon, Friday, when he trots onto the field to begin his senior campaign assuming a new position in center field.
In a year of flux and immediately recognizable change for the Eagles baseball team–a season when Tyrone will cope with replacing four four-year letter-winners and four of the first five batters from last year’s line-up–no switch is more dramatic than that one.
“He accepted it from day one, and if we hadn’t approached him about it, he might have requested it,” said Tyrone manager Tom Coleman, who is beginning his sixth campaign as the Eagles’ skipper. “He wanted to play there last year. He gets a great read and jump on the ball from that position, and he plays the game with great instincts. It’s a lot of things you just can’t coach. That’s why he’s a four-year starter.”
The switch was made easier with the addition of several newcomers, like junior Justin Schopp, who bring athleticism and depth to a team that graduated its strongest senior class in 12 years. But it is only one of many changes that will have the Eagles of 2006 looking dramatically different from the product it fielded just 365 days ago.
“We lost seven seniors last year who were experienced and very athletic, but I have a lot of confidence in this group,” Coleman said. “Defensively they’re very sound and our outfield is definitely a strength. They have developed a great chemistry since the first practice.”
The question will be whether or not the group’s work ethic and chemistry translate into runs, something Tyrone was rarely short on last season when it averaged 8.5 runs per game with a starting nine that hit .390 through the first six spots in the batting order.
A giant chunk of that firepower is gone. Clint Wilson, Derrick Soellner and Brice Mertiff finished 2005 batting above .400, while Ben Gummo finished up at .333. The foursome also accounted for 56 runs, 76 RBI and 35 extra-base hits.
That’s why Coleman said his team this season may well be a squad that more often manufactures runs in small bits rather than piling them on in bunches. But despite what’s missing from the Eagles’ line-up, there’s a lot to build on, and it starts with Mingle, who may well establish himself in his senior season as one of the all-time great hitters in recent Tyrone baseball history.
Mingle has already proven time and again that he can hurt you at the plate in a lot of ways. A patient batter with as relaxed a demeanor as you find in scholastic baseball, he hit .437 and drove in 21 runs as a sophomore, posting a .609 slugging percentage. Last season he overcame an early-season slump to bat .375 with 11 doubles while drawing 10 walks, helping him to a team-high 25 runs.
Tyrone’s line-up will build around him with some experienced batters who hit the ball well in 2005. Tyler Gillmen is back after hitting .345 with seven doubles, two home runs and 19 runs scored as a sophomore–his first season as an everyday starter. Senior DH Buddy Stotler rode a wave of early season success to a .341 average with six doubles and 10 RBI, and classmate Josh Clark finished an even .300 from the nine-hole.
Their production was solid even considering the kind of talent that was surrounding them, and Coleman is expecting more from them this season, although he’s not expecting anyone to replicate the kind of numbers posted by his big guns from 2005.
“Obviously, we have some holes to fill,” Coleman said. “We had a very powerful line-up last year. I’ve already said to the team that we don’t want to be involved in too many slugfests. We’re going to look to manufacture runs where we can, be smart and try to give our pitchers a lead so they can play with confidence.”
Schopp, who is already a two-time letter-winner on Tyrone’s wrestling and football teams, has impressed Coleman with the way he’s swung the bat–especially considering it’s his first season playing high school baseball – as has junior Tyler Golden, who saw action last season as a first baseman when Wilson was on the mound.
The rest of the order will be filled out by junior third baseman Jesse Hertzler and Jamie Levinson, a junior pitcher and shortstop who saw most of his sophomore action as a pinch runner.
Defensively, Tyrone is solid at all three outfield spots, with Mingle, Schopp (right field) and Clark (left field) composing a threesome that can cover acres of ground and turn potential gap-shots into long singles and fly-ball outs.
Golden, Gillmen, Levinson and Hertzler will handle the infield duties in any number of combinations, depending on the day’s pitching assignment. Gillmen will see time at shortstop and third base, while Levinson will play short as well when Gillmen takes the rubber. Golden is in at second base, and junior Doug Morrow, out for the varsity baseball team for the first time, will play first.
Stotler (1B) and sophomore Matt Brooks (3B) could also work into the infield mix, according to Coleman, but the player with the most daunting task ahead of him will be sophomore Brock Anders, who will handle the catching duties in place of Soellner, who in two seasons as the everyday starter behind the dish showed his worth not only as a defensive backstop, but also as a pitch-caller, along with setting up the Eagles’ defensive alignments.
“Catching was a big concern, but I have to give Brock a lot of credit,” Coleman said. “He’s jumped in and filled a leadership role, both vocally and with his play. He’s also throwing very well to all of the bags.”
Anders will be working with a pitching staff almost as green as himself. The top three starters in the Eagles’ rotation have accumulated just three varsity wins, and they come in with only 27 innings of action from 2005–a season dominated by Wilson, who went 6-3 with a 2.84 ERA.
Gillmen is the most experienced of the group, having started two games his freshman season before going 2-2 last year with a 6.75 ERA. Levinson joins him on the staff after winning his only career start in 2005, and Golden will get his first real shot after being used sparingly as a sophomore.
Sophomore Mike Romano will serve as the staff’s fourth starter and will see duty primarily in a relief role.
“All three of them (Gillmen, Levinson, Golden) are competitors, and all we’re asking them to do is to throw strikes and let their defense do the work,” Coleman said. “We’ll see what happens. We don’t have a Clint Wilson to come in and totally shut a team down, but if they throw strikes I think we can be successful.”
Coleman said the genuine enjoyment the team has had practicing together through the preseason has him thinking the group could be pretty good once it works through some inevitable growing pains. The Eagles will have to grow up quickly considering the strength of their Mountain Athletic Conference Division III schedule, which Coleman said should be very strong.
“You never know until you get the first couple of games in, but we’ll try to build off of every game and see where we’re at,” he said. “This group feels like they can beat anyone, and that’s the kind of confidence you need.”
2006 Tyrone Golden Eagles
Returning Offensive and Pitching Leaders
HITTING
Batting Brit Mingle, .375
Runs Brit Mingle, 25
Hits Brit Mingle 24
Doubles Brit Mingle, 11
Home Runs Tyler Gillmen, 2
RBI Brit Mingle, 15
Slugging Brit Mingle, .590
Walks Brit Mingle, 10
Stolen Bases Tyler Gillmen, 8
On Base Percentage Brit Mingle, .466
PITCHING
Innings Pitched Tyler Gillmen, 18 2/3
Wins Tyler Gillmen, 2
Strikeouts Tyler Gillmen, 22
ERA Jamie Levinson, 4.75
Returning Starters: 5 (Brit Mingle, OF, Tyler Gillmen, 3B-P, Josh Clark, OF, Buddy Stotler, DH, Tyler Golden, 1B).
Returning Letterwinners: 7 (Mingle, Gillmen, Clark, Stotler, Golden, Jamie Levinson, Jesse Hertzler)
