TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bulls Beat: Prado Aiming For NCAAs

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 19, 2009

Year 3 of the Lelo Prado era at the University of South Florida begins Friday, and Prado is confident it will be much better than his first two seasons as the Bulls' baseball coach.

And that, Prado fully understands, means anything less than the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002 would be a disappointment.

"Our goal is to win the Big East," said Prado, 65-53 at USF. "I feel we have enough talent to be in a regional this year, even though we're basically a sophomore club.

"I'm really excited about where the future is and the recruiting classes coming in. It's a disappointment if we don't go to a NCAA regional. That's what I expect every year with a chance to go to Omaha and the College World Series. This club has the talent to do it."

When the Bulls open Friday against three-time Big Ten champion Michigan at 1 p.m. at Clearwater's Jack Russell Stadium as part of the Big East-Big 10 challenge, the Bulls 33-player roster will consist of 23 sophomores or freshmen, including four starters.

Three of those starters - DH Stephen Hunt, 3B Jonathan Koscso and OF Ryan Lockwood (who ended last season with a 30-game hitting streak) - are sophomores from Jesuit High along with freshman SS Sam Mende.

USF's top three starting pitchers also are sophomores: Randy Fontanez, Derrick Stultz and Matt Stull.

"A lot of those freshman pitchers last year took a beating and I think the experience will help them this year," Prado said. "We played a lot of young players last year that should be a lot better this year."

While the Bulls will rely a great deal on youth, they also will need big seasons from their four senior starters - LF Mike Consolmagno, C Trey Manz, RF Chris Rey and 1B Brandon Smith.

Prado said Consolmagno's ability to consistently get on base is vital for the team's success.

"We have to sacrifice runners, we don't have a lot of power," Prado said. "For us to be a great team, we have to play small ball.

"The key for that is Mike Consolmagno. If he gets on base, he can steal. He's one of the fastest guys I've ever coached. It's taken a while for him to buy into bunting for hits and getting hitting by pitch to get on base; if he does he has a chance to steal 50-60 bases."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT