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Coach Sees Strong Year for North Park Baseball
CHICAGO, IL (March 6, 2001) - By Craig Pinley
North Park University (NPU) has attracted about one-third of its student body from affiliations with the Evangelical Covenant Church, but the baseball team's pitching staff will benefit from a much higher ratio this spring.
Right-handers Andy Taylor (senior), Peter Morris (junior) and Jeff Hanson (freshman) are slated to be among NPU's top four pitchers as the Vikings head to Texas for their season-opening baseball trip in mid-March. Taylor is the lone senior while Morris is one of three juniors on
the 16-player roster. Hanson is the top pitcher from a solid freshman class that has manager Steve VandenBranden excited about the team's future.
VandenBranden's team was 6-37 in 2000, 5-16 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, and he admits this year will be a challenge with newcomers in nearly every position. But, VandenBranden knows pitching, having earned first-team All-Conference honors at NPU in 1981, and he's confident his Covenant connection will do well on the mound and help his team improve.
Taylor will open the season against McMurry University March 12 after going 3-5 in 52 innings a year ago. He grew up attending First Covenant Church in Iron Mountain, Michigan, where his father had been a pastor. "He's smart, he's experienced and he's a competitor," said VandenBranden. "Andy will take the ball and will battle, and that's what you want with your seniors," he said. "His emotions are the same whether he wins or loses - and he throws strikes."
Morris has pitched in 25 collegiate games - he developed a fast ball in the mid-80s and a sharp-breaking curve ball since arriving at NPU. He led his team with 35 strikeouts in 2000 and also has a strong academic record. Morris is from First Covenant Church in Seattle, Washington.
"This is a big year for Morris and I think he knows what is expected of him," said VandenBranden. "I think he's figuring out he has enough stuff that, if he gets the ball over the plate, he has a chance to win," the coach said.
Hanson, who threw a no-hitter and a pair of one-hitters while at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California, has impressed VandenBranden both with his throwing in the preseason and his high grade-point average during his first semester of college. He is from Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, California.
"Jeff is very calm on the mound," VandenBranden said. "If he had a bad outing in the fall, you wouldn't even know it. He works hard. He has a good work ethic. If Jeff plays four years here, I think he can be an All-Conference player."
Sophomore Ben Macoux, another right-hander, rounds out NPU's top four on the mound after throwing in 10 games last spring. Defensively, the Vikings will rely on two highly touted freshmen from the Chicago area - shortstop Dan Gutierrez and Nick Zayas at shortstop and second base. They are among the best of nine recruits this year. And while the NPU roster is small, a similar-sized squad (including this year's assistant coach Chris Nelson) won a CCIW title and made the NCAA Division III regionals in 1990. VandenBranden likes working with this
year's squad and believes they can be highly competitive if they remain a cohesive unit.
"We've got 16 guys that want to be here and we're meshing really well," he said. "This is a tighter-knit group than last year and our pitching will keep us competitive. Last year was a tough year, but we were second in the CCIW in 1999. I know North Park can win - we've done it before."
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