USD Baseball 2010

Meador will be depended on during his senior season for offense, defense and veteran leadership. Meador started 54 games last season and is the defending wee Player of the Year. He batted .376 with a .435 on– base percentage and a .559 slugging percentage and was the team leader with 80 hits, 45 RBI and 42 runs scored a year ago. Center fielder Kevin Muno returns to action after a medical redshirt season in 2009. Before suffering his season-ending injury, Muno appeared in 17 games where he posted a .305 batting average and a .419 on-base percentage while showing some pop with two home runs. Muno provides speed in both the outfield and on the base paths as he successfully stole nine bases in 10 attempts during his shortened 2009 season. The outfield will welcome freshman Matt Moynihan, who comes to the Toreros after a standout career at nearby Cathedral Catholic. He was selected as the 52nd best high school prospect by Baseball America and earned back-to-back first-team All-State honors and was selected to play in the Area Code Games, the Perfect Games' National Showcase and the USA U18 National team trials. Also in the mix for left field or a designated hitter spot is sophomore Austin Green who during his de– but season as a Torero appeared in 40 games while hitting .287 with 33 hits, four doubles, one triple, five home runs and 19 RBI. Another player who impressed in the fall and will press for playing time is Mike Ferraro. Ferraro redshirted for the Toreros last season after a stand-out career at Or– ange Coast College, where he helped lead his team to two consecutive Southern California Super Regional appearances. Scott Schauer, a transfer from Golden West College, has a chance to be a good 2-way guy for the Toreros as both a pitcher and an outfielder. At Golden West Col– lege last season, he led the team with a .365 batting average and had a team high with 65 hits, 16 doubles, .539 slugging percentage, .429 on-base percentage and 19 walks in 42 games.

doubles, one home run and five RBI.

First base will be played by either sopho– more Brian Haar or junior Victor Sanchez. As a freshman, Haar played in 39 games, including 34 starts and collected a batting average of .298 to go along 38 RBI, the second-highest total on the team, and earned AII -WCC freshman team honors. During an injury-shortened season, San– chez started in all 28 games he played in and still managed to hit five home runs while driving in 23 RBI and scoring 22 runs. Second base is going to be manned by redshirt senior Chris Engel I. In his first season as a Torero, Engell played and started in 52 games, while bat– ting .358, with 37 RBI and 35 runs scored as the everyday second baseman . i'II The starting shortstop will be Zach Walters or 'jl, Haar could see time at shortstop as well, while ,-..,,/} at third base either Sanchez or Steven Chatwood _p will hold down the hot corner. Walters played in 52 games for the Toreros a year ago, starting in 49 of them and recording a team– leading .377 batting average, .416 on-base per– centage and a .503 slugging percentage while being named first-team AII-WCC. Last season, Chatwood rotated between catcher, third base, designated hitter and outfield positions,and bat– ted .327 with 20 RBI while playing in 30 games, with 28 of those starts before suffering a season– ending injury. Tony Strazzara has been a reliab le player the last couple of years for the Toreros and will be in the mix for one of the infield spots as well as a candi– date for the designated hitter spot after posting a .321 batting average, with 43 hits, nine doubles and a .395 on-base percentage last season. Another player that will try and earn some play– ing time is sophomore catcher Zach Kometani, who saw action in five games, gaining invalu– able experience leading to his second year as a Torero. OUTFIELD "The outfield is spearheaded by one of the best players in USD history in James Meador," said Hill.

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