Maryland JUCO Team Preview: Garrett College

February 5, 2019
Kyle Campbell
Maryland Scouting Director

Follow @PBRMaryland
Facebook & Instagram

JUCO programs across the state of Maryland began preseason practices back in early January. As the calendar quickly turns and with several teams getting ready to open up their 2019 campaigns in the next few weeks, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the 2018 season, examine key players that have moved on or left the program, look at some new faces and key players for the upcoming season, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2019 season. We continue our preseason previews with a look at the Garrett College Lakers.

Garrett college 2019 SEASON PREVIEW

Head Coach: Eric Hallenbeck (15th Season)
Mascot: Lakers
2018 Record: 23-29-1
2018 MD JUCO Finish: 13th Place
2018 DII Region XX Finish: 3rd Place
Twitter Handle: @GarrettLakers
CLICK HERE to view the Garrett College Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the Garrett College 2019 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the Garrett College 2019 Baseball Roster

2019 PBR JUCO NATIONAL PRESEASON RANK: NR

Returning Players with 2018 Postseason Honors

Alfonse Sadallah: MD JUCO All Conference - Honorable Mention / NJCAA D2 All Region XX - First Team
Derek Gaisbauer: NJCAA D2 All Region XX - Honorable Mention

Returning Starters: 3

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Winston Davis	OF	29	.236	.303	.326	13	21	3	1	1	15	4
Derek Gaisbauer	UTL	49	.342	.430	.521	41	50	14	0	4	43	6
Alfonse Sadallah	2B	42	.400	.521	.515	43	52	7	1	2	31	17

Returning Pitchers: 1

PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Reilly Rutgers	RHP	13	3	6	0	47.0	54	35	20	15	40	3.83

Key Losses

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Brian Casper	3B	40	.363	.430	.629	33	45	13	1	6	41	4
Cody Hammond	OF	50	.361	.463	.472	40	52	8	1	2	30	8
Doug Pollock	INF	41	.286	.408	.378	26	28	6	0	1	12	8
Bryant Scheuch	INF	47	.328	.445	.586	32	42	6	0	9	40	7
Zarek Simkovich	OF	42	.366	.438	.500	33	41	8	2	1	21	6
Zach Uhazie	C	33	.277	.314	.538	10	18	2	0	5	17	1
PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Cody Hammond	RHP	11	1	1	1	15.2	19	16	9	18	11	5.17
Doug Pollock	RHP	13	1	2	0	21.0	28	23	14	11	13	6.00
Zach Uhazie	RHP	13	3	4	3	48.0	46	26	25	24	62	4.69

Zarek Simkovich (Notre Dame College)

Top Newcomers

Elijah Hanible INF/OF Bishop McNamara (MD)
Mike Warner C Sebring (FL)
Michael Joyce RHP Wiregrass Ranch (FL)

Key Players for 2019

Winston Davis (So.) OF Bishop McNamara (MD)
Reilly Rutgers (So.) RHP Westmount Secondary (Canada)
Derek Gaisbauer (So.) Laurel Highlands (PA)
Alfonse Sadallah (So.) Tottenville (NY)

2019 Committed Players

None at this time.

2019 Season Snapshot

The 2018 spring baseball season across the Mid-Atlantic was heavily impacted by the amount of snow and rain that fell throughout the region. No one can say they felt that impact more than the Lakers of Garrett College. Maryland's western most conference member struggled to find consistency during the regular season due in large part to the amount of re-scheduled games and inability to get outside and practice on a regular basis. Garrett however turned it around and seemingly hit their stride just as the post season began. The Lakers took care of business in back to back play-in games with wins over CCBC Dundalk and Cecil College on the road to make it to the weekend and NJCAA D2 Region XX double elimination tournament. Garrett then upset the #1 seeded Frederick CC Cougars in the opening round before falling to the eventual Region XX Champion CCBC Essex Knights 4-3 and Frederick 10-8 to finish third in the region in 2018.

The Lakers will look to build upon the momentum they built at the end of last season and hope for some kinder weather that will allow them to get into more of a rhythm early on. Head coach Eric Hallenbeck eclipsed his 300th career win last season and enters his 15th season at the helm for the Lakers in 2019. Sophomore returners Alfonse Sadallah and Derek Gaisbauer figure to lead the way for the team offensively. Sadallah; who hit .400 last season, good for the 5th highest batting average in all of Maryland JUCO last season, is the spark plug at the top of the line-up. His scrappiness and ability to get on base should set up Gaisbauer with plenty of opportunities to drive him in and build upon his solid freshman campaign. Look for sophomore Winston Davis to play a bigger role this season along with freshman Elijah Hanible and Mike Warner. Garrett lost a substantial amount of their offensive production from last year including 69% of the teams home runs and 55% of their runs batted in from those listed above. RHP Reilly Rutgers will be looked upon to lead the Lakers on the mound with the absence of ace Zach Uhazie in 2019. Rutgers made 13 appearances and pitched the second most innings for the Lakers last season with 47, just one shy of Uhazie. RHP Michael Joyce from Florida had a nice fall and figures to join Rutgers as a key pitcher in the rotation. Look for Hallenbeck to instill the same toughness and grit in this year's team that has become a staple of the Garrett baseball program and for them to make some noise come tournament time again in 2019.