Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight!

Article By:

Falmouth Commodores 2006 Season Preview
Falmouth Welcomes Players From Nationally Ranked Teams

FALMOUTH, Mass. -- Led by veteran field manager Jeff Trundy, the Falmouth Commodores will field another strong team in 2006, headlined by four players from the No. 1 team in America, the Clemson Tigers. 

     Oregon State, currently No. 5 in the country, and Tulane, currently No. 23, will also send four players each to Falmouth. Clemson and Oregon State will be hosting regionals as the road to the NCAA College World Series gets underway. 

     Although Falmouth fans may have a little waiting to do with these teams hoping to make it deep into the tournament, they will be happy to welcome their players whenever they arrive. 

     Representing Clemson are second baseman Taylor Harbin, center fielder Brad Chalk, starting pitcher David Kopp and shortstop Stan Widmann. Chalk recorded a .351 batting average, good for second on the team, and will bring great speed and strong baseball sense. Harbin hit .316 for the Tigers, and holds the South Carolina high school state record for home runs with 52. Kopp won four games for the Tigers this season and has found himself in all sorts of roles helping the Tigers win. 

     The Beavers of Oregon State will send infielder Darwin Barney, catcher Mitch Canham, and pitchers Eddie Kunz and Joe Patterson. Barney comes in second on the team in batting average, at .348 in a lineup where nearly every starter is batting over .300. Canham is hitting .302 and has belted seven homers with 43 RBIs, good for second on the team. Kunz has four victories this season and hopes to follow in the footsteps of former Commodore and Beaver Dallas Buck. 

     Baseball powerhouse Tulane will contribute the quartet of outfielder Aja Barto, catcher Max Kwan, outfielder Warren McFadden and pitcher Sean Morgan to the cause this summer. McFadden has posted a .381 batting average with a team-leading 83 hits and 48 RBIs, good for second. Morgan, a power pitcher, is 8-5 on the season and has 121 strikeouts. Falmouth fans will love watching Morgan dominate hitters and should see plenty of examples of the 121 strikeouts he posted in the spring for the Green Wave. 

     The remainder of the squad will consist of Ryan Anetsberger (Illinois State), Sam Demel and Andrew Walker (Texas Christian), Ross Detwiler (Missouri State), Jeremy Farrell and Shooter Hunt (Virginia), Cory Luebke (Ohio State), Corey Riordan (Fordham), Cole St. Clair (Rice), Jay Sferra and Brett Wallace (Arizona State), and Aaron Shafer (Wichita State).

     For Missouri State, Detwiler has compiled a great season and was named Louisville Slugger’s national player of the week. Detwiler is 7-4 and has posted a 2.81 ERA with 99 strikeouts. Just recently in the Missouri Valley conference tournament, he fired a one-hitter against Creighton to help the Bears win their sixth straight game. 

     Farrell has posted big numbers for a Virginia team that has been the only club in the nation to sweep Clemson in a weekend series, hitting .343 for the Cavaliers. 

     Left-hander Cory Luebke (Ohio State) was recently named to the All-Big Ten tournament team. St. Clair has shown some powerful stuff as a closer, recording 10 saves and a 5-2 record for a team that has hovered around the top spot in the nation throughout the year. 

     Falmouth fans will watch their future players perform in the upcoming NCAA tournament, many of whom have dreams of Omaha. Should those dreams fall short, the fans will have only to wait and see what the boys of summer will bring in 2006.

By Nicholas Mucci (Clemson); [email protected]