John Barr and
Reeves Martin formed a deadly combination in the back end of the New Orleans Privateers' bullpen in 2018. The duo will be complemented by a host of new faces in the pen for the 2019 season.
Martin was moved full-time to the bullpen after the first conference series last season and the now junior took off as the closer. Reeves compiled nine saves, the fourth most in a single season in program history. He also pitched to a 2.20 ERA as a reliever with 33 strikeouts and eight walks in 28.2 innings pitched.
Barr was often the man who kept leads intact for Martin to shut the door in the ninth. In his first season as a Privateer, Barr went 6-3 with a 2.04 ERA in 30 relief appearances. His ERA was the eighth lowest in a single season in program history. He also had 68 strikeouts in 66.1 innings and earned honorable mention from the Southland Conference.
"I think those guys took us through the course of the season and I think we had the best one-two punch in the conference," said Coach
Blake Dean. "With a younger pitching staff, it's nice to have those two guys back."
There are two returners who will be exclusively in the pen this year.
Mathew Oset will compete in his final collegiate season. The senior struck out 27 batters in 20.0 innings pitched. He picked up two wins during the season against UIC and Tulane.
Zach Thompson also returns for his senior season. The Maryland native appeared in six games during his first season on the Lakefront. He recorded seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.
The rest of the crew will be new to the Lakefront with one caveat.
Bailey Holstein was with the team last year but was injured and redshirted in 2018. Holstein was highly regarded coming out of Denham Springs High School where he was ranked as a top 20 recruit in Louisiana by Perfect Game.
"Bailey did a great job in junior college then got hurt in the summer after we brought him in," Dean said. "I've like what I've seen so far and in the fall he was one of our top strikeouts guys. I think he can be a multiple inning guy out of the pen."
Luke Bradley adds another lefty arm to the pen. At Pearl River CC, Bradley put up strong numbers. He compiled a 4-0 record with three saves and registered a 1.98 ERA in 2017. Last year, he struck out 19 batters in 15.2 innings.
"We need guys to step up," said Dean. "Oset and Thompson have been here and understand the system. When we have guys who can step up at the end of the game then that opens up potential avenues to start either Reeves or John. As far as Luke, we're limited on lefty arms out of the pen so we're hoping he can come in and either be a lefty specialist or fill the role that
Matthew Gillis did for us last year."
The rest of the pen will be filled with freshmen in
Jonathan Allen,
Jack Wolgast, and
Cortlynn Ramirez. Wolgast comes to the Privateers from Niceville, Fla. where he played baseball and golf in high school He was named Pitcher of the Year while helping Rocky Bayou Christian to a division and regional championship.
Ramirez attended Grace Christian in Alexandria, La. He doubled as an infielder as well, compiling 20 home runs at the plate and 200 strikeouts on the mound. He also won the state tournament MVP during Grace Christian's run to the title in 2017.
Allen attended Parklane Academy in McComb, Miss. He posted a 2.05 ERA with 195 strikeouts in 126.1 innings during his high school career. Allen was also the district MVP for 2017-18. He was a three-year letter winner at Parklane.
"I think Jack has a chance to be really good," said Dean. "He made his first appearance the other day and threw well. He's in the low 90s with a good breaking ball. Jonathan is a power arm who can run it up to 94 but he just has to fine tune his control. Cortlynn is very raw but sneaky. The sky is the limit for these guys. They just have to get some experience under their belt."
Stay tuned as our Preview Series concludes on Friday with a look at starting pitchers.
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