NEW ORLEANS – There will be a lot of new faces on the mound for the New Orleans Privateers in 2020 but the season begins with some familiar names. Plus, an inspiring comeback story is slated to turn into a large role in the pitching staff this year.
Five pitchers return from last season's team:
Chris Turpin,
Brandon Mitchell,
Christopher DeMayo,
Bailey Holstein, and
Cortlynn Ramirez.
For returning pitching coach,
A.J. Battisto, he has a number set for Turpin who is heading into his senior season: 100. Battisto would like to see Turpin log 100 innings on the hill after he pitched 85.1 in his first year on the Lakefront. Turpin is slated to get the ball on opening night against Southern.
Mitchell threw 61.0 innings across multiple roles in his freshman season. Now a sophomore, Mitchell, who was second on the team in innings pitched last year, will figure prominently into the Privateers' rotation.
Holstein, DeMayo, and Ramirez have all been used in different facets and can offer versatility to the pitching staff this year. Holstein is scheduled to start on Saturday against Grambling. Ramirez was the main midweek starter a year ago and DeMayo enters his fourth year on the Lakefront.
Then there's
Eric Orze. The Illinois native had to sit out last year as he battled and defeated cancer. This year, Orze has returned stronger than ever and will be built toward a spot in the weekend rotation.
Beyond that, there are a host of new faces who will take the hill for the Privateers.
Collin Kulivan,
Matt Delcambre,
Eddie Emerson,
Kyle Khachadourian, and
Jacob Lamkin provide depth for a mostly new look staff.
What was a constant in the first tenure for Battisto is pickoffs and baserunners erased. In 2014, Privateer pitchers had 14 pickoffs and catchers threw out over 41 percent of base stealing attempts.
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