2006 Preview

Baseball

The Knox College Prairie Fire enter into their 2006 campaign after going 6-21 overall and 1-9 in the Midwest Conference last year. The Prairie Fire will rely on the experience of their hitting, as they return five players who hit above .250 in 2005. Leading that group of experienced hitters is junior second baseman John Campbell (Pictured Left -- O'Fallon, IL/H.S.), who was named a First Team All-South Division in 2005, as he hit .396, with 11 RBI's and had an on-base percentage of .481. Behind him is sophomore outfielder Paul Bennett (Edwards, IL/Brimfield) who hit .301 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 15 RBI's. Senior Matt Briggs (Bartonville, IL/Limestone) will look to tear up the base paths again this year as the 2005 campaign saw him steal 16 bases without getting picked off, while also hitting .297 on the season. Senior outfielder Luke Sherman (West Peoria, IL/Judah Christian) hit .283 in 2005, with 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 7 steals and senior catcher Ryan Switzer (Millstadt, IL/Belleville) hit .269 with 4 doubles on the year.

The 2006 season will also see the return of two experienced seniors in catcher Jake Ayers (Hanna City, IL/Farmington) and shortstop Neil Magruder (Bourbonnais, IL/Bishop McNamara) who both missed the entire 2005 season with injuries. In 2004, Ayers led the team with a .375 batting average and also had 4 doubles, while Magruder hit .283 with 6 doubles, 3 home runs, 12 RBI's and 13 stolen bases.

The Prairie Fire lost their two best pitchers from last year to graduation and seniors Tim Pauley (Pictured Right -- Pearl City/H.S.), Drew Glowacki (Minonk, IL/Fieldcrest), and Nick Reineck (Rochelle, IL/H.S.) will all be looking to improve on their performances from the mound last year. Pauley is the top returning hurler with a record of 2-3 and a 6.44 ERA, followed by Glowacki with a 6.75 ERA. Fellow senior Jeff Zick (Rochelle, IL/H.S.) will also be returning to the diamond after not playing since high school. The 6-6 pitcher will help add some depth to the Prairie Fire's pitching staff. Head Coach Jami Isaacson (Pictured Bottom Left) said, "We have a lot more pitching depth than we had last year. To be successful, we need our guys to keep the ball on the ground and keep us in good defensive situations."

Sophomores Greg Leibach (St. Louis, MO/University High) and Luke Hunter (Edwards, IL/Brimfield) return with playing experience from playing spot duty in 2005. Newcomers to the Prairie Fire Kevin Malone (Bushnell, IL/H.S.), Adam Estergard (Urbana, IL/H.S.), and Sam Almohandis (Tulsa, OK/Jenks) will all be looked at to make immediate contributions. "These guys may be first-years, but they've all played a lot of baseball," said Isaacson. "We're excited about what these guys can do."

The Prairie Fire are excited about heading south to Ft. Myers, Florida, from March 13-19 to open up their 2006 season. "We're looking to find our identity on this trip," said Isaacson.  "We are going to see both Carroll and Lawrence so we should find out where we stand in the conference right away."