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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – With the Davenport baseball team being less than 24 hours away from taking the field and opening the 2013 season at Union College, we take a look at the final preview featuring second-year head coach Kevin Tidey's pitching staff. The Panthers and Bulldogs will play a three-game non-conference series in Barbourville with the first pitch of the season being thrown Friday 2 p.m.
 
The Panthers will be bringing back two of last year's four-man rotation, and with the schedule a bit different than in previous seasons, Tidey said he may be penciling more pitchers into the starting lineup.
 
“We may go with six, because we now have a Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday type of schedule. I'm not sure how that's going to shake down,” Tidey said.
 
The two returning and receiving the starting nod are seniors, left-hander Jordan Anderson and right-hander Drew Sain. While both could be considered aces on the pitching staff, the two veterans led the ballclub in several statistics. Anderson compiled a seven-win season and a 3.73 ERA last season to lead the team along with punching out 41 batters in 60.1 innings, en route an All-Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference honorable mention. Sain collected six wins and maintained a 4.06 ERA while pacing the Panthers with 42 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .218 batting average. Sain also came having thrown the third no-hitter in program history a year ago.
 
Joining the two seniors in the rotation is junior righty Michael Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck, a native of Dexter, Mich., joins Davenport after leading the nation in ERA while playing for Macomb CC last year.
 
“He's got three pitches that he commands and will be one of our top starters,” Tidey said.
 
Tidey also mentioned junior right-hander Danny Sullivan as possibly his fourth starter. The Dodgeville, Wis., native moved to the other side of Lake Michigan after earning both MVP and first-team All-North Central Conference with Madison College.
 
“He's a big power type guy. We are definitely expecting him to be one of our starters,” Tidey said.
 
The bullpen is probably the deepest the program has ever seen, according to Tidey. Returning from last year are sophomore right-hander Ryan Butzer and senior southpaw Corey Anderson. Both of them split time in the closing role, with each saving four games. Also returning from last year to help out in the bullpen are sophomore right-hander Chad Detwiler and senior righty Zach Liebman.
 
While Butzer and Anderson will see some action in the late innings, Tidey could also be signaling for newcomer, senior right-hander Colton Satterlee. Satterlee has an impressive resume in the closing department, having led the nation in saves while playing for Muskegon CC. Satterlee was also a member of NCAA Division I Western Kentucky University.
 
“He could slide into the closing role so we got three guys in the back of our bullpen,” Tidey said.
 
The coaching staff has also welcomed two junior college transfers that could either be the fifth and sixth starter, or eat up a lot of innings in to get to the closing staff.
 
Robert Walter will don a Panther uniform after garnering second-team all-conference with Macomb CC as a sophomore.
 
The other transfer is Anthony Alarcon. The native of Puerto Rico was a key figure that helped Grand Rapids CC to the NJCAA World Series last year. He also led the Raiders in wins and ERA during his rookie campaign.
 
Tidey said he is excited about his freshman class and believes to have a lot of potential in a Panther uniform.
 
“We're really happy with our freshman class on the mound,” Tidey said. “Corey Sessions is a 6-3, right-hander who has a lot of upside. Corey Murphy is a power thrower that has learned and developed off-speed pitches. Blake Dahlstrom has a bit of shoulder issues but probably has the best curve ball on our team, when he gets back healthy. Alex Schuiling is a left-hander who has really surprised me up to this point. Between those four freshmen, that is probably the best pitching class we have ever had.”
 
The freshman class also expands to the position players as well.
 
“The other two freshmen who have stood out are Connor Seymour and Alex Huard,” Tidey said. “Connor is one of our faster guys. He'll be one of our courtesy base runners, but is also in the mix for any spot in the field. Alex is a shortstop but may see some action at third base also.”
 
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