Insider: Newcomers pitch camp

The Grand Canyon pitching staff does not need to be great from the start but it does need to start to be great.

The Lopes baseball team opens official practices Friday with a familiar lineup and a regular-season WAC champion title that was repeated last season. But the new season has a new look from the mound, where nine newcomers replenish a staff that lost all of its conference starting rotation and its closer.

"These guys know the standards of what we're trying to develop here and they're willing to work," GCU third-year pitching coach Rich Dorman said. "They're getting challenged by our hitters all fall. We've got a lot of returning guys on our offense so they're getting a great taste of a winning WAC lineup.

"On paper, I'm confident but that doesn't mean anything until you get out there and compete. These guys are excited to get out there and show GCU and the country what they're about."

The fresh arms feature five freshmen, three junior college transfers and a Division I transfer. Junior Kade Mechals enters with the most credentials after starting at Western Oregon, transferring to Skagit Valley College in Washington and pitching this summer at the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.

He is a strong-willed, right-handed pitcher with a mix of four pitches and "he wants the baseball," Dorman said.

"It's a whole new look but we have a lot of competitors and a lot of different looks," Mechals said. "Everybody brings a unique skill set to the table. I think we're going to be really good and I think we're going to surprise a lot of people and win a lot of games."

The most recent arrival is freshman right-hander Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, who joins sophomore Coen Wynne as the second Australian on the Lopes pitching staff. He will face live batters for the first time Friday at GCU Ballpark.

"We were doing hill sprints on the top of the car park at 6:30 in the morning and we had a look at the field with the lights on and it's such a beautiful field," Cooper-Vassalskis said. "It's the best one I've ever played at so I'm really, really excited to be here and playing on it."

Other newcomers:

Santa Ana College transfer Cole Hoskins is a right-handed junior reliever with a sidearm delivery. "He's going to be tough one time through the order," Dorman said. "He's going to be that guy coming out of the pen and get a bunch of ground balls. We expect him to pitch when we've got a lead because he can handle it."
San Jose State transfer Frankie Scalzo is a sophomore who converted from infielder to pitcher last season and is a candidate to start this season. "He's another guy who has shown the fire to pitch," Dorman said. "He's not going to back down from a challenge."
The final transfer is sophomore Zach Barnes, who pitched last season at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. He projects to be a durable long reliever with a fastball, slider and change-up.
Pierson Ohl is a right-handed freshman from Simi Valley, Calif., where he walked 24 batters in 200 innings. "He's going to fill up the strike zone and he's really athletic so he's going to field his position well," Dorman said. "He's mature beyond his years."
Michael Hansell is a right-hander from Sammamish, Wash., who came on in the fall and can bolster the bullpen with his fastball and curveball.
K.J. Seriani is building strength after arm issues ended his senior season early at Paonia High School in Colorado. His slider and change-up are showing improvement.
Michael Perzan came from crosstown Basha High in Chandler, Ariz., and is a left-hander with great control and a future as a starter but a present role in long-relief and spot starts.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Zach Barnes

Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis

Michael Hansell

Cole Hoskins

Kade Mechals

Pierson Ohl

Michael Perzan

Frankie Scalzo

K.J. Seriani

Coen Wynne

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