The probable starting infield will be an intriguing quartet for the Keydets, and nowhere is that more true than at second base. Jordan Tarsovich is the projected starter at the position, a year after leading the Big South in walks as VMI’s starting left fielder and six months after being named the Valley League MVP. The redshirt junior, who led the Keydets in doubles and ranked fifth in the Big South in on-base percentage, came into VMI with a great deal of experience at second base, but not started a game at the position since coming to Lexington.
Alongside Tarsovich up the middle will be sophomore Ray Lopez, VMI’s starter at third base last year. Lopez showed a great deal of range at the hot corner, and performed respectably offensively by hitting .279 with 10 doubles and 14 steals. Like Tarsovich, this is a position Lopez has seen before, having played there frequently in high school and even being named All-Section as a shortstop in 2011.
Another redshirt junior is the probable starter at first base, as Cameron Walter is being looked at to fill that role. Walter, noted for his glovework at first, was limited by injuries last season, when he had just 24 at-bats. He did, however, deliver VMI’s last walk-off hit, a single against VCU.
Third base is Thomas Stallings’ job for the early season, as the junior will get an opportunity to fill a starting role for the first time in his career. Stallings hit well against elite competition last year, posting two-hit games against both #4 Virginia and Virginia Tech among his 98 at-bats.
Backups on the infield will include junior Drew Bryan, who could backup at three of the infield positions, including third base, and David Geary, a sophomore who should see time at the infield corners. Freshman Tyler Tharp, a former all-state first baseman from Virginia Beach’s Kempsville HS, and classmate Tanner Dofflemyer, the 2013 co-Player of the Year in the Shenandoah district, will see time at their respective positions as well. |
