Muleskinner

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Drew Woolery: Muleskinner At the midway point of the season, sophomore Danny Potje (top) and junior Mark Carey have become the top two pitchers for the Mules. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Drew Woolery: Muleskinner [Click to enlarge]

Baseball coach Tom Myers steps out on the diamond holding two aces and the knowledge that on any given day, he has the best hand to play with.

Junior Mark Carey and sophomore Danny Potje are the two starting pitchers anchoring a pitching staff that bolsters a 3.24 ERA and have held their opponents to a .231 batting average.

"Those two have very good, as we like to say, 'stuff'," Myers said. "They're consistent at getting ahead of hitters and pounding the strike zone to get hitters out."

That "stuff" has helped Potje and Carey achieve success on the field.

Carey, a physical education major from East Alton, Ill., is a 6-foot-2-inch player that carries a perfect 5-0 record and third-best ERA at 1.83. He also leads the team in strike outs with 45, and innings pitched with 44.1 and is second in opponent batting average at .187.

Potje, an accounting major from Arnold, Mo., is a 6-foot-4-inch left handed hurler that will go into this weekend with a 6-1 record in seven starts. In his 39 innings of play, he has logged 44 strike outs while holding opponents to a .233 batting average. Even with a 2.77 ERA, Potje ranks fifth on the team.

Even with great numbers from their on-the-field performances, Carey and Potje lead the team by what they do off the field.

"They are leaders by example," Myers said. "They are the first to get to the park, and are always prepared physically and mentally. The others look and see how they do things, what they are doing to be successful and how they study scouting reports."

With Potje and Carey being the obvious aces, Myers looks to another pitcher on his staff to give him three of a kind.

"Jared Potts is another that I consider an ace," Myers said. "He got off to a slow start and struggled early, but has learned how to pitch and get people out ."

Potts is 3-3 on the year and has a 5.40 ERA in seven starts.

With two definite aces and one possible, Myers finds himself in a favorable position.

"We are very fortunate to have three quality starters that will give us a quality start each time," Myers said.

To demonstrate how fortunate his services are, Potje led the Mules to a 4-3 victory in the third game of their four-game series against Pittsburg State Saturday. Potje pitched five innings, striking out four batters, to earn the victory in the error-filled game.

The Mules had troubles at the plate, and on the field. The team only had five hits, but they also committed six errors.

Although the team had problems, the Mules managed to pull out a win by scoring three runs in the sixth inning to go up 3-2 and receiving a fourth run from a solo home run by senior catcher Chris Brown.

"We were very fortunate to get out of that game with the win," Myers said. "Potje's efforts got us through that one."

The Mules, however, did make it through and added their second straight four game series sweep after handing Washburn the same fate last week. They played two doubleheaders, on Friday and Saturday, and demolished the Gorillas in all but the third game. The game one score was 7-0, and games two and three were 9-1 and 17-6.

With a three-game series against conference opponent Missouri Western starting Friday, Myers knows the Mules will need more than their two aces.

"We need to play good defense and not make errors," Myers said. "We also need good pitching and to put pressure on every team we face."

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