No need for a switch at the plate

By David Norrie
Published April 3, 2007

When Ryan Kennedy walked into coach Joe Urso's office in the fall and said he was considering batting from only one side of the plate this year, Urso had to ask why.

The right-handed University of Tampa second baseman batted better than .300 as a lefty in 2006 and is more valuable at the No. 2 slot in the lineup as a switch hitter. But after witnessing four teammates hit better than .380 and three eclipse .400 a year ago, Kennedy figured he might be better served to focus on hitting from his natural side.

"Ryan did everything we asked him to do last year, and for a No. 2 hitter, he had a great year," Urso said. "But with so many guys hitting .400, .327 just seemed unacceptable to him I think. So I asked him to think about it and told him it was his call."

Not only did Kennedy stay with switch hitting, but he took it upon himself to put in extra time in the weight room in the offseason. He said he looked to an old teammate for training tips.

That teammate? Lee Cruz, the 2006 Sunshine State Conference and Division II Player of the Year.

Cruz advised him to focus on strengthening his forearms and abdominal muscles. The resulting increased strength and bat speed have been surprising, even to Urso, who said he would never have guessed Kennedy's numbers would jump so dramatically.

"I just did what (Cruz) did," Kennedy said. "I worked in the weight room a lot, more so on the little muscles and in particular the forearms. But I never really expected this, to have nine home runs."

As a junior, Kennedy was asked to play a certain role in the offense, taking pitches, bunting and moving runners into scoring position. Exactly the type of things one would expect a player who was 5-foot-9, 170 pounds to do.

But this season, Urso is letting him swing the bat and he has equaled his number of RBIs (40) and tripled his number of home runs from a year ago.

In terms of the conference, Kennedy could be following in Lee's footsteps as far as MVP-type numbers. He ranks first in RBIs, home runs and slugging percentage (.792) and second in average (.433), on-base percentage (.536), runs scored (46), doubles (14) and total bases (95).

Plus, he has kept a good eye and remained selective, ranking third in the SSC in walks (25).

"There's a different focus he comes to each game with," Urso said. "I'm not saying he had a chip on his shoulder, but he may have been overlooked a lot last season.

"Now this kid is one of the best players in the conference and he will get a chance, at the end of this year, to reach that goal of playing pro ball."

The No. 3 Spartans are 29-6 (7-2 SSC) and face sixth-place Nova Southeastern in a three-game series in Davie beginning Friday.

SOFTBALL: Pitcher Devlin Dougherty notched her third career no-hitter, striking out eight in a 1-0 win over Nova Southeastern on Friday. The Spartans (24-13, 9-3) took two of three from NSU, helping them move into second in the SSC standings.

The team has won seven of its past eight games, five of which were decided by one run.

This on the heels of a 10-game win streak in the beginning of March that tied a school record for consecutive wins.

[Last modified April 2, 2007, 22:21:44]