Winter Park Diamond Dawgs step up to the plate for 2017 season

College baseball players hope to sharpen their skills and eventually chase a championship as the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs begin another season Friday, June 2, in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. 

With a new lineup and coaching staff, the Diamond Dawgs expect to bounce back after a tough season last year in which they finished at the bottom of the league with a record of 17-25. The Dawgs missed the postseason, and the Altamonte Springs Boom went on to win the championship, raising the trophy at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. 

The coaching duo that led that Boom team to a title is now leading the Dawgs. Head coach Chuck Schall and pitching coach Jim Newlin hope to develop and grow the young players — and lead them to a championship. 

“It’s enjoyable for me to get a group of kids together in the summer, see the relationships that you make and just put the team out there and try and help them develop,” Schall said. “A lot of these guys have things they need to work on. … Hopefully, when they go back to school next year, they’re a better ball player.” 

In addition to the coaches, shortstop Cristian Rivera, from Weber International University, and pitcher Jaylyn Whitehead, from UCF, also have traded their Boom jerseys for Dawgs duds. Rivera seeks to improve his overall quickness as a shortstop, while Whithead hopes to get stronger and make the jump from relief pitcher to starter. 

Whitehead may be well on his way. Last year, he posted a 3.2 ERA and a league-leading strikeout-to-walk ratio of 27/3 in 35 innings. 

“He’s really got a good sequence of pitches that he’s worked on hard,” Newlin said. “He’s got a good changeup, he’s got a good breaking ball, and he’s around the zone. We’re going to take a look at him.” 

Schall called returning shortstop Rivera a “sparkplug guy” who brings a lot of energy to the team. 

“I’m going to count on some leadership from him for the rest of these guys,” he said. 

Rivera and Whitehead already experienced the thrill of winning it all, but they want to do it again. 

“It’s a good way to get reps for when you go back to your school, but when we get into playoff time, it’s really cool,” Whitehead said. “Our last team was so close together where we didn’t want to leave each other yet, so we really fought to keep playing.” 

Schall got his first glimpse of the entire team during Tuesday’s practice at Bishop Moore Catholic High School. The first few weeks will be all about building chemistry, defining roles and seeing where it leads them. 

“We’re seeing what we’ve got,” Schall said.

The Dawgs' season opener against the DeLand Suns starts at 7 p.m. on Friday at Conrad Park in Deland.