FARMVILLE, Va. – With the arrival of first year head coach Ryan Mau, the Lancers figure to place an emphasis on quality pitching in 2015. A pitcher during his time on the diamond, Mau has spent 12 seasons overseeing various pitching staffs en route to his first season as a skipper. The Lancers will lean on a solid starting rotation headlined by Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year Aaron Myers, while looking to build depth in a young bullpen.

The Weekend Rotation  

To no one's surprise, the ball belongs to senior Aaron Myers on Friday evenings. The three-year veteran was recently named Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year after a sensational junior campaign in which the ace recorded the fourth-lowest ERA of any Longwood pitcher in history at 1.76. That mark is also the all-time best for starting pitchers (min. 50.0 IP) in a single season with the Lancers.

"Myers is our leader on the mound," said Mau. "He is an absolute workhorse – always wants the ball, doesn't want to come out of games – he's a competitor and that's what you want in your Friday night guy."

Describing Myers as a workhorse is on point – the senior tossed over 100 pitches in 12 games last season, including topping the 120 pitch mark four times. For his career, Myers has thrown a career high of 145 pitches and over the past two seasons as a starter, the ace has hurled over 2,500 offerings, averaging 116 pitches per start.

Behind Myers, the Lancers will turn the ball over to junior Travis Burnette, who joined the starting rotation late last season. Burnette finished the 2014 campaign at 3-5 overall with a 4.13 ERA. In his starts, the right-handed dealer was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA, but much of that damage was done in a single outing against ACC foe Duke.

"We're going to shake things up a bit and start Travis in game two," noted Mau. "Travis is a guy that has really come on. I thought he had a great summer in the CPL (Coastal Plains League) and continued that in the fall for us. He really developed his breaking ball, has an above average changeup and brings a really calm, cool demeanor to the mound. That will serve him very well this spring."

Burnette played his CPL ball for the Florence RedWolves this summer and compiled the second-best ERA in the league at 1.29 ERA. Longwood's Saturday starter gave up just seven runs on 43 hits in 48.2 innings of work.  

With Burnette sliding to Saturday, that leaves Brandon Vick to close out the weekend in the Sunday matinee. The senior went 4-7 last season with a 4.04 ERA while filling the Saturday role in the rotation. Like Burnette, Vick made impressive strides in the CPL last summer and looks to finish his career at Longwood on a high note. The righty was recently named amongst the top-100 prospects in the 2015 senior class, along with running mate Aaron Myers, by Perfect Game.

"We changed Brandon's mechanics – he's made some significant changes mechanically – to try to provide a lot more movement to the baseball," Mau said. "He's developed that movement and now he is learning to command his new two-seam, changeup and his improved breaker. He's done very well with the changes we've made and I think you're going to see a different Vick on Sundays."

The weekend rotation is the linchpin of this Longwood staff and is without a doubt one of the Lancers' strengths heading into 2015. The trio of Myers, Burnette and Vick should give the blue and white ample opportunities to win games late.

The Bullpen

While the weekend rotation looks to be settled, the bullpen could see quite a bit of moving and shaking early on. With only two upperclassmen in the pen, Longwood will turn to youth and promise in relief.

"The bullpen is very unknown at this point," admitted Mau. "There are a lot of potential pieces that could step up, but they just haven't had the experience or proven themselves yet."

Towards the back end of the bullpen, fans will find a few familiar names anchored by sophomore Mitchell Kuebbing.  Kuebbing is slated to begin the season as Longwood's closer, although that could evolve over time. The lanky, right hander made 22 appearances, including four starts, in 2014 compiling a 3.86 ERA. As a freshman, Kuebbing struggled at times with command, an issue that he has improved heading into his second campaign.

"Kuebbing is the guy we look towards immediately as a stopper or closer type role," said Mau. "We've worked his delivery – changed some things mechanically – improved his fastball command significantly and added a new surprise third pitch."

Another returnee who the Lancers will turn to early and often out of the bullpen is Devin Gould. The sophomore made 20 appearances in 2014, sporting a 3.73 ERA and displaying a power fastball and solid changeup. While Gould will likely become a stalwart in relief, it may take some time before the righty is available in his full capacity.

"Devin had an injury-plagued preseason and fall," noted Mau. "He's just getting back from a back injury so we are still easing him along, but he looked pretty good this past week. We're expecting him to work his way into some sort of role, but it's going to take some time building him up."

Another late game arm in the Lancers' arsenal is Ryan Jones. Jones is a sidewinding sophomore who flashed promise in limited action as a freshman. He made nine appearances, all in relief, tallying 14.1 innings, a 3.14 ERA and picking up one win.

"Jones is a low-slotted, sidearm guy who can get some ground balls," said Mau. "He's a strike-throwing machine and an absolute competitor who wants to be in those late-game situations."

Perhaps a bit of a pleasant surprise is Luke Simpson, who the Lancers aim to use in the dwindling innings after seeing limited action a season ago. A sophomore, Simpson has progressed nicely over the offseason after making just eight appearances in 2014. The right-hander tossed 14.0 innings, going 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA. Now in his second season, the staff expects to see more out of the young reliever.

"Luke has turned it around and developed after a bit of a down year as a freshman," praised Mau. "He's got a live arm and just needs a little more experience.  He's learning to pitch and has tightened up a new breaking ball and we're expecting him to help Mitch [Kuebbing] out at the back end of ballgames."

One of the most experienced arms in the bullpen belongs to junior Allen Ellis, who will once again be called upon early. Last season, Ellis made 15 appearances, nine of which were starts, and compiled a 4.84 ERA. Ellis has been well versed on the mound, bouncing between a spot-starting role to long relief and eventually settling as a midweek regular.

Ellis will once again be an option for midweek action, although freshmen Michael Catlin and Josh Covey are the most likely options for early midweek starts as the Lancers look to build depth in the bullpen.  With the youth movement being widespread in the Longwood pen, several others will see their opportunity to become impact relievers.

"It is going to be a bit of a bullpen by committee approach," stated Mau. "Until we get some experience under our belt and see who can do it, we're just going to have to shuffle guys around."