kYLE bELLOWS
san Jose State Spartans |
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Last year San Jose State outfielder Kyle
Bellows burst onto the college scene earning a hit in each
of his first five games for the Spartans and compiled a .415
batting average with a pair of homeruns and 13 RBI through
the first 14 games of the season. He finished his freshman
season with an impressive .343 batting average, a team leading
81 hits, twenty extra base hits (14 doubles and six homeruns)
and 47 RBI. Even more impressively, Bellows amassed those
numbers without missing a single game (he started all 60 SJSU
contests) while playing the majority of the time at the demanding
shortstop position. As a reward for his dazzling debut Bellows
deservedly amassed a glut of postseason accolades including
being named to the All-Western Athletic Conference second-team,
a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and a spot on the
All-Ping! Freshman Team.  Additionally
Bellows earned a spot on the WAC All-Tournament Team after
batting .400 with a pair of homeruns as the Spartans came
within a game of reaching the WAC championship and finished
at 34-26 overall.
Despite his instant and outstanding success
his first year, the San Jose native Bellows wasn’t highly
recruited out of high school. He was a two-time, first-team
all-league selection from Santa Teresa High School and helped
the Saints match their best ever finish in Central Coast Section
playoff history, but found his options limited when choosing
a college. SJSU Head Coach Sam Piraro was the only coach with
enough foresight to recognize his potential and gave Bellows
an immediate chance to play. Thus, Bellow’s decision
to attend San Jose State University, just 10 miles from his
home, was an easy one.
Undeterred by the lack of attention, Bellows
focused on playing and elevating his game and made the most
of the opportunity at hand. Although he excelled at shortstop
and as a closer in high school, Bellows was able to take advantage
of an opening at first base and earned himself the cleanup
spot in the opening day starting lineup. However it soon became
evident that Bellow’s strong arm and glove were better
served on the other side of the infield and he moved to shortstop
about a third of the way into the season. While the change
solidified the left side of the infield, the extra daily strain
on his arm from throwing across the diamond virtually eliminated
the chance that Bellows would find himself on the mound as
a pitcher, a possibility that had been bantered around before
the season started.
After the 2007 regular season Bellows continued
to impress in summer ball, leading the Holyoke Giants of the
New England Collegiate Baseball League to a first place 26-16
record. Bellows batted a team leading .341 (which placed him
in the top ten of the league). He also led the Giants in doubles
(12), homeruns (3), slugging percentage (.511) and on base
percentage (.441) to earn All-NECBL first-team recognition.
Bellows also won the NECBL Home Run Derby, besting seven other
sluggers. In spite of this, Bellows doesn’t plan on
swinging for the fences and breaking any homerun records any
time soon. “It’s easy hitting at 60 mph.”
Bellows acknowledged when asked about his homerun title. Post
season Bellows was named the number two prospect in the NECBL
(RHP Steve Strasburg of San Diego State was first), recognized
as being a superior athlete with “tremendous instincts
and baseball savvy” as well as having a “plus
arm in terms of strength and accuracy”.
Another honor for Bellows arrived in December,
when he was named to the Wallace Watch List, as one of only
nine WAC players to be nominated to the award given to the
nation’s top collegiate baseball player as determined
by the College Baseball Foundation.
The 2008 Spartans have a number of new players
projected to take the field to open the season, looking to
improve on a season in which they finished a game away from
the WAC Tournament Championship and 11-13 in the WAC. Bellows
will move to third base to make room for smooth fielding junior
transfer Tyler Heil who helped the College of San Mateo Bulldogs
win back to back Coast North Conference championships. His
defensive, speed and bat prowess help stabilize the SJSU infield
and allow Bellows to move to third where he is projected to
play at the next level.
The entire Spartan outfield will be new,
but promising with the addition of junior college transfers
Alex Sofranac (Diablo Valley College), Michael Drake (Cosumnes
River College) and Michael Maehl (Butte College) projected
as the starters from left to right. Sofranac was named to
the Northern California All-American Team after batting .395
with 17 doubles, three home runs and 30 RBI for the DVC Vikings.
True freshman Bryson Rahier, a 42nd-round choice of the Atlanta
Braves in last year’s amateur draft, and junior transfer
Anthony Aguilera (Fullerton College) and are competing for
the catching position. Senior Sonny Garza is the front-runner
to start at first base and junior John Shaffer, sophomore
Karson Klauer and true freshman Craig Hertler are all challenging
for second base.
Returners Scott Sobczak and Spence Snodgrass
will once again be starters for the Spartans. Sobczak led
San Jose State in wins, ERA and complete games last season,
going 6-2 with a 3.86 ERA with two complete games. He made
20 appearances on the mound last season with eight starts.
Transfer left-handers David Berner (West Valley College) and
sophomore Max Peterson (San Diego Mesa College) are projected
to fill out the rest of the four-man rotation. Berner, like
Sofranac, was also a junior college Northern California All-American
Team selection. Another JUCO transfer, junior Anthony Vega
(Los Medanos College) could be the closer when the season
starts.
Bellows and the Spartans take to the competitive
field the first time in 2008 on February 22nd, hosting Utah
at Municipal Stadium for a four game series.
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