Former JMU skipper, Kevin Anderson, new coach at SU

I was told that Shenandoah University Baseball has 7-9 kids coming back to the area to play baseball at mid-term.

Look for SU baseball to make some serious noise this spring.



SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY BASEBALL

SU is serious about making their athletic programs standout, just take a look at their football program, they finished as CO-CHAMPS of the USA-SOUTH after it's 4th year of starting football.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Last year Shenandoah University split a double-header with rival Christopher Newport when the Captains were ranked ninth in the nation. This year the Hornets did even better. Shenandoah swept national No. 3 CNU on the road Saturday afternoon by final counts of 8-4 and 14-9.

The pair of victories should serve notice to the rest of the USA South that the Hornets (16-13 overall, 5-9 USA South) are not going to allow themselves to be taken lightly, as they proved to the Captains (13-9, 8-6) in convincing fashion.

Senior Josh Bosley (Oakland, Md./Garrett CC) provided the big blast in the frame with a two-out grand slam home run. The Captains had walked the two batters in front of Bosley, one of them intentionally, in an attempt to get out of danger but the senior made them pay with his third home run in his last two games.

Bosley hit two HR, including the walkoff winner, on Wednesday against Villa Julie.

Sophomore Chris Hickerson (Nokesville, Va./Brentsville) improved to 3-0 on the year with the complete game victory. Hickerson gave up four runs on four hits and six walks but struck out four to continue his strong showing since coming back from a pre-season injury.

Shenandoah seized an early lead in the late game when Adam Kuchemba (Plains, Penn./Coughlin) delivered the biggest blow - a two-out, two-RBI single into left field - of a six-run second inning that put the visitors out in front, 7-0.

CNU would battle back with five runs in the bottom of the third and another four runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Hornets - sitting atop an 11-9 lead - would put the game out of reach when Bosley hit an RBI double in the top of the eighth and was followed immediately by a two run homer from Mike Arvizo (Palmdale, Calif./Little Rock AVC), giving SU a five-run advantage.

Complete box scores and play by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/bb/2004/teamstat.htm

These teams will meet again tomorrow at 1:00 for the final matchup

Arvizo’s Homer Lifts SU to Win
From Star Staff Reports

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Mike Arvizo’s two-run homer in the eighth inning helped Shenandoah win two out of three games in a USA South Conference weekend series with Methodist Sunday.

Arvizo drove in three runs in Shenandoah’s 4-3 victory over Methodist on Sunday afternoon.

With the victory, the Hornets notched their 20th victory of the season. Shenandoah (20-15 overall, 7-11 USA South) had 10 hits in the Sunday’s victory.

David Jenkins and Nick Sborz both went 2 for 4 and scored a run and Steve Todd went 2 for 3 for the Hornets.

Keith Fritz pitched eight strong innings to get the victory. Fritz (6-2) scattered eight hits, allowed three runs and struck out four. Jeremy Mason worked the final inning to pick up his first save.

The Hornets split with Methodist in Saturday’s doubleheader.

Shenandoah lost the opener with Methodist 6-3, but rallied with four runs in the eighth inning for a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.

Adam Kuchemba (2 for 4 with three RBIs) and Todd (2 for 4 with an RBI) knocked in three of the Hornets’ four runs with back-to-back doubles in the eighth.

Josh Bosley (1-0) got the victory for SU, pitching 31/3 innings of scoreless relief. The two victories were the Hornets’ first wins in Fayetteville since 2000.

Shenandoah plays at Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday at 3:30.

BTW, Methodist won the USA-South Conference Tourney.

Shenanodah Baseball Wins Finale 04/23/04

WINCHESTER, Va. - Shenandoah University completed its second winningest baseball season ever Friday afternoon with a 8-7 victory over Southern Virginia.

Shenandoah (23-20) scored one run in the first, seven in the second and then was forced to hold on through a 90 minute rain delay and a six-run Southern Virginia rally.

Up 8-1 heading into the top of the sixth, the game was delayed by 90 minutes when a thunderstorm blew through the area. The SU players quickly got in the infield tarp on the field as it began to rain, and when the rain stopped an hour later the decision was made to continue.

The Knights (14-17) then rallied with four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth before relievers JR Creamer (Lovettsville, Va./Loudoun Valley) and Chris Hickerson (Bristow, Va./Nokesville) shut SVA down. Creamer pitched out of a two men on, one out jam in the seventh while Hickerson pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the year.

The relievers performance made a winner of sophomore Keith Fritz (Urbana, Md./Frederick CC). Fritz improved to 8-3 on the season after giving up three runs on eight hits two walks in six plus innings of work. He also struck out three.

The eight wins this season places Fritz second on the single season list at Shenandoah, as does 3.98 ERA. Chris Kees '01 had 11 wins in 2000, the same year Jake Fiedler posted a 2.98 ERA.

Offensively, SU won the contest with the seven run second. The big blow in the frame came off the bat of catcher Mike Arvizo (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley), who plated the Hornets final four runs of the season with a grand slam home run. Arvizo, who drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to left, finishes the season with a team high eight home runs and 44 RBI.

This is also the second best season at SU since the program was revived in 1988. The 2000 team was 31-11, and the 23 wins this season passes the 1998 team for second best all-time.

A complete box score and play by play for this game can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/bb/2004/042304.htm