PITCHING, DEPTH HAS PIONEERS OPTIMISTIC IN 2005
"Tusculum Opens Season This Weekend in Florida"
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Strong pitching, speed and defense will be the cornerstone of the Tusculum College baseball team in 2005. The Pioneers open the season this weekend with a four-game South Florida trip beginning with Friday's opener at Lynn University.
Eighth-year skipper Doug Jones returns the bulk of last year's pitching staff that went 33-24 and finished second in the South Atlantic Conference. Jones, the most successful baseball coach in school history, has guided the Pioneers to four straight winning seasons and is seven victories shy of 200 career wins.
With the addition of some talented newcomers, Tusculum's hurlers may be the strength of this year's club, which is ranked No. 37 in NCAA Division II.
The Pioneers also return most of the top defensive team in the South Atlantic Conference as well as several players that combined for the best batting average in the league (.312).
Tusculum will also be playing its first full season in the multi-million dollar 2,500-seat Pioneer Park, which opened to rave reviews last summer with the return of professional baseball to Greeneville.
"This is the most exciting time in Tusculum Baseball history," added Jones. "It is such a privilege to play in our facility which has had a dramatic impact on our recruiting efforts."
The Pioneers bring back 25 lettermen, including seven players who were named to the 2005 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference Team, which gives Tusculum one of the deepest line-ups ever to hit the diamond in school history.
"This team has a quiet confidence and feels that good things are going to happen for them," added Jones. "Our team motto this season is "It's Not About Me", which emphasizes the team and not the individual. Our team looks to be focused on the task at hand and I'm looking forward to see what we can accomplish this season."
PITCHERS
Tusculum's returns 13 of the 16 pitchers that saw action a year ago, including All-SAC First Team right-hander Eric Butler. The 6-4 sophomore from Morristown, Tenn. was the ace of the TC staff posting a 7-5 record, including 5-2 in league games. Butler struck out a team-best 71 batters to go along with a 3.40 earned run average, including a shutout.
Sophomore Mat Galens, last season's SAC Freshman of the Year, is back hoping to follow the successful rookie campaign he enjoyed in 2004. Galens, a 6-1 native of Louisville, Ky., went 6-2 with a 4.99 ERA last season.
Knoxville, Tenn. senior Jeff Bryant has made great strides in the off-season as he enters his final collegiate campaign. The 6-5 right-hander posted a 2-0 record and a 3.60 ERA in his eight appearances last year. Bryant has gone 9-4 in his three previous TC seasons and his 5.45 career ERA is the eighth lowest in school history.
Junior Kenny Lewis will provide the most anticipated return of the Tusculum staff. Lewis, a 6-1 Scottsville, Va. left-hander, sat out last season recovering from arm surgery. Despite nagging arm woes in 2003, Lewis went 6-3 with a league-best 1.91 ERA while leading the Pioneers to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The 2005 Preseason All-SAC Second Team pick enters this year with a 12-4 record and a career 3.65 ERA, which is currently the second-best in school history.
Expected to make an immediate impact in the starting rotation is newcomer Brent Gabel. Gabel, a 6-2 right-hander from Conneautville, Pa., earned First Team All-Conference honors at Hiwassee Community College where he went 10-3 with a pair of saves and a 3.93 ERA. Gabel logged 104.1 innings while striking out 85. He boasted a 9-1 worksheet, including eight complete games in conference play while holding the opposition to hit .230 against him.
Right-hander Eric Johnson is also slated to see action in the starting rotation. The 6-1 junior college transfer from Des Plaines, Ill. was an All-Conference and All-Region standout at Oakton College. He accounted for an 8-1 record and led the nation with a 1.12 ERA.
Senior Chap Morris will be looking to regain the form he enjoyed in 2003 when he went 9-2 with a 5.45 ERA during the Pioneers' NCAA postseason run. Morris, a 6-4 Madison, Va. product went 3-10 last season in his 14 contests, including a shutout. His 13 career victories are the fifth most in school history entering this year.
Preseason All-SAC hurler Wes Hill is once again expected to anchor the bullpen as Tusculum's closer. The Stuarts Draft, Va. junior has tallied eight saves as a Pioneer, including six saves last season. The 6-2 right-hander went 4-0 with a 3.27 ERA last year with two of those wins coming at the SAC Tournament.
Knoxville, Tenn. southpaw Chase Christian will see his first action at the varsity level this season. Christian was a two-time All-District and All-Region honoree at Farragut High School and will be one of the go-to guys out of the pen for the Pioneers.
Steven Strassell, a sophomore from Harrison, Ohio led the team with a 2.82 ERA in 2004, including 1.93 ERA in conference outings. Strassell accounted for a 2-0 ledger as well as a pair of saves.
Left-hander Ben Swaggerty (Knoxville, Tenn.) made 10 appearances and seven starts as he went 0-1 on the season. He logged a 5.17 ERA, but improved as the season went along posting a 3.53 ERA in his last six outings.
Junior college transfer Stephen Winslow (Ashburn, Va.) will make his contributions in relief roles for the Pioneers. Winslow played the last two seasons at Allegany College in Maryland.
Crafty right-hander Adam Hall has seen action as reliever and a spot starter in his two previous seasons at Tusculum. Last year, the Gallatin, Tenn. junior tallied a 3.38 ERA in his 11 appearances on the mound, while going 1-0.
Senior Mario De La Rosa (Lubbock, Texas) made nine mound appearances last year in his first TC campaign.
Southpaw Ryan Pfleger (Mason, Ohio) will be making his TC varsity debut in 2005 after an All-Conference career at William Mason High School.
"We have quality depth on the mound, the most we've had in my eight years at TC," said Jones. "We have six quality starters we can go to plus a lot of depth in the bullpen."
INFIELDERS
The Tusculum infield returns three starters from last year's club including last season's leading hitter and Preseason All-Conference first baseman Adam Hicks. Hicks, a senior from Bristol, Tenn. hit .369 last year, which was eighth in the conference. He accounted for 14 doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI in 2004. Hicks is in pursuit of several school records this year, currently owning the second-best fielding percentage in school history at .992 and is also second in career put outs (783).
Senior Mike Calano (Suwanee, Ga.) will once again hold down the second base slot. The 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-America hit .288 in 2004 where he clubbed 10 doubles, two triples and 33 RBI. Calano enters this week's Florida swing riding a nine-game hitting streak that has seen the 2003 All-Conference and All-Region standout hit .416. He is fourth all-time in career assists (306) and sixth in home runs (14).
Preseason All-Conference First Team third baseman Skip Talarek (Great Falls, Va.) hit .308 on the season in 2004, including a team-best .357 in SAC games. Talarek recorded 10 doubles and six home runs while accounting for a .514 slugging percentage.
A newcomer will be patrolling at shortstop with the graduation of All-Conference star Robbie Bouman, who is playing in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' organization.
JUCO All-American Greg Stotser makes his Tusculum debut this year after hitting .404 with 80 hits, 22 doubles and five home runs last season at Chattahoochie Valley College. The Columbus, Ga. native also recorded 40 RBI and scored 51 runs while going 11-for-11 in stolen bases. Stotser led Chattahoochie Valley to a 41-19 record and finished three outs short of advancing to the JUCO World Series.
Junior Michael Axt (Woodstock, Ga.) will be in the hunt at second base as he saw action in five games in 2004, including a start.
Newcomer Tim Brown (Flint, Mich.) comes to Tusculum after two years of back-to-back JUCO World Series titles at Grand Rapids Community College. Brown, who could see action at second or third base, was a two-time NJCAA World Series All-Tournament team selection. He hit .345 while accounting for 61 hits, 36 RBI, two home runs and 19 stolen bases.
Junior Bobby Darling could see dual time at first and on the mound. The 6-6 product from Midlothian, Va., played in 13 games last season, including eight pinch-hit appearances where he hit .375
Also competing for playing time at first is 6-4 Lexington, Ky. product Dustin Morrow. Morrow was a two-time All-City and Kentucky East All-Star at Dunbar High School. Sophomore Mark Deans (Ashburn, Va.) will be vying for action at third base.
OUTFIELDERS
Junior Josh Wolff will be the lone returning starter back in the outfield. The Louisville, Ky. standout hit .291 as Tusculum's lead-off man in 2004. Wolff hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games going .403 during that stretch. He also established a TC single-season record stealing 19 of 19 bases, which was fifth in the SAC. Wolff also finished 50th in the nation in triples with five on the year.
Newcomers Tyler Mayfield and Kenny Reed join the Pioneers following successful JUCO campaigns at their respective schools.
Mayfield hit .328 and was perfect in his 10 stolen base attempts last year at Edmonds College. The Port Orchard, Wash. native hit over .315 in his two seasons there and was named to the Northwest Association of Community Colleges All-Star team.
Reed, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., earned NJCCAA All-American and All-TJCCAA Region VIII honors at Cleveland State Community College. In 2004, Reed hit .437 with 55 hits, 15 doubles, six home runs and 51 RBI, including a .706 slugging percentage and 19 stolen bases (21 attempts).
Senior Keith Jenkins will be competing in his first and only season at Tusculum. The Houston, Texas native earned All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team honors at NCAA Division I New Mexico State University in 2003. Jenkins hit .308 with the Aggies with 10 doubles and four home runs as NMSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Junior Steven Goad (Parkton, Md.) batted .239 last year with a pair of home runs, while junior Rob Redelman (Okeana, Ohio) hit .238 in his 24 outings for the Pioneers. Speedsters Curtis Tuggle (Pleasanton, Calif.) and Daniel West (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) could also see action in the TC outfield.
Returning to the Tusculum diamond after a two-year hiatus is two-time All-SAC wide receiver Matt Riggs. Riggs, a native of Dayton, Tenn. wrapped up his football player career at TC, holding the career, season and single-game record for touchdown receptions. Riggs last saw baseball action in 2002 as he clubbed a double in his only collegiate at-bat.
CATCHERS
Two-time All-Conference standout George Hanger brings the hottest bat into this season. Hanger enters the year riding an eight-game hitting streak where he is hitting .500 during that run. Hanger, a native of Stauton, Va., owns a .353 career batting average, which is tied for 10th in school history. He is also fourth all-time in career hits (172) and at-bats (487). Hanger finished third on the team hitting .330 last season and was third in the SAC in toughest to strike out fanning only 0.22 times per contest (39th in NCAA II).
Handling the bulk of Tusculum's catching duties is Atlanta, Ga. junior Adam Beacham. Beacham hit .240 last season, including .288 in conference outings. He recorded four doubles, a home run and 15 RBI in his 45 contests.
Senior Steve Sarchuk could also see time behind the dish as the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native hit .250 in his inaugural TC campaign.
Following Friday's opener at Lynn, Tusculum makes the short trip to Miami to face No. 29 Barry University Saturday afternoon. Later that night, the Pioneers will head Ft. Lauderdale to take on Nova Southeastern University for a 7 p.m. contest. TC wraps up the Florida road swing with Sunday's finale with Florida Tech at 11 a.m.
The Florida trip begins nine straight road games to open the season for Tusculum. The Pioneers open at home Feb. 19 when they host Concord University for a noon doubleheader.
Original Post