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General Info 2012 Golden Eagles Coaching Staff 2011 Season in Review Tradition of Excellence Players in the Pros
corded just one error in the field. His .410 onbase percentage ranked near the top of the team last season as he tallied 61 hits and 30 walks. Five other players could see some time in the outfield this season includTech’s 2012 Freshman Class (front row, left to right): Joring returnees Midan Hopkins, Seth Lucio, Dylan Bosheers, Aaron Whitten. chael Morris and (back row, left to right): David Allen, Albert Del Gaicco, sophomore TeBobby Roach, Tanner Williams, David Hess. vis Sherfield and three newcomers season is the switch in the OVC schedincluding David Allen and Hess, and ule format. For a quarter of a century, junior transfer James Abraham. a three-game OVC series featured a Morris hit .288 in 29 games last doubleheader one day and a single season, which included a home run game the next. Now a three-game and a double. series will take place over a three-day Abraham and Sherfield are the stretch, with all three games schedprototypical scrappy Golden Eagle uled for nine innings. outfielders who are not afraid to get After opening with four games in dirty. Michael Morris will also com- Texas and a road game at East Tenpete for playing time in the outfield as nessee (Feb. 22), the Golden Eagles well. will host a remarkable stretch with 13 of the next 15 games at home in OUTFIELD SCHEDULE the Averitt Express Baseball ComWith two of Tech’s mainstays from the The 2012 schedule should prove plex, including four non-conference outfield last season departing, Tech interesting as the Golden Eagles will three-game sets. The home schedule fans can expect to see some new fac- host 30 games at home and take on begins Feb. 24-26 with a visit from Illies roam around the outfield, but there some of the best teams the NCAA has nois State, one of those teams receivwill be one familiar face in junior Aus- to offer. ing votes. Tech will also host Dayton tin Wulf. Nine of Tech’s 2012 opponents are (March 2-4), Evansville (March 9-11) Last season, Wulf served as Tech’s either ranked in the preseason poll and Central Michigan (March 16-18). left fielder and leadoff hitter as he or are listed among teams receiving Also in the midst of that stretch is a recorded a .284 batting average and votes for the poll. The poll includes single home game with Lipscomb. scored 41 runs. In 55 starts, Wulf re- Vanderbilt (ranked 23rd), Clemson TTU’s non-conference schedule (25th) and Mis- will also have a little regional flair to souri State (31st). it as it takes on several different oppoThe opponents nents in and around Tennessee. who have re- Middle Tennessee, Lipscomb and ceived enough Belmont are each slated for a pair attention to be of games against the Golden Eagles earning votes in- this season, in addition to four single clude Texas Tech, games at Vanderbilt (March 27), East Illinois State, Ken- Tennessee State (Feb. 22), Tennessee tucky, Tennessee, (March 13) and Bragga’s alma mater, Central Michigan Kentucky (March 6). and Austin Peay. The OVC Tournament, which will One of the be held in Pringles Park in Jackson, biggest changes Tenn., is scheduled for May 23-27 for Tech’s 2012 Sophomore Class: (front row, left to right): Will Thomas, Justin Tech baseball fans the top six teams in the OVC standAlexander, Tevis Sherfield, Garrett Baugh (second row, left to right): Andy will notice with ings. this upcoming Williams, Tyler Wilson, Byron Skinner, Zach Stephens, Tristan Archer.
2012 Opponents
last season as he tied for the teamlead in home runs with 10, while driving in a team-high 49 RBI. A member of the OVC all-Freshman Team, Stephens began his career at Tech with hits in his first 10 games, and put together 18 multi-hit games throughout the season. Stephens was also named Freshman All-American. Hayes made 53 starts at shortstop last season, where he hit .297, which included one home run and a clubhigh four triples. On the base paths, Hayes posted three steals in as many attempts. He remained equally as effective in the field as he posted 70 putouts and a team-leading 140 assists. Guyear split time at second base and third base in 2011. Guyear put together a nine-game hitting streak last season as he drove in 15 runs and scored 19. Newcomers Dylan Bosheers and Lucio will also see some time in the infield and could become regular contributors before the season is done. Albert DelGaicco could also see playing time and provide some solid power from the left side of the plate.
Universitry Section
2012 season outlook