SPORTS UPON FURTHER REVIEW
College baseball teams swing for the fences in 2018 BY J. MARK BRYANT/SPORTS WRITER/SPORTS@LAGNIAPPEMOBILE.COM/TWITTER @GOULAGUY
W
hen the history of collegiate sports in Mobile County is discussed, the sport of baseball takes center stage. In fact, Spring Hill College has seen action at its Stan Galle Field since 1889. However, this column deals with the present state of affairs. It looks like it will be another entertaining year for our student-athletes.
of the Year as well as preseason all-SBC by the league’s coaches. Joining him on the all-conference team were outfielder Brendan Donovan, shortstop Drew LaBounty and first baseman Wells Davis.
Spring Hill College
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While the season has just started, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has already named outfielder University of South Alabama Grayson Williams as its first Player of the Week. The The preseason honors are pouring in for the Jaguars. freshman out of Mobile Christian School hit .455 in the USA will begin the campaign ranked in numerous prethree-game series with five hits that included two doubles, season polls: Collegiate Baseball (No. 17), D1Baseball one home run and one RBI while recording seven putouts (No. 20), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associain right field. tion (No. 22), USA Today/Coaches (No. 23) and Baseball Prior to the first game, the SIAC placed Badgers catcher America (No. 24). Brennan Fontenot and relief pitcher Michael Romano on South is also picked to win the Sun Belt Conference its preseason squad. Fontenot hit for a .359 average in 45 East Division, receiving all 12 first-place votes as the starts with 13 doubles, a triple and eight home runs for 44 favorite to win the division. Louisiana received nine firstRBI and a .609 slugging percentage. Romano built a 3.52 place votes and was picked to win the West Division. ERA over 46.0 innings pitched in 22 appearances in 2017. “When you have a lot of returners who have produced He earned a 5-3 record with four saves in his freshman in their first two years, there’s high expectations,” said campaign while striking out 38 opposing batters. USA head coach Mark Calvi, the SHC head baseball coach Frank 2017 Alabama Baseball Coaches Sims enters the final year of the Association Large College Division Badgers’ Provisional Membership in I Coach of the Year. “But preseason transition to NCAA Division II status polls, rankings and picks as to where with a different style of team from you’re going to finish four or five the previous three seasons. THE JAGUARS RETURN EIGHT months in advance mean nothing to“In recent years, we’ve relied day, and have never meant anything more on the power and productivity POSITION STARTERS FROM to me, to be quite honest. But it says of our offense,” he said. “But this LAST YEAR’S 40-21 SQUAD, that people have noticed their sucyear we are shaping up to be more of WHICH FINISHED 22-8 IN cess and respect who our guys have a pitching and defensive club. We’ll become as baseball players and as a still score runs, but we’ll focus more LEAGUE PLAY AND MISSED program.” on singles and doubles than home OUT ON THE PROGRAM’S The Jaguars return eight position runs. We’ll have to be a bit craftier in THIRD STRAIGHT SBC CHAMstarters from last year’s 40-21 squad, how we approach the game.” PIONSHIP BY A HALF-GAME. which finished 22-8 in league play and missed out on the program’s University of Mobile third straight SBC championship by Head coach Mike Jacobs has a a half-game. South Alabama won the team full of veterans as they chase 2017 SBC Tournament and competed the Southern States Athletic Conferin the NCAA Regionals. ence crown. Jacobs, for whom the Rams’ home field is The most celebrated veteran is outfielder Travis named, is heading into his 29th season in that position at Swaggerty. He has been named preseason first-team AllUM. America by NCBWA, Baseball America, D1Baseball and “We have a lot of seniors — 12, I believe,” Jacobs said. Perfect Game/Rawlings, and was a third-team preseason “We recruit mostly junior college kids; that’s probably 85 All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball. He led the percent of our roster … and what’s happened is we’ve had conference in on-base percentage (.484), RBI (60) and probably two or three freshmen that just fell into this group runs scored (55), ranked second in batting average (.363) of juniors and then some junior college kids that from and total bases (125), and fourth in stolen bases (19). academic standing or an injury standpoint have fallen into Swaggerty was selected as the SBC Preseason Player this group.”
IN 2017, USA OUTFIELDER TRAVIS SWAGGERTY LED THE CONFERENCE IN ON-BASE PERCENTAGE, RBI AND RUNS SCORED. HE WAS RANKED SECOND The Rams were picked to finish fourth in the SSAC standings in the league’s annual preseason poll. Among returners is Cody Cox, last season’s leader in batting average. Also back are second baseman Norberto Torres (SSAC Gold Glove winner) and catcher Cody Evans, a senior from Semmes who caught 16 runners stealing last year. The Rams will lean on outfielders Corey Wheaton, who has the most RBIs of any returner, and senior Joseph Barnett of Saraland, who had two home runs and five triples last season. On the mound, Braxton Rhodes and Luke Hastings are back.
Bishop State Community College
Bishop State will have a new look as upgrades have been made to the athletic facilities on the Southwest Campus. A new head coach James Hattenstein — a BSCC alumni — takes over a program that finished the season with a 16-38 record and 7-25 in the Alabama Community College Conference. “I feel that in order for me as the new head coach to improve this program, we need to sign the top local athletes,” Hattenstein said. “We are Mobile’s community college and we welcome people to come see what we have to offer.” The 2018 team returns starting pitchers Bradley Jarvis (69 IP, 49 K, 5.71 ERA) and Thomas Sorrentino (33 IP, 22K, 6.48 ERA) along with relievers Trevor Davis (25 IP, 28K, 6.84 ERA, Robertsdale) and Tyler Baker (9 IP, Murphy). Garrett Feemster, a 6-foot-9 pitcher from Alma Bryant, is back after a medical redshirt. As a first baseman, Sorrentino hit .321 with one home run. Outfielder Walker Thompson of Theodore batted .272, while catcher/outfielder Christian Poche (.257 BA, 105 PA, Baker) split time with Peyton Whitehead (.255 BA, 106 PA) behind the plate. Poche will be expected to play outfield in 2018. Outfielder Dalton Reed (.250, 8 PA, 8G, Leroy High) is another veteran.