Badger News

The 2010 edition of the Spring Hill College baseball team is one of the most experienced squads that Head Coach Frank Sims has put together in many years.  Of the eight starting position players for the Badgers, four are seniors, two are juniors and two are sophomores who played major roles for the 2009 SHC team.

The experience begins in the outfield where seniors Andy McCall of St. Louis, Mo., in left, Justin Harrison from Mobile's W.P Davidson High in center, and Ryan Hall of Fort Myer, Fla., in right return with a list of impressive credentials and a total of 290 career starts.  Hall, a 2008 All-Conference selection and Gold Glove winner, will start in right field for his fourth season where he will aim to break Tim Hilpert's (1995-98) SHC career record for total hits and games played.

2009 GCAC Gold Glove winner Harrison has played next to Hall for the past two seasons in centerfield and has already set the SHC career record for hit-by-pitches and twice established the Badger single-season mark for that dubious honor.  McCall, the "newcomer" to the group joined the trio last season and turned in a .979 fielding performance and hit for a .314 average.

Senior outfielder Blake Nelson also of Davidson High saw starting action in various positions during 2009 earning Sims' moniker of "Mr. Utility."  "Nelson is a nice weapon for any coach to have," says Sims.  "We can plug him in just about anywhere on the field and know he's going to do the job and do it well."

Sophomore Wayne Huell of Warrensburg, Mo., and junior Kendell Garvin from Murphy High should see significant playing time behind the senior starters as they prepare to take the reins in 2011.  Freshman Matt Fuentes of Lawrenceville, Ga., will called upon when needed and is listed as a probable courtesy runner for the catchers along with fellow freshmen Jeff Johnston of Mobile Christian School and Brooks Bobinger of Baker High.  Sophomore Nick Leslie of Murphy High along with freshmen Ben Nicastri from Miami, Fla., and Alex Bumb from St. Louis will look to break into the line-up this year, too.

The Badger infield will also be familiar to Spring Hill fans as only one new face will make an appearance in the starting line-up.  Junior Bobby Voss of St. Louis joins the ensemble at third base after a successful 2-year run at SLCC-Forest Park.  The addition of Voss moves junior Brad Holstein of New Orleans, La., back to his natural position at first base after earning All-GCAC honors following his move to third midway through 2009.  Holstein has added some much needed power hitting to the SHC line-up leading the team in homeruns (12) and RBI (64) last season.

Sophomore shortstop Ryan Cummings of McGill-Toolen Catholic is well healed from an arm injury he suffered in 2008 and started all 53 games for the Badgers in 2009.  Cummings' consistency at short resulted to 28 double plays while his offensive talents drove in 39 runs with a .315 average.  Second base will be covered by senior Pat O'Malley of Ormond Beach, Fla., who started 20 games at second in 2009 before injuries limited his playing time. 

Junior infielder Lucas Dobson also from Murphy High is a strong candidate to assume the designated hitter duties this year following a strong fall semester's effort at the plate.  Birmingham, Ala., native sophomore Kiefer Gingles should also return to the SHC line-up as he recovers from a nagging arm issue following a strong premier performance in 2009.  Sophomore John Hollingsworth of Spanish Fort, Ala., will move to first base when Holstein's not on the sack while freshmen infielders Brian Traina from Brandon, Fla., Zach Binch of Faith Academy, and Lawrence Trunk of New Orleans might be redshirted in preparation for their future careers on the Badger diamond.

Behind the plate, sophomore Fred Rossi takes over, but his youth belies his experience.  As a freshman, Rossi drew 16 starts including several in conference play.  Backing up Rossi will be Holstein along with freshmen Jeffrey Fennell from Miami, Fla., Joe Sykes of Duluth, Ga., and Robert Boudreaux of Lafitte, La.

Sims feels confident in his defense and thinks his offense will be solidly consistent in the coming year, but admits that the key to this season will be his pitching staff.  "We're not quite as deep with starting pitching this year due to some lingering injuries," he says.  "But I think our middle relief and closing pitching should be much better than the last two years.  The Badger starting rotation of freshman David Dupuy from McGill-Toolen Catholic, sophomore Josh Essington from Ocean Springs, Miss., and junior Joe Carter from Theodore, Ala., are not as experienced as Sims would like, but they had impressive performances during the fall workouts.

Junior leftie Joe Baumgartner from St. Charles, Mo., will also look to break into the starting rotation later this season as he recovers from shoulder stiffness.

Coming in from the bullpen in relief will be a strong cast of characters led by seniors Phillip Stewart from Grand Bay, Ala., Nick Clapper of McGill-Toolen, and Mike Scanio from Tampa, Fla.  Junior Tony Mattera of St. Louis will see time at middle relief as will sophomores Stephen Herrington from Mary G. Montgomery and William Tillman of Theodore.

Freshman James Maughn of Atlanta, Ga., caught Sims' eye during the off season while freshman Jeff Keenum of Biloxi, Miss., is listed as one of Sims' top options for late relief along with the possibility that Cummings might move to the mound as a closer if necessary.  Freshmen hurlers Nic Roorda of Bellaire, Texas, Devin Stewart from Destrehan, La., and Mason Hammond of Birmingham might pitch a few midweek innings this season, but the coaching staff may also decided to save them for later years through the redshirt process.

Overall, Sims is eager to get the 2010 season underway.  "This is a team led by a special senior class that's been together for a long time and been through a lot together," he says.  "Defense is obviously our strength this year.  Our hitting and run production should be consistent as long as we focus on getting on base, moving runners over and then getting the timely hit.  We are a "small ball" team right now and it looks like our players are finally comfortable in that style.  We have more power now than in the past few years, but we are just not a power hitting club yet. If we can get our pitching staff healthy and keep them healthy, we will be okay this year and win some ball games."

Spring Hill College opens the 2010 season at home on historic Stan Galle Field with a conference doubleheader against the NAIA Preseason No. 18 LSU-Shreveport Pilots at 1 p.m. Saturday followed with a single game on Sunday between the same two teams at 1 p.m.