With 16
returning lettermen, including seven
returning starters, the University of North
Alabama baseball team hopes to return to a
position of prominence in the Gulf South
Conference race and the NCAA Division II in
2008.
The Lions went
32-21-1 in 2007, and while it marked the
school's 24th consecutive winning season, it
was also the first time in Mike Lane's 24
seasons at UNA that his teams had lost as
many as 20 games in back-to-back seasons.
Inconsistency on the mound, which resulted
in a uncharacteristic 5.27 earned run
average, and 96 errors in the field cost the
Lions numerous potential victories in the
final innings.
In 2008 the
Lions look to have an improved and more
consistent infield, and the pitching staff
has been bolstered with the addition of nine
newcomers. Having taken 10 of his previous
24 teams at UNA to the NCAA Tournament, Lane
hopes the combination of improved pitching
and defense will be the key to returning the
Lions program to the top of the GSC. The
Lions last NCAA trip was in 1999 when UNA
went all the way to the Division II World
Series, and the eight years since that trip
is the longest period in Lane's tenure at
the school that the Lions have gone without
a post-season NCAA trip.
Lane enters his
Silver Anniversary season at UNA with a
remarkable record of 879-377-12 which
includes 24 straight winning seasons, an
average of more than 36 wins per season,
five GSC championships and 10 NCAA
Tournaments. Those numbers are even more
remarkable when you consider that the UNA
baseball program won fewer than 400 games
and had just 14 winning seasons in the 35
years prior to Lane's arrival.
With the number
of returnees and starters back, and the
influx of new talent, Lane feels UNA should
be a team to watch in 2008.
As
a team last season, UNA hit .320 last
season and averaged 6.7 runs per game. That
offensive production was led by third
baseman Daniel Johnson (6-1, 210, JR)
of Decatur, Ala., who led the team with a
.394 batting average. After earning a
starting spot as a freshman, Johnson was not
enrolled at UNA in 2006 but returned in 2007
to score 43 runs and drive in 39. Shortstop
Matt Horton (5-8, 165, SR) of Morris, Ala.,
a first-team All-GSC selection, finished
third on the team with a .358 average and he
scored 38 runs and drove in 38. First
baseman Josh Graham (6-4, 245, SR) of
Pontotoc, Miss., overcame a four-for-41
start to the season to lead the team in home
runs (nine) and runs batted in (42). Senior
Caleb Kidd (5-10, 175) of Pontotoc, Miss.,
is also back after starting 17 games at
second base and another 18 as the designated
hitter. He hit .308 last season with 31 runs
scored and 20 RBI. He has made the move to
the outfield this season.
The other
infield returnees are back-up first baseman
Jake Urda (6-1, 150, SO) of Binghampton,
N.Y., and back-up second base,am Jackson
Agee (5-7, 170, JR) of Tuscumbia, Ala. Urda
hit .105 in limited duty as a freshman and
Agee hit .188 with one scored and three RBI.
Senior Nick
Newberry (6-1, 180, SR) of Fort Worth,
Texas, started behind the plate for much of
last season before being called on to fill
the role as closer on the Lion pitching
staff. He hit .257 with 14 runs scored and
17 runs batted in. Andrew Knerr (6-1, 190,
JR) of Florence, Ala., started 20 games
behind the plate and hit .329 with 15 runs
scored and 24 runs batted in. Newberry and
Knerr give the Lions a seasoned 1-2 punch
behind the plate.
At first base,
Graham is expected to start with Urda in a
back-up role. At second base, Matt Horton is
the front-runner and will battle with
Jackson Agee for the starting job. At
shortstop, newcomers Cole Mitchell (6-1,
165, JR) of Lester, Ala., and Kyle Jones
(6-1, 175, JR) of Independence, Mo., will
fight for playing time and they could also
see time at third base. Entering the season
the battle for the starting job at third is
between Johnson and transfer Jeffery Ritter
(6-0, 190, JR) of Detroit, Mich.
In
the outfield, UNA returns starters in
Ross Parker and Trey Pollard, as well as
Jarrett Shepherd. Parker (5-11, 175, SO), a
native of Hatton, Ala., hit 338 last season
with 52 hits, 39 runs scored and 26 runs
batted in. Pollard (6-0, 195, JR), a Mobile,
Ala., native, was a second-team All-GSC pick
last season as he hit .333 with 45 hits, 32
runs scored and 29 runs batted in. He was
also named Academic All-GSC. A Northport,
Ala., native, Shepherd (5-11, 190, SR) hit
.265 with 16 runs scored and 14 runs batted
in.
There are
numerous contenders for starting roles in
the outfield this Spring and no positions
are set. Parker and Pollard are batting in
left and Shepherd is fighting for a starting
spot in centerfield with newcomer Collin
Murphy (5-8, 165, JR) of Tucson, Ariz. In
right it is a three-way contest between
returnee Caleb Kidd (5-10, 175, SR) of
Pontotoc, Miss., who played primarily in the
infield last season, and newcomers Qualon
Millender (5-9, 165, JR) of Talladega, Ala.,
and Ryan Miller (6-0, 195, JR) Akerman,
Miss.
On the mound,
All-GSC performer Jeff Schafer (6-1,
205, SR) of Hamilton, Miss., will lead the
way after going 8-4 with a 3.94 earned run
average last season. Junior Justin Walters
(5-11, 165) of Huntsville is returning after
surgery and his progress will be evaluated.
He went 6-5 last season and was third on the
team with 71.2 innings pitched.
The Lions other
returning pitchers are sophomores Justin
Fleming (6-3, 195) of Muscle Shoals and
Jordan West (5-7, 150, SO) of of Florence.
The
addition of nine new pitchers to the UNA
squad will mean that Lane will need to spend
a portion of the early season evaluating his
staff in game situations to determine who
will move to the front for the GSC portion
of the schedule. Juniors Branden Tepe (6-1,
180) of Mishawka, Ind., Brennen Auerbach
(6-1, 185) of Olathe, Kan., Matt
Vandenheuvel (5-11, 175) of Chandler, Ariz.,
and Miller look to be contenders after their
performances in the Fall. Other transfers
like Randall Shrouder (6-3, 230, JR) of
Dallas, Texas, Todd Bryan (5-11, 175, JR),
of Bryant, Ariz., and Mason Terry (6-3, 245,
JR) of Decatur, Ala., and freshmen Trey
Mitchell (6-3, 170) and Chad Boughner (6-1,
155) of Florence, Ala., will also have a
chance to compete for time on the mound.
The Lions open
their 2008 season at home on February 9 when
UNA takes on Arkansas-Monticello in a
three-game series. That series is part of a
37-game home schedule for the Lions at
University Field, where UNA has won more
than 80 percent of its games in 24 seasons
under Lane. The marquee game of that home
schedule is on March 11 when the Lions will
host the University of Alabama in a single
game at 6 p.m.
UNA will play
its 2008 home games at a revamped University
Field that has seen a dramatic upgrade since
the end of 2007. Through numerous
fund-raising efforts and the donations of
Lion supporters, UNA was able to add new
elevated grand-stand bleachers, new
restrooms, a ticket booth and new stadium
entrance and a new scoreboard.
UNA will have
home Gulf South Conference series against
West Georgia, Valdosta State and
Alabama-Huntsville and will face West
Florida, Montevallo and West Alabama on the
road. In addition to the Lions' 18
designated GSC games, UNA will also play 19
games GSC West Division schools as
non-conference contests. Other
non-conference opponents include Bellarmine,
Kentucky Wesleyan, Missouri Western, Bethel,
Faulkner, Martin Methodist, Catawba, Union
and Lambuth.
