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2008 UNA BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW

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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.

  

   

       

 

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