2012 South Preview
By Jim Dixon, D3sports.com
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Matt Shiemaker and CNU is our favorite to reach the
Championship round in 2012. |
Christopher Newport and Shenandoah both achieved a number one ranking during the 2011 season but neither were around in the final round. It was Salisbury with two wins on the final day of the South Regional that made the trip to Appleton, Wis. All three teams should be at the top of the regional rankings when playoff bids are awarded. The Piedmont Lions, with their first playoff appearance behind them, will also contend. Birmingham-Southern has dominated the SCAC East Division the last three years and will be eligible for the playoffs for the first time. The 2012 season will look much like 2011 with Birmingham-Southern, Christopher Newport, Piedmont, Shenandoah and Salisbury all fielding strong squads. Christopher Newport is our pick to represent the South region at the end of the year tournament.
New Faces
Paul Henry, Maryville: Henry was named Maryville's 24th head coach this summer. Henry served the college as an assistant coach and Maryville's sports information assistant during the 2010-2011 academic year before taking the helm of the baseball team. As a former NCAA Division III student-athlete himself, Henry will look to instill a coaching philosophy into his players to maximize their potential off the diamond as much as their skills on it.
Mike Scappa, York: York's new head coach will not look all that new as Scappa steps up to head baseball coach. Scappa has been a part of the York program for 17 years, including the last 13 years on the bench. As a player Scappa was a two-year captain for the Spartans, making two NCAA Tournament trips during his time wearing the Green and White.
Jason Stuhlmiller, Eastern Mennonite: Stuhlmiller was an assistant last season for the Royals and has been guiding the team since Mark Mace stepped down in July. Stuhlmiller began his collegiate playing days at D-II Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, NC. Stuhlmiller transferred to Eastern Mennonite and played his final two seasons at as a Royal in 2002-03. He is excited to work in the unique environment of his alma mater.
Bret Underwood, Wesley: Underwood will serve as the Wesley head coach on an interim basis starting the 2012 season. As an assistant coach, he has primarily worked with the hitters and infielders as well as coaching first base for the Wolverines. Since arriving at Wesley in 2006, the Wolverines made the conference playoffs each season, won the ECAC South Region title in 2010 and have enjoyed the winningest six-year run in school history (157-92-1, .630).
| Salisbury outfielder Bill
Root was the 2011 Rookie of the Year in the CAC. Salisbury athletics photo |
Capital Athletic Conference (CAC): Salisbury, with playoff appearances in each of the last five years, is the top dog in the CAC and is favored to make it six. With just two starters on offense (Brian Green, Devin Quaglietta) and three starting pitchers (Dustin Herbert, Nathan Young and Chris Greiner) lost to graduation, there is enough left to continue its dominance of the CAC. Key to the Sea Gulls' chances will be 2011 CAC rookie of the year Bill Root. Salisbury will achieve a program milestone in 2012. The program is 999-638-17 over the past 48 seasons.
Frostburg State earned the CAC automatic bid in 2011 but will have to replace its best pitcher in Greg Ross and hitter in Matt Greene. Ross, an 18th-round selection of the Atlanta Braves, was the CAC Player of the Year and the Mid-Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year. Also gone are pitchers Josh Davis and Britton Quayle who, with Ross, combined for 21 of Frostburg's 28 wins. Infielder Doug Anuszewski (.356, 4 HR) will be counted on to provide the spark for a team that is rebuilding for the future.
Mary Washington will miss pitchers Eric Rehbein and Parker Talbert but the Eagles return 10 position players and pitchers who played prominent roles in 2011. Michael Staub, Jake Black and Ben Sisk will front a pitching rotation that with 34 wins would give head coach Tom Sheridan his 600th career win in 2012.
Stevenson could be the surprise in the CAC. With only two players graduated in 2011, the Mustangs will have the most experienced team in the conference and should improve on their 13-26 record. Stevenson will need to win this season if they want to leave their mark on the CAC as they will be playing their final season in the CAC before moving to the MAC Freedom in 2013.
| Kevin Caldwell returns to
anchor the Piedmont pitching staff after setting an NCAA-era school
record with nine wins in 2011. Piedmont athletics photo |
Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC): This is the last year for the GSAC as both Piedmont and LaGrange have accepted an invitation to move the USA South next year. The favorite for the final conference championship is the Piedmont Lions. Piedmont had a breakout season in 2011, winning 32 games, securing a playoff bid and earning a top 25 ranking, but the expectations are higher in 2012. Back for another season is Kyle Davis, the GSAC Player of the Year, who is just one highlight on a team that returns seven position players. Kevin Caldwell, Caleb Cochran and Matt Lisk will form the weekend rotation.
Maryville will be led by new head coach Paul Henry. The first point of business for Henry will be to replace four of the top six hitters who graduated in 2011. Senior Jeremy Goolsby will be called on to fill the shoes of departing first baseman Kyle Cyprysiak. On the right side of the infield will be freshman Jesse Crisp and sophomore Andrew Mabini. If these three can make the transition to full-time starters, the Scots could challenge Piedmont for the conference championship.
USA South Athletic Conference (USAC): Shenandoah has dominated the conference over the past three years, but in its last year before moving to the ODAC, it is Christopher Newport that enjoys all the expectations. From a team that lost only five games going into the South Regional tournament, only two starters will not return (outfielder Drue Vernon and pitcher Sean Chitsaz). Two position players from the Captain's roster were named to the 2012 D3baseball.com preseason All-American team: outfielder Connor Madden and shortstop Matt Shoemaker. Hitting will not only be the strength of the Captains as the expected pitching rotation went 18-2 combined in 2011.
| Methodist catcher Trey Such
was an honorable mention selection on the 2012 D3baseball.com
preseason All-America team. Methodist athletics photo |
Shenandoah's success in the last three years has been fueled by the skills of the coaching staff and the talents of Greg Van Sickler. Van Sickler, the starting center fielder and pitching ace, graduated in 2011 and left a big hole in both the batting order and pitching rotation. The outstanding corner outfielders, Kevin Brashears and Clint DeHaven, also graduated, leaving a number of question marks in the middle of the Hornets lineup. Head coach Kevin Anderson has three upperclassmen in Nick Beall, Jake Pendergraft and Joey Donofrio ready to step in, but the Hornets are unlikely to match Christopher Newport for conference supremacy.
Methodist is the best of the rest of the USA South. Methodist is the mark of consistency with 28, 28, 27 and 28 wins in the last four years. Unfortunately, it usually takes a 30-win season to get a playoff bid and the Monarchs have not been able to reach the 30-win plateau since 2007. The Monarchs feature D3baseball.com preseason All-American catcher, Trey Such. Such, a three-time All-Conference selection, will have one final season in which to break the 30 mark and guide the Monarchs to their first playoff bid in five years.
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Bruce Maxwell earned All-American honors as a
freshman for Birmingham-Southern. |
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC): Birmingham-Southern won 30 games as it claimed a third straight SCAC East Division title last year. The Panthers have finished reclassifying from Division-I to Division-III and are finally eligible for postseason competition. Gone is Drew Leachman, 2011 SCAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Clay Malcolm, SCAC Pitcher of the Year. All-American Brandon Ricco and three time All-South catcher Sam Hill will also have to be replaced. Leading the offense will be senior first baseman Bruce Maxwell. On the mound, Jesse Meier is expected to end his career as one of the top pitchers in Panthers history. Head coach Jan Weisberg will use players from his 2012 recruiting class in the starting lineup and how they adjust to college ball will be key to a fourth straight divisional crown.
Rhodes's strength will be on the mound in 2012. For the third straight year, it will be Austin Carden and Jackson Baker taking the mound as the Lynx number one and two starters. The offense will be young as only one senior is expected to make the starting nine. This will be Rhodes's last chance for a SCAC title. The Lynx will join the rest of the SCAC East Division in forming a new conference next year, the Southern Athletic Association.
Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC): Bridgewater State will battle Randolph-Macon for the ODAC title. With six starters on offense and the core of their pitching staff back for another season, the reigning ODAC champion Eagles are well positioned for another regular season title. All-ODAC pitchers Kevin Chandler and Joseph Lucas join Robert Gallet for the top pitching staff in the ODAC. Complementing the pitching will be a defense that returns the entire starting infield. The combination of experience in all phases of the game makes Bridgewater a favorite in the ODAC.
| Jordan Walton set the NCAA
single-season doubles record with 31 in 2011. Randolph Macon athletics photo |
Randolph-Macon's strength will be on the offensive side of the ball as it features one of the best players in the nation in first baseman Jordan Walton. Walton, a first team preseason All-American, shattered ODAC and national records in 2011 as he led the Yellow Jackets to an ODAC tournament title and 2011 playoff berth.
Lynchburg, the runner-up for the ODAC regular season title, will need ODAC Rookie of the Year James Womack to continue his success on the mound for a chance for the ODAC championship. At Guilford, the Kyle Wooden era has come to a close. The All-American first baseman was a huge presence in the middle of the lineup and the loss will be felt by the Quakers. Virginia Wesleyan's 2011 season was unusual as the Marlins failed to have a winning record for the first time in 15 years. Expect Virginia Wesleyan to rebound in 2012.
University Athletic Association (UAA): Emory, coming off a bounce-back campaign last season, will need to depend on an experienced pitching staff to continue its resurgence. Emory was led by Paul Schwendel, Caleb Long and Ben Hinojosa in 2011 and all three are back in 2012. With closer Mike Bitanga, Emory has one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. The Eagles took advantage of the change in bat standards as they used a formula of a strong all-around defense and a high on-base percentage to earn their victories. Expect the same in 2012.
