Concord 2013 Statistics –
Mount Olive 2014 Statistics -
Coach Wright Season Preveiw Interview
ATHENS, W. Va. – The Concord University baseball team will open its season with a three-game series this weekend at fourth-ranked Mount Olive. The Mountain Lions and the Trojans will play a doubleheader Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. followed by a single nine-inning game 1:00 p.m. Monday.
Records and Standings
The Mountain Lions open their season with high expectations as CU has been picked to win the inaugural Mountain East Conference championship and is on the cusp of being ranked in the top-25 in the nation by both the National Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and D2BaseballNews.com after receiving votes in both national preseason polls.
Mount Olive, which is ranked fourth in the nation by the NCBWA and fifth by D2BaseballNews.com, is 4-2 on the season. The Trojans swept a three-game series from Winston-Salem State to start the year before taking part in the Prestige Appliance Classic where they defeated Shepherd and lost to No. 1 Tampa and USC-Aiken.
Mountain Lion Notes
• Concord placed six players on the NCBWA's preseason All-Atlantic Region team in senior outfielder
Bret Blevins (first team), senior first baseman
Joey Miller (second team), junior outfielder
Ryan Johnston (second team), sophomore outfielder
Andrew Seigel (second team), senior pitcher
Chris Baker (honorable mention) and junior pitcher
Kevin Mack (honorable mention).
• Six Mountain Lions will carry multi-game hitting streaks over from the end of the 2013 season with Johnston leading the way at seven consecutive games with at least one hit in a game. Others with active hitting streaks include Blevins (five games), Miller (five games), sophomore infielder
Holt Cassada (three games), junior second baseman
Jerrod Groves (two games) and sophomore infielder
Joe Monica (two games).
• Blevins and senior pitcher
Ryan Weatherholtz will both be chasing down several school-records in their final seasons of play.
• Blevins begins the season needing just four stolen bases and 69 hits to own the school-records in both categories. Blevins is also on pace to vault into the top-five in career runs scored.
• Meanwhile, Weatherholtz is in line to set Concord records in games started (three) innings pitched, (6.2), wins (seven) appearances (14) and strikeouts (48). (Amount needed to break current record in parenthesis).
• The junior duo of Groves and Johnston have been the definition of consistency in the Concord lineup since their freshman season with 103 and 107 respective starts out of a possible 109 games.
• Senior pitcher
Tyler Coyle is coming off of a 7-4 season that saw the Clemmons, N.C. native strikeout 36 batters over a team-high 64.0 innings pitched.
• Blevins and Seigel combined to steal 56 bases a year ago, the most by any duo in the Atlantic Region.
• The Mountain Lions excelled in holding late leads last year; Concord was 31-3 when leading after six innings and 13-2 when leading after eight innings.
• Concord was 29-10 last season with Seigel in the leadoff spot.
Scouting The Trojans
• Mount Olive is averaging 9.6 runs per game while allowing opponents to score just 5.8 per game.
• Offensively, Mount Olive has been led early on by Bradon Reitano and Rob Shipman. Reitano is batting .480 (12-for-25) with 12 runs, two home runs and seven RBI. Shipman has 11 hits thus far to go with one home run and 11 RBI.
• Pitcher Jordy Farthing has started two games in 2014, putting together a 1-0 record with five strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA in nine innings pitched.
• Relievers Josh Frederick and Derek Justice have combined to throw 8.1 innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out seven batters. Both players have one save.
Up Next
Concord plays former West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Pitt-Johnstown in a three-game series Feb. 22-23 at Anderson Field in what will be Concord's home opener.
