BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team has been selected to finish second in the Mountain East Conference South Division according to the preseason coaches' poll that was released Wednesday afternoon.
THE POLL
| Place |
Team |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1. |
Charleston |
63 (8) |
| 2. |
Concord |
53 (2) |
| 3. |
Glenville State |
46 (2) |
| 4. |
West Virginia State |
40 |
| 5. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
24 |
| 6. |
Davis & Elkins |
21 |
2020 REVIEW
Concord was able to get 10 games in before the Coronavirus pandemic halted the season mid-March. CU went 5-5 over those 10 contests with seven being decided by two runs or less. The Mountain Lions did end their season with an 11-inning, walk-off victory over Pitt-Johnstown March 12 as sophomore outfielder
Josh Adkins provided the game-ending hit.
2021 SCHEDULE
Concord is scheduled for 40 games this spring with 32 against MEC foes. The season gets under March 5 with a doubleheader against Wheeling and Salem in Nutter Fort, West Virginia—both games will be non-conference. Mercer County rival Bluefield State is scheduled for March 11 and 31, and old MEC rival UVa.-Wise is on the slate for a home-and-home March 17 and April 14. CU starts MEC play March 20 against Wheeling. MEC South Division contests get underway April 10 when Concord visits West Virginia State.
THE RETURNERS
Headlining the returners to the lineup is 2019 consensus all-region selection and All-MEC First Team shortstop junior infielder
Anthony Stehlin. During the 2019 campaigh, Stehlin batted .369 with 62 runs scored and 17 stolen bases. The Woodbridge, Virginia native was on a similar pace last season as he batted .385 in 10 games. Adkins hit .333 in nine games before the season was canceled. Junior catcher
Chance Davis has played in 20 games behind the plate across his first two seasons at Concord. One-time Charleston transfer sophomore outfielder
Richard Ortiz started all 10 games last season, and hit one of CU's five home runs.
On the mound, fifth-year senior
Trent Abernathy has tossed 132 career innings with 138 career strikeouts. Abernathy was an All-MEC Honorable Mention performer in 2018. In 32 career innings, senior pitcher
Spencer Hoyt has struck out 38 batters. Second-year pitchers
Caleb Hare,
Nick Herrerias and
Andrew Neff combined for 13.2 innings with 14 strikeouts in their first collegiate seasons in 2020.
THE NEWCOMERS
Head coach
Kevin Garrett and assistant coach
Devin Smith brought in 15 new faces to this year's team. A mixture of transfers and freshman make up the newest Mountain Lions. The transfers are Wake Tech Community College pitcher
Jack Colagiovanni, one-time Bluefield College pitcher
Nathan Cutler, former Southwest Virginia Community College catcher
Tyler Mabry, Alice Lloyd transfer and pitcher
Noah Rasnick,
Chris Satcher, a catcher from Tallahassee Community College, pitcher
Arik Sypher from fellow Division II school Post and pitcher
Dylan Whisman who faced the Mountain Lions when he was at Urbana.
Meanwhile, the freshmen are made up of infielder
Bailey Ayers (Pulaski, Va./Pulaski), utility
Eddie Blake (Moneta, Va./Staunton River), pitcher
Eddy Castellanos (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast), outfielder
D.J. Christian (West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens), pitcher
Justyn Hudson (Lawrenceville, Va./Park View), infielder
Lane Jordan (Oak Hill, W.Va./Oak Hill), infielder
Pedro Matias (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and infielder
Ronaldo Pulinario (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson).Â
Â
