University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
2002 Baseball Team Opens Practice on Mon., Jan. 21
1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
2002 Baseball Team Opens Practice on Mon., Jan. 21
"The players and coaches are excited about the start of practice next week," Head Coach Corky Palmer said. "We had a good conditioning period and now it is time to get started. We will be young this year but the players are all working hard and want to do whatever it takes to be successful."
This year's roster has 10 players returning from last year, including four position starters and three starting pitchers, along with 13 newcomers and four redshirt freshmen. The squad hopes to rebound after suffering through a 27-32 season in 2001, the first losing season in 15 years at Southern Miss.
Guiding the squad into the new season will be a committee of upperclassmen led by pitchers Stephen Castleman, Shea Douglas, Charlie Rogers and Daniel Stewart, outfielders Jeff Cook and Clint Stoy and infielder Allen Winningham.
Douglas, a second-team All-Conference USA selection in 2001, is the ace of the staff, returning after posting a 6-5 record and a 3.59 ERA in a team-leading 92.2 innings of work. He fanned a team-high 92 batters and walked 34 while
opponents only hit .232 off him.
Stewart should move up to the No. 2 starting role after serving as the team's No. 4 pitcher for half the season before being finishing the season as the No. 3. He finished with a 5-4 record with a 4.65 ERA in 79.1 innings pitched. He struck out 58 batters while walking 26.
Castleman and Rogers will battle for the other starting jobs on the staff. Castleman was used mainly in relief last season, seeing action in 21 games, starting two. He finished with a 2-6 record with a 4.56 ERA in 53.1 innings of work. He struck out 49 batters, while walking 24. Rogers finished with a 3-3 record with a 4.94 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched. He struck out 36 and walked 30.
Cook, the leading candidate for the starting spot in left field, was the team?s leader in several hitting categories last season, including batting average (.339), at bats (245), runs (40), hits (83), doubles (18), triples (3), RBIs (38) and slugging percentage (.510). He also was second on the team with five home runs. He was one of only two players for the Golden Eagles to bat over .300 on the season.
Stoy, back to anchor his starting spot in right field, started slowly last season but finished the last half of the season strong, including earning all-tournament honors at the Conference USA Tournament. In the tournament, he hit .357 (5/14) in the three games he played, including two doubles and five runs batted in. Along with his bat, Stoy is an outstanding outfielder with a strong arm, who isn?t afraid to challenge base runners.
Winningham, who started at shortstop for the Golden Eagles last season, will be moved to third base. He was the third-leading hitter on the team last season, hitting .287 with 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs. He finished with a .914 fielding percentage in 2001 and had 60 putouts and 153 assists.
