University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
2011 Baseball Preview
2/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - With a strong nucleus returning from last year's team that captured the Conference USA Tournament championship, second-year Southern Miss baseball coach Scott Berry and the Golden Eagles are eager about getting started with the 2011 campaign and confident that the team can have another stellar season.
"I am excited about the potential of our 2011 baseball team," said Berry. "We have a number of players who have been a part of a Conference USA championship team, a College World series team and NCAA regional teams and that experience should prove valuable to us this season. We have an outstanding mix of veteran players and talented newcomers that should give us a chance to be successful this season and hopefully we will be in the thick of things for the Conference USA championship."
Berry has brought an exciting brand of baseball to the Golden Eagles - a style that tries to apply pressure to the opposing team with speed and quickness on the base paths, and by taking chances to make things happen.
The Golden Eagles once again will face a challenging schedule as they encoutner not only their Conference USA ledger, but several of the top teams in the country in their non-conference slate.
"We are looking forward to the challenging schedule that we will be facing this season," said Berry. "We like playing a tough schedule because we think it makes us a much better baseball team and prepares us for Conference USA and the postseason."
Gone are several players from last year's team that finished the year 36-24 and defeated No. 20 Rice in the Conference USA Tournament championship game. Missing in 2011 are the likes of second baseman Taylor Walker, third baseman Joey Archer, catcher Travis Graves and right-handed pitcher Scott Copeland.
POSITION PLAYERS
The Golden Eagles do return six starters from last year's squad including shortstop B.A. Vollmuth, first baseman/designated hitter Adam Doleac, outfielder Tyler Koelling, first baseman Mark Ellis, outfielder Kameron Brunty and outfielder/pitcher Dillon Day.
The team has to replace two-year starter Travis Graves (.293, 4 HR, 34 RBI) behind the plate during the upcoming season. The leading candidate to replace him is sophomore Chase Fowler (.314, 5 RBI) of Cumming, Ga., who played in 30 games and started seven a year ago. Also scheduled to see some playing time behind the plate this season is redshirt freshman, Jared Bales of Picayune, Miss., who may also see some playing time as the team's designated hitter.
Ellis, a senior of Maple Ridge, B. C., started 51 games at first base in 2010 and was one of the team's most productive players, hitting .304 with seven home runs and 41 runs batted in. He will see some time at first base this season, but could very well in up as the squad's starter at third base. If Ellis does move to third base, then the starter at first could be senior Adam Doleac of Hattiesburg, Miss., the team's primary designated hitter a year ago, and who was third on the squad in hitting a year ago with a .352 batting average, to go along with seven home runs and 57 RBI.
One of the key needs for the Golden Eagles is to find a replace at second base for the departed Walker, a two-year starter, who was second on the team in hitting with a .365 average in 2010 and also hit eight home runs while driving in 57 runs. The battle to replace Walker at second appears to be between sophomore Travis Creel of Ocean Springs, Miss., (.200, 5 RBI) and sophomore Isaac Rodriguez of Weston, Fla. (.325, 3 RBI). Both made valuable contributions as reserves in 2010. Creel, who can play a number of positions, could also see action at shortstop.
Also at shortstop, Vollmuth, a junior from Biloxi, Miss., and a preseason All-American, returns for his third season as the starter. The talented Vollmuth led the team in batting average, home runs and runs batted in, hitting .386, with 20 home runs and 76 RBIs. Vollmuth was an all-Conference USA selection last season and is rated as one of the top college baseball players in the country. Vollmuth can also be utilized by the Golden Eagle coaching staff as a pitcher and, if that happens, Creel will fill in at shortstop.
The spot vacated by Archer at third base will be manned by either Ellis or newcomer Ashley Graeter of Poplarville, Miss., a transfer from Pearl River (Miss.) Community College. Ellis started just two games at third last season, but has experience there from is junior college days.
In the outfield, junior Kameron Brunty of Gulf Breeze, Fla., begins his third season as the starting leftfielder. Brunty hit .303 in 2010 with nine home runs (second on the team) and 37 RBI. Depth at that position will be provided by freshman Joe Martin of Zachary, La.
In centerfield, sophomore Dillon Day of Geismar, La., is back for a second year after starting 31 games there last season. Day, who will also be used as a pitcher, hit .355 in his rookie year with the Golden Eagles with a home run and 33 RBI. When Day is on the mound expect to see senior Justin Diliberto of Hoover, Ala., in center (.212, 5 RBI).
Koelling, a senior from Luling, La., is slated to be the opening day rightfielder for the Golden Eagles. Koelling, who started 50games last season, hit .333 with four home runs and 39 RBI. Senior Mark Bourgeois of Granby, Quebec, who started 29 games last season (27 in rightfield and two as DH) is also expected to see some time in right, if he is not being used as the designated hitter.
Bourgeois, Bales and Doleac will all be used as the team's designated hitter, a spot in which Doleac started 37 times in 2010.
PITCHERS
The pitching staff returns nine hurlers from a year ago that saw action on the mound. They were led by senior preseason All-American right-hander Todd McInnis, an all-Conference USA selection last season. McInnis will be the team's No. 1 starter again in 2011 after posting a 6-5 record with a 3.30 earned run average and team-high 87 strikeouts. McInnis, who returns for his fifth season despite being drafted by the Oakland Athletics following last season, is regarded as one of the top pitchers in Conference USA and was voted the top pitching honor by the league's nine coaches heading into the campaign.
"There is no one who competes like Todd McInnis and he has proved throughout his career that he is one of the finest pitchers to ever play at Southern Miss," said Berry. "He has won some big games for us over his career and we are looking forward to him having a tremendous year this season."
The coaching staff will be looking for someone to fill the No. 2 starter slot with the departure of right-hander Scott Copeland, who went 11-1 last season with a 3.75 earned run average.
Expected to be utilized in a starting role again this season is sophomore right-hander Geoffrey Thomas of Stone Mountain, Ga. (1-6, 8.37 ERA). Thomas had an up-and-down freshman season for the Golden Eagles appearing in 14 games with 10 starts, but got stronger as the 2010 season progressed and showed he had the tools to make a bigger contribution this season.
The remainder of the starting rotation will consist of junior right-hander Jonathan Thompson of Denham Springs, La. (Meridian Community College), right-hander Josh Thomason of Oxford, Miss. (Navarro College), and right-hander Chase Horn of Ashland, Ala. (Southern Union Community College).
Senior right-hander Colin Cargill of Hattiesburg, another preseason All-America selection and rated as one of the nation's best closers, also returns for the Golden Eagles in 2011. Last season in 27 appearances out of the bullpen, Cargill posted a 4-2 record and an earned run average of 1.75 and had nine saves. Cargill was an all-Conference USA pick last season and is a pre-season pick to the all-league team this season.
Other returning pitchers from a year ago include sophomore left-hander Paxton King of Brookhaven, Miss. (20 apps., 2-1), junior right-hander Matt Warren of Petal, Miss. (15 apps., 6.75 ERA), sophomore right-hander Jay Myrick of Spanish Fort, Ala. (3-0, 7.52 ERA), and senior right-hander Seth Hester of Stringer, Miss. (1-1, 10.44 ERA). King and Warren were used exclusively out of the bullpen last season, while Myrick and Hester saw action in both starting and relief roles.
Newcomers to the pitching staff this season include junior right-hander Matthew Shaw of Oxford, Miss. (Northwest Miss. CC), freshman right-hander Boomer Scarborough of Bay. St. Louis, Miss., left-hander Josh Rogers of Jackson, Miss., freshman left-hander Jake Drehoff of Cumming, Ga., and freshman right-hander Jackson Posey of Hattiesburg, Miss.
SCHEDULE
The challenging 2011 season opens on Feb. 18 with a three-game series at Pete Taylor Park against Eastern Illinois, followed by single games against Louisiana Monroe (Feb. 22) and Alcorn State (Feb. 23).
After a three-game road series at Troy (Feb. 25-27) and a single game at Alabama (Mar. 2), the Golden Eagles open an eight-game home stand featuring games with Louisiana-Lafayette (Mar. 4-6), South Alabama (Mar. 8), Alabama A&M (Mar. 9 and Missouri State (Mar. 11-13).
After a game at Northwestern State (Mar. 15), the team plays in a tournament at the College of Charleston, where they will play the host team on Mar. 18, followed by games with Rhode Island (Mar. 19) and Connecticut (Mar. 20).
The Golden Eagles then play a game at Louisiana-Monroe on Mar. 22, before opening Conference USA play at home with Tulane (Mar. 25-27).
In addition to the Green Wave, the Eagles play C-USA home series with Marshall (Apr. 22-24), UAB (May 6-8) and Rice (May 19-21). C-USA road series have the Eagles playing at UCF (Apr. 1-3), Memphis (Apr. 8-10), east Carolina (Apr. 29-May 1) and Houston (May 13-15).
Non-Conference home games once the Conference USA season begins have the Eagles meeting Ole Miss (March 30), New Orleans (Apr. 15-17) and Alabama (April 26), while the only true non-conference road game after C-USA play begins is against South Alabama (May 3).
The team will play two games at Trustmark Park in Pearl, against Mississippi state (April 5) and Ole Miss (April 12), and take on LSU in the Wally Pontiff Classic at Zephyr Park in Metairie (April 20).
The Golden Eagles return to Trustmark Park for the Conference USA Tournament will be held May 25 through May 29 at the Double A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
