Baseball Flames Fired Up for Opening Day, Picked Sixth in GSC Coaches Poll
Photo courtesy of Reily Anderson
Basketball has been forced to deal with COVID issues since the season began for the Lee men and women’s teams since the seasons were scheduled to begin in late December. Will Coach Mark Brew and his baseball club face the same issues when it fires up the first pitch, hosting Union University on Feb 6-7.
Flames Picked Sixth In GSC
Coach Brew’s squad is picked to finish sixth in the GSC according to the league’s coaches. Lee garnered 90 votes in the preseason poll. West Florida received five first-place votes and was picked to win the league with 133 votes followed closely by Alabama Huntsville (130) who tallied the most first-place votes with six. Delta State (114) came in at three followed by Valdosta State (112) and Mississippi College (106). Both the Blazers and the Choctaws received one first-place vote.
Schedule adjustments:
”We (baseball) deal with adjustments in schedules all the time due to weather, so the possibility of cancellations is nothing new for us as (GSC) coaches. I suspect the testing protocol set forth by NCAA will have some effect on teams much like the other sports,” Coach Brew explained. “However, being an outdoor sport with a larger roster, we are hopeful that our games can continue safely. The conference has set minimums to play and that could come into play in an extreme circumstance. I believe all coaches and players are doing what they can to safely do this and be on the field every time we can.”
Standouts return for bonus season:
When the NCAA shut down all sports last March when dealing with COVID issues, Lee senior players figured their college careers had ended, but the NCAA and the Lee administration granted players another season. Flames Alan Smith, Landon Silver, Alex Harper-Cook, Andy Rivera, Ryan Beamish, Nate Sumner, Michael Hendricks, and Alan Rickman seized on the opportunity to play one more season.
Coach Brew and his staff are blessed with other key returners. Redshirt freshmen Dylan Standifer, Luke Hughes, redshirt sophomore Alex Butler, redshirt juniors Thomas Zazzaro, Justen Freeman, Logan Workman, Andrew Franklin, Seth Konkel, Tyler Fairchild, and senior Alan Carter head the list of key players also back.
There is a promising list of new key players and top recruits. Redshirt sophomore Chandler Ring is a transfer from East Georgia College, Colton Yeager is a graduate transfer from Lander University), redshirt sophomore Nate Bynum played Rend Lake College, graduate transfers Jared Demkowicz and Nate Dupree moved from Sewanee and Kennesaw State. New recruits are Riley Black (Bradley Central High) and Matthew Batts (Brentwood High).
As the Flames prepared for the 2021 season, Coach Brew noted that the fall was a challenge, like it was for many GSC programs. “Practicing during a pandemic and learning the processes and adhering to all the protocols was an eye-opener. We were able to get in some quality work in that environment and grow and learn as a team. The lessons we learned competing on the field, but also how to safely compete on the field will be extremely valuable this spring,” related the skipper.
Pitching depth is strong point:
”Our pitching staff depth is as good as it’s been since the 2013 team that had five pitchers drafted. Inside that depth is some really good left-handed pitchers,” Brew admitted. “We have a clear (pitching) ace in (Logan) Workman, and one of the top hitters in the conference in (Alan) Smith. We have a tremendous amount of experience all over the field. Our line-up has shown signs of being really good, but consistency will be key moving forward. I think team chemistry is a challenge for all teams this year due to the “distanced” approach we all must take with practices, meetings, and locker room usage. We should be an exciting team to watch.”
Around horn with Flames:
Catching: “It’s the youngest position we have on the field,” confessed Brew. “Riley Black, Brycen Jewell, Adam Goolsby, and Job Golden are all freshmen and will all have to grow up quickly. We have been looking at Dylan Standifer as an option. Dylan is the only one of the group to (catcher) in a collegiate game.”
First base: (Ryan) Beamish returns after getting off to a hot start in 2020. “He has turned into a good college hitter and first baseman. His left-handed bat should be in the middle of the line-up,” acknowledged Brew. Transfer (Jared) Demkowicz could factor in as a first sacker. Freshmen (Matthew) Batts and (Brenham) Daniell will also be seeking opportunities.
Middle infield: While pitching is labeled a strong point, the middle infield has four solid players. (Thomas) Zazzaro returns and will be a four-year starter when the 2021 season begins. “(Luke) Hughes showed he can hit and will be a key in the middle this year,” Brew added. "Grad transfer (Colton) Yeager played both short and second. He brings an experienced bat with him. (Nate) Sumner provides one of eight left-handed-hitting options we will have this season.”
Third base: (Alan) Smith was off to a huge season in 2020, hitting .384 with a team-leading 29 RBI and an on-base mark of .471. “He will likely hit third in the line-up,” said Brew. “(Justen) Freeman has looked good in the fall and early spring and will be a key to this year's line-up. (Brenham) Daniell and (Dylan) Standifer could also end up at third at some point during the season.”
Deep outfield: “We have two good centerfield options with (Landon) Silver and (Nate) Bynum. Both have shown to be great defenders and bring different types of things to the line-up,” pointed out Brew. “Bynum could also be used at a corner position. (Brandon) Daniels has swung the bat much better this year and has improved defensively. Dylan Standifer started his Flames career in solid fashion before the season shutdown. He will be a key to our line-up this year. Redshirt sophomore Josh Perez has continued to improve and has developed more power at the plate. He has always been steady as a defender and we need his bat to make a breakthrough this year. Freshman Grant Lackey has come on strong since the end of the fall and provides solid defense and another one of those left-handed bats. (Jared) Demkowicz could also see time at a corner outfield positions.”
Plenty of pitching options:
For the first time in years, the Lee coach enjoys talking about his pitching staff. “Our staff is deep, and we have lots of options on both the left-and-right-handed side of the mound. (Logan) Workman has turned into one of the top pitchers at our level and gives us a bona fide ace,” said the smiling Brew. He also is considering other guys who are in strong consideration for a rotation spot. They are lefties (Alex) Harper-Cook, (Seth) Konkel, (Tyler) Fairchild, and (Nate) Dupree. The lefties are joined by right-handers (Alex) Butler and (Chandler) Ring. Brew also added that (Alan) Carter’s velocity has spiked this year and he is projected to be a back-end closer along with seventh-year guy Andy Rivera.
“Experience is key to this staff as we have several that can go to the mound and pitch big innings such as (Michael) Hendricks, (Alan) Rickman, and (Andrew) Franklin. All will be big keys in these nine-inning games,” he explained. “We have a solid grouping of younger guys that could clearly help as well. Redshirt freshmen Greyson Linderman, Christian Wylder, and Jax Howard have made great progress from last year. True freshmen Cole Matthaidess, Brycen Jewell, and Ian Mayes will grow up quickly under a talented group and have bright futures. Freshman Seth Coffelt is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will redshirt in 2021 to rehab and be ready to go in the future.”
Coaching staff:
Brew says, “Consistency in the staff is always important and we are glad to have Coach (Richie) Goodenow and Coach (Jocobby) Robinson back this year. Coach Goodenow has done a tremendous job with our pitching staff and they have taken steps forward this year. I expect Coach Robinson and the hitters to take a big leap in his second year with them. We have added Jorge Saez, a former Blue Jays/Yankees farmhand. Jorge was a tremendous catcher for us in 2012 and is returning to finish his degree. He will be a big key to the puzzle as he tries to accelerate the progress of a young catching corp. Tripp Storrs provides Coach Goodenow help in the bullpen and will serve as our bullpen coach. Dallas Schultheis brings his daily energy to the field, serving in various capacities for the coaching staff.”
Schedule reduction:
With the reduction from 50 to 40 games, the GSC is playing a full conference schedule for the first time. “Typically, in the past, our GSC schedule has been 30 games and we miss two teams on a rotational basis,” said Brew as he spoke about the change. “This year 36 of our 40 games will be conference games and we all know how rugged this league is year in and year out. It is going to create some dogfights each weekend. Add in the fact that all three-game series will be nine-inning games and getting quality pitching will be a premium for everyone.”
Jumping right into conference play:
“We jump right into conference on Feb. 6,” Brew pointed out. “In the past, we have been able to schedule a couple of non-conference weekends to prepare the team for the upcoming GSC schedule. We have had to ask our players to return more prepared than they ever have, and they have done an excellent job with it. We have been able to hold onto a few non-conference games with Carson-Newman, Lincoln Memorial, Young Harris, and Tusculum. It will be a challenging 40 games,” he concluded.
