After 40-Win Championship Season, Eagles Look Forward to Sun Belt Challenge
2/9/2015 10:14:00 AM | Baseball
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Head Coach Rodney Hennon and the 2014 Georgia Southern Baseball team could not have asked for a better finish to the season after they reeled off five-straight wins to take the Southern Conference Tournament Championship and defeated #5 national seed Florida State in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional for win number 40 of the year.
The road to just the 10th ever 40-win season in program history and the third in 15 years under Hennon opened with a bang with an opening weekend series win over Georgia in Athens, Ga. and a 4-3 win over Georgia Tech in the home opener at J.I. Clements Stadium.
"I thought our team really came together when it mattered most. We were playing really good baseball when we went down to Tallahassee for the regional," Hennon said. "I am really proud of the way that team fought through adversity last year and how they came together to play their best baseball when it mattered most."
Chase Griffin is one seven seniors back for their final campaign with the Eagles. He has been a staple name in the lineup and behind the plate since the day he stepped on campus at Georgia Southern.
"I thought Chase had an outstanding fall. It was probably the best fall practice since he has been here," Hennon said. "He has been a mainstay for years in our lineup and has gotten better each year. He has developed into an outstanding leader both on and off the field in our program. It is comforting to have a guy like that on your team."
The Sun Belt Conference will provide some new challenges but Hennon is excited "to play some new some people and go into some great baseball environments. Over the years it has been a very competitive baseball league and it is going to present a challenge for our team but it is something that as players and coaches we are looking forward to."
The Sun Belt Conference was highlighted by Louisiana-Lafayette's nearly 60-win season last year and had four teams finish in the RPI top-100. The League ranked just outside the top-10 of baseball conferences and placed 11th in conference RPI.
GSU will enter the 2015 season with a brand new starting pitching rotation. Gone from a year ago are Sam Howard, who shutout #5 national seed Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional and was drafted in the third round by the Colorado Rockies, and Josh Wirsu, SoCon Pitcher of the Year and 30th round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Coach Hennon feels that the loss of Howard and Wirsu "creates some opportunities for some guys to step up. I think we have some good options. The return of a guy like Evan Challenger coming off surgery has been a real spark for our team. He has fought hard to get back, and it was good to see him come back strong and provide some leadership on that pitching staff."
The pitching staff may have a lot of new faces but the lineup has an experienced core group of players who return from the championship team. Ryan Cleveland is set to build on his freshman campaign and will be joined in the infield by senior Dalton Busby. The outfield could feature three starting seniors in Aaron Mizell, Kody Adams and Hunter Thomas.
Coach Hennon likes the experience these players bring to his squad. "They did a lot of things to help our team last year and experienced the championship. They have an understanding of what it is going to take to put ourselves in that position again this year."
The lineup will also feature a good mix of newcomers as well. "This fall, we had a lot of competition at every position which made for a lot of good things out there. It is a pretty athletic team. We have a lot of guys that we can move around from place to place which will help us as you go through the grind of a 56-game schedule," Hennon said.
The 2015 baseball season opens on February 13 against Bethune-Cookman at J.I. Clements Stadium and includes homes games against Georgia, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Appalachian State as well as road contests at Clemson, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State.
Tickets are on sale now at gseagles.com/tickets and 1-800-GSU-WINS.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
Head Coach Rodney Hennon and the 2014 Georgia Southern Baseball team could not have asked for a better finish to the season after they reeled off five-straight wins to take the Southern Conference Tournament Championship and defeated #5 national seed Florida State in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional for win number 40 of the year.
The road to just the 10th ever 40-win season in program history and the third in 15 years under Hennon opened with a bang with an opening weekend series win over Georgia in Athens, Ga. and a 4-3 win over Georgia Tech in the home opener at J.I. Clements Stadium.
"I thought our team really came together when it mattered most. We were playing really good baseball when we went down to Tallahassee for the regional," Hennon said. "I am really proud of the way that team fought through adversity last year and how they came together to play their best baseball when it mattered most."
Chase Griffin is one seven seniors back for their final campaign with the Eagles. He has been a staple name in the lineup and behind the plate since the day he stepped on campus at Georgia Southern.
"I thought Chase had an outstanding fall. It was probably the best fall practice since he has been here," Hennon said. "He has been a mainstay for years in our lineup and has gotten better each year. He has developed into an outstanding leader both on and off the field in our program. It is comforting to have a guy like that on your team."
The Sun Belt Conference will provide some new challenges but Hennon is excited "to play some new some people and go into some great baseball environments. Over the years it has been a very competitive baseball league and it is going to present a challenge for our team but it is something that as players and coaches we are looking forward to."
The Sun Belt Conference was highlighted by Louisiana-Lafayette's nearly 60-win season last year and had four teams finish in the RPI top-100. The League ranked just outside the top-10 of baseball conferences and placed 11th in conference RPI.
GSU will enter the 2015 season with a brand new starting pitching rotation. Gone from a year ago are Sam Howard, who shutout #5 national seed Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional and was drafted in the third round by the Colorado Rockies, and Josh Wirsu, SoCon Pitcher of the Year and 30th round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Coach Hennon feels that the loss of Howard and Wirsu "creates some opportunities for some guys to step up. I think we have some good options. The return of a guy like Evan Challenger coming off surgery has been a real spark for our team. He has fought hard to get back, and it was good to see him come back strong and provide some leadership on that pitching staff."
The pitching staff may have a lot of new faces but the lineup has an experienced core group of players who return from the championship team. Ryan Cleveland is set to build on his freshman campaign and will be joined in the infield by senior Dalton Busby. The outfield could feature three starting seniors in Aaron Mizell, Kody Adams and Hunter Thomas.
Coach Hennon likes the experience these players bring to his squad. "They did a lot of things to help our team last year and experienced the championship. They have an understanding of what it is going to take to put ourselves in that position again this year."
The lineup will also feature a good mix of newcomers as well. "This fall, we had a lot of competition at every position which made for a lot of good things out there. It is a pretty athletic team. We have a lot of guys that we can move around from place to place which will help us as you go through the grind of a 56-game schedule," Hennon said.
The 2015 baseball season opens on February 13 against Bethune-Cookman at J.I. Clements Stadium and includes homes games against Georgia, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Appalachian State as well as road contests at Clemson, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State.
Tickets are on sale now at gseagles.com/tickets and 1-800-GSU-WINS.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
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