MACON, Ga. - As the 2010 NCAA Baseball season approaches, the Atlantic Sun Conference takes a looks at each team leading up to the start of the season on Feb. 19. Today ETSU lets us take a close look at the 2010 Buccaneers.
Overview
ETSU returns six starter, six pitchers and a total of 11 letterwinners from the team that posted a 25-28 overall record with a 10-20 mark in conference play in 2009. The Bucs finished ninth in the conference and qualified for the A-Sun tournament as the sixth seed. ETSU knocked host Stetson in the first-round, but fell to No. 2 seed Lipscomb in the thrilling semifinals contest with the Bisons winning in their final at bat. ETSU enters its 10th season under head coach Tony Skole, who holds a career record of 334-366 and a mark of 239-309 with the Bucs.
Top Returnees
Paul Hoilman returns as one of the top hitters in the Atlantic Sun after posting a .380 batting average a season ago. The junior first baseman, who slugged 17 home runs, earned Third-Team All-American honors from Ping!Baseball and Third-Team Preseason All-American accolades from Louisville Slugger. The Johnson City, Tenn. native enters the season as the active leader in the Atlantic Sun in home runs with 26. Hoilman finished 2009 tying for second in the conference in RBIs with 66.
In 2009, Bo Reeder knocked in 53 runs while picking up 39 extra base hits. In his freshman campaign, Reeder also posted a .339 batting-average and a .661 slugging percentage. The Cookeville, Tenn. native also made 17 appearances on the mound for ETSU, holding a record of 4-4 with one save striking out 26. Reeder joined his teammate Hoilman on the Louisville Slugger Third-Team Preseason All-American list.
Chas Byrne ranks as the Bucs’ top returning starting pitcher after posting 5.53 ERA in 14 starts and 16 appearances. The junior led the team in strike outs with 67, but opposing hitters owned a .307 batting average against the right-handed hurler. Byrne threw one complete game for the Bucs and gobbled up innings, throwing 83.0, almost 15 more innings than any other player on the team.
Newcomers
The Bucs have a lot of new faces in 2010, but Ben Booker, Kerry Doane and Derek Niesman should make an impact immediately for ETSU. Booker, a junior pitcher from Cleveland State Community College, is expected to be in the starting rotation for the Buccaneers. Doane, a second baseman from the prestigious Nova High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will be looked to fill the hole left in the right side of the infield by Ben Allen. Doan had a good fall and will add yet another explosive bat to the ETSU lineup. The Florida native will also close games for the Bucs on the mound, while Niesman is an everyday utility player who can field almost every position and adds another good bat to an already dangerous offense.
Schedule (Courtesy ETSU Media Relations)
ETSU opens the season on Friday, Feb. 19 against The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. The Buccaneers will also face Kansas State (Feb. 20) and Delaware (Feb. 21) to close out the opening weekend.
The team will close out its non-conference schedule as the Bucs make their first ever west coast trip on May 14-16 to Eugene, Ore. ETSU will face a reestablished Oregon program coached by George Horton, who led Cal State Fullerton to a national title in 2004.
St. Peter’s comes to town on Feb. 26-28 for the ETSU home opener as the Bucs will play 18 home non-conference games. Other notable non-conference home games include a weekend series against St. John’s (March 5-7) and games against Virginia Tech (March 31), Appalachian State (April 21) and Tennessee Tech (April 28).
The Bucs face a tough conference schedule in 2010 as they will face Lipscomb (March 26-27), Jacksonville (April 9-10), Campbell (April 23-24), Florida Gulf Coast (May 8-9) and Kennesaw State (May 20-21) on the road.
ETSU opens Atlantic Sun play at home against USC Upstate on March 19-20. UNF (April 2-3), Mercer (April 16-17) and Stetson (April 30-May 1) also come to Cardinal Park in 2010
Fun Fact Bucs starting pitchers combined to throw seven complete games in 2007, but in the past two seasons they have combined to rack up only four. No ETSU starting pitcher has recorded more than one complete game in a season since 2007, but these number have an excellent chance of improving in 2010 with three different ETSU pitchers holding at least one complete game.
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#ASunBASE Player of the Week honors go to @MercerBears DJ Johnson and Pitcher of the Week honors go to @BelmontBaseball Matt Hamann
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Interview with Head Coach Tony Skole
