ELON COLLEGE, NC - The Elon College baseball team enters the 2000 season swinging towards a shot at the Big South Championship. This campaign marks the first time that Elon is eligible for a conference championship, as well as a post-season appearance since becoming an NCAA Division I member.
Under the tutelage of coach Mike Kennedy, who guided Elon to the NCAA Divsion II South Central Regional Championship Game in 1996, Elon is prepared for the new challenges of the Big South.
The 1999 Elon squad posted a 20-35-1 mark. Argubly the toughest schedule in school history, included eight games with top seeded NCAA Regional teams. Two of the eight matchups proved favorably for Elon as it upset 19th ranked East Carolina and national champion Miami.
Despite finishing below .500 in 1999, Kennedy remains optimistic about the future of Elon baseball. During last year's campaign, Elon started as many as seven freshmen, including four rookie pitchers. Elon lost senior ace Chris Hughes for a month with a cyst on his throwing shoulder and the team witnessed several players out of position due to injuries. This experience can only benefit Elon as it embarks on a quest to capture the conference championship.
The first Elon baseball season of the new millennium presents some of the challenges that were prevalent in 1999. Although the roster is saturated with underclassmen (20), last season's experience could carry over and propel Elon into the upper tier of the Big South.
Elon welcomes two freshmen infielders who have already made an immediate impact to the program, Brian Ingram (Winston-Salem, NC/N. Forsyth) and Robbie Smith (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance). Ingram has been outstanding in the fall and pre season workouts and has earned a starting spot at shortstop while Smith will have a chance to see some time in the middle infield. Sophomores John Schaefer (Winston-Salem, NC/W.S. Carver) and Chris Maggi (Clearwater, FL/Countryside) could also vie for some action in the infield while senior Brian Kane (Gaithersburg, MD/Gaithersburg) has solidified a spot at the hot corner.
Kane returns to his natural position, third base, after spending time at short last season. As a sophomore, Kane committed only three errors in 39 games at third. During the 1999 campaign, Kane saw his batting average jump 41 points to .275 while clubbing eight home runs and collecting 31 RBI. Junior Shaun Kopczynski (Christmas, FL/Tallahassee CC) may need to spell Kane at third when needed due to an ankle injury Kane suffered during fall practice. Sophomore Jim Swenson (Richmond, VA/James River) returns to first base after a solid rookie season which produced a .268 batting average, 15 doubles and 31 RBI.
Sophomore Jason Tuttle (Winston-Salem, NC/Parkland) will start in center field and bat in the leadoff position. As a redshirt freshman, Tuttle hit .282 and stole 24 bases in 33 games after recovering from ACL surgery in 1998.
The 1999 team MVP, sophomore Whit Bryant (Greenville, NC/Rose) will start in right field, when not pitching, and bat in the middle of the lineup. Last season, Bryant amassed a .277 batting average, 15 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI. Junior Garth Lanning (Graham, NC/Lee County), who recorded a .336 batting average in 1999, has the upper hand in the battle for left field, but sophomores John Gann (Greensboro, NC/N.W. Guilford) and Wes Smith (Pinehurst, NC/Pinecrest), a transfer from NC State and Kopczynski are all competing for the job.
Senior Scott Clark (Mechanicsville, VA/Lee Davis) returns for his fourth season behind the plate. Freshman Wes Miller (Pfafftown, NC/Mount Tabor), senior Brian Bauder (Fairfax, VA/Broad Run) and Kopczynski may all see time behind the plate as well.
The 2000 pitching staff may be one of the best to grace the mound at Elon. Junior right-hander Nathan Holcomb (Brison City, NC/Swain County) will lead the cast through the 2000 season. Last season, Holcomb threw 70 innings, while striking out 62, producing a 2-9 record and registering a 4.50 ERA. Sophomores Scott Light (Danville, VA/Dan River), a right-hander and lefty Brad Pinkerton (Charlotte, NC/Independence), junior right-hander Eric Cantrell (Franklin, NC/Franklin) and Bryant, a left-hander, will provide depth. Junior left-hander Tim Schilling (High Point, NC/S.W. Guilford) will handle the closer duty for the squad during the 2000 campaign.
Junior John Albert (Kernersville, NC/E. Forsyth), freshmen Luke Pangle (Franklin, NC/Franklin), Mike Fratoe (Springfield, VA/Lee) and Brad Franklin (Greensboro, CN/S. Guilford) all look to provide some quality innings this season. The one set back for the staff will be the loss of sophomore Brian Laniak (Falls Church, VA/Bishop O. Conn.) for half the season. Laniak will need surgery to repair looseness in his throwing shoulder and will make an impact when he returns late this season or spring 2001.
Elon will begin the season on the road at NC State on February 5. Then Elon will travel to North Carolina and Troy State before opening at home on Feb. 19 versus Maryland. The 2000 non-league schedule allows Elon to host quality opponents. Appalachian State, Brown, Campbell, Duke, East Carolina, Norfolk State, George Mason, NC A&T, UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington will all make a trek to Elon College, NC this season. The squad will travel to Appalachian State, Campbell, Clemson, Duke, East Carolina, NC A&T, South Carolina, UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina.
Big South opponents Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, High Point and Winthrop will make a journey to Newsome field, while Elon will visit the campuses of Liberty, Radford and UNC Asheville.
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