NORFOLK, Virginia -- When Keith Shumate looks out from the press box at Marty Miller Stadium, he sees a combination of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Great Dismal Swamp.Oriole Park, because when you’ve coached where he has, having a stadium is a luxury. Dismal Swamp, because Norfolk State is waiting for a replacement infield tarpaulin to keep recent rain at bay.
“Quicksand would be the best description for what we have,” Shumate says of a soggy field that forced the Spartans to use the batting cages at nearby Harbor Park for all of but two days in the first two weeks of practice. “It’s just saturated.”
What Shumate doesn’t see in his first season as Norfolk State’s coach is a starting pitching rotation.
He has Chase Anderson (Granby High) for Friday’s season opener against visiting Villanova, and Jon Mahoney, a transfer from Prince George Community College, for Saturday’s game. Sunday? Midweek games? “Johnny Whole Staff,” Shumate cracked.
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