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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama --Stillman College has promoted assistant coach Julius McDougal to head coach of the baseball program. The Tigers baseball team has compiled a 272-236 (.535) record since moving to NCAA Division II beginning with the 2004-2005 season and has claimed seven Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Titles with three runner-up finishes in the last 10 seasons. McDougal has served as an assistant to the recently resigned Donny Crawford for the last two seasons. During his time as an assistant he has focused on infield drills and working with the batters on plate discipline and in-game adjustments between at bats. McDougal also evaluated the practice performances and generated daily reports for use by the coaching staff in establishing depth charts for each position. Utilizing his playing experience, McDougal has designed the in season and off season strength and conditioning programs.
"I am excited about the hiring of Coach McDougal to lead the baseball team here at Stillman College", announced Interim Athletic Director Cassandra Moorer. "He will continue to elevate our baseball team on and off the field and will be an excellent statesman for the community and the Stillman Family."
Prior to coming to Stillman, McDougal spent one season at SIAC foe Kentucky State as an assistant coach in the 2014 season. McDougal graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Claflin University in May 2012 where he was an All-SIAC centerfielder in 2010. McDougal finished his four-year career at Claflin batting .325 including .400 in 2010 and .321 in 2011 to rank in the top-80 each season in Division II. He totaled 117 hits and scored 102 runs with eight home runs and 87 career RBI.
"I am honored to be chosen as the next head baseball coach at Stillman College" stated McDougal. "I would like to thank God for bringing me to this moment and am very blessed to be in this position. I am grateful for the chance given to me by Coach Moorer and Dr. Millet. I look forward to continuing the winning tradition at this great institution and building upon it. I am excited about helping to develop young men athletically as well as academically. We will make sure our fans and alumni are not only happy with our Tigers on the field, but in the classroom and community. I look forward to serving as the head baseball coach at Stillman College."
The Tigers concluded the 2015 season with a loss in the SIAC Championship game to Albany State on April 28 to end the season 15-21 overall and 10-5 in SIAC action. Hunter Hood and Paul Winterbottom were selected to the 2015 All-SIAC Tournament Team. Hood and Winterbottom were joined by Fernando Tanaka and Nick Vitale on the All-SIAC Baseball Teams after the regular season. CAREER PLAYING NUMBERS:
TUCSON, Arizona -- Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has released its first set of 2016 NCAA Division II College Baseball preseason rankings and the Winston-Salem State Rams have been tabbed the #21 team in the rankings. "Preseason rankings are exciting because it means the season opener is right around the corner," said Kevin Ritsche, WSSU head baseball coach. "Being only a few votes from the top 12 is a sign of respect for our program. Now it's up to us to uphold it in February," added Ritsche. Winston-Salem State finished 42-15 in 2015, capturing their fifth consecutive CIAA Baseball Championship. The 42 wins by WSSU in 2015 are the most in school history and the Rams advancing to within 2 wins of the NCAA DII College World Series is the furthest a CIAA baseball team has ever advanced. The 2016 WSSU baseball team will open the season on Friday, February 5th, when the Rams host Millersville University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, at BB&T Ballpark in downtown Winston-Salem. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 pm.
Rank, School
2015 Record
Pts
1. Tampa
(43-13)
630
2. Catawba
(47-15)
626
3. Mercyhurst
(40-11)
623
4. Franklin Pierce
(48-4)
619
5. Minnesota St.
(43-9)
616
6. St. Cloud St.
(54-5)
614
7. Florida Tech.
(38-13)
611
8. West Alabama
(42-11)
608
9. Colorado Mesa
(48-9)
606
10. Cal. Poly Pomona
(46-15)
603
11. St. Edwards, TX
(40-13)
600
12. St. Mary's, TX
(41-16)
597
13. Angelo St.
(42-18)
595
14. Southern Arkansas
(40-18)
592
15. North Georgia
(38-17)
590
16. Henderson St.
(33-21)
589
17. Nova Southeastern
(39-13)
585
18. Millersville
(45-11)
584
19. Seton Hill
(43-13)
581
20. Lynn
(35-15-1)
576
21. Winston-Salem St.
(42-15)
572
22. Quincy
(40-17)
596
23. S. New Hampshire
(31-14)
565
24. Missouri Southern St.
(40-14)
562
25. Armstrong St.
(34-14)
560
26. U.C. San Diego
(36-21)
557
27. West Georgia
(33-15)
554
28. Ashland
(38-19)
552
29. Mt. Olive
(39-16)
550
30. Alabama-Huntsville
(36-11-1)
546
31. Colorado St.-Pueblo
(41-16)
544
32. Lander
(22-26)
541
33. Southern Indiana
(28-21)
538
34. Azusa Pacific
(34-10)
535
35. Grand Valley St.
(34-18)
532
36. Trevecca Nazarene
(36-18)
529
37. Flagler
(32-15)
526
38. Emporia St.
(39-16)
522
39. West Florida
(30-18)
519
40. Drury
(33-24-1)
516
COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
The Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame will induct its third class of honorees during a gala ceremony to be held Saturday, July 16, at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the campus of Grambling State University.
This year’s honorees include former NFL Pro Bowl MVP James “Shack” Harris, former Super Bowl champions Gary “Big Hands” Johnson and Everson Walls, former NBA champion Larry Wright and Douglas Porter, already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Tickets may be purchased through the PayPal link on the group’s Web site, at gramblinglegends.net, or by contacting Albert Dennis III by phone at (318) 261-0898 or by email at albertdennis3@bellsouth.net.
Biographical details on this year’s class of inductees follow:
FRANK GARNETT (baseball) – A New Orleans native, Garnett was a three-sport letterman and a state champion in both baseball and basketball at St. Augustine High. He then served as a team captain on the 1962-63 Grambling baseball teams, as the Tigers advanced to the national NAIA baseball tournament for the third of what would be four times between 1961-67. He was named all-conference in each of his four years on campus – once at first base, twice at third base and once a shortstop – and earned first-team All-America honors in 1963. Garnett, later a longtime Los Angeles area educator, then signed a baseball contract with the Washington Senators, and played seven seasons of minor league baseball.
JAMES “SHACK” HARRIS (football) – A senior personnel executive for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the Monroe, Louisiana, native led Grambling to SWAC championships in each of his four years as quarterback and was named MVP of the 1967 Orange Blossom Classic. Drafted by the AFL’s Buffalo Bills, he would become the first black player to start a season at quarterback, the first to start a conference championship game and the first to be named MVP of the Pro Bowl over the course of a career that also included stops with the Rams and Chargers.
TASHA HOLLIS (women’s basketball) – A standout at Grambling from 1988-91, the Mobile, Alabama, native scored a total of 2,058 points. She boasted a career shot percentage of 58 percent, and a free-throw average of 64 percent. That included scoring in double figures 75 times in 85 games played. The Lady Tigers, under fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Pat Bibbs, claimed the SWAC regular-season and tournament titles in 1988-89. Hollis also notched double figures in rebounds in 69 career games, and had 140 blocked shots and 142 steals.
DELLES HOWELL (football) – Famously started at Grambling as a freshman cornerback, then in the NFL as a rookie. The Monroe, Louisiana, native starred on a trio of Southwestern Athletic Conference title teams for fellow Grambling Legends Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson, then for the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets in a six-season NFL career – collecting 17 career interceptions. He has found a second calling in the ministry, serving as pastor of New Light Baptist Church in northeastern Louisiana.
JAMES “HOUND” HUNTER (football) – Drafted 10th overall out of Grambling, where the two-time All-SWAC corner claimed a league championship in 1974, Hunter led the NFL’s Detroit Lions in interceptions in 1976-77 and in 1980, eventually logging 27 career picks. Hunter was runner-up for NFL defensive rookie of the year before a neck injury in the early 1980s shortened a promising pro career. He died of an apparent heart attack in 2010; Hunter was just 56.
GARY “BIG HANDS” JOHNSON (football) – A three-time All-SWAC defensive tackle, the Shreveport, Louisiana, helped Grambling to a trio of conference titles before becoming the first pick of the 1975 draft for San Diego, playing for the Chargers until a 1984 trade to San Francisco – where he won a Super Bowl. Johnson made the Pro Bowl in each of the 1980-83 campaign, setting a 17 ½ sack season record for San Diego that still stands. Johnson died in August 2010 at age 57, having never recovered from a stroke he suffered the previous July.
JAMES JONES (basketball) – Averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds a night over 104 career games, as fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Fred Hobdy led the Tigers to three SWAC championships, then was selected 13th overall by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1967 NBA Draft. He finished as one of the old ABA’s all-time leaders in every category, becoming just the second in league history to score more than 2,000 points in one season. Jones played seven years in the ABA and then three with the NBA’s Washington Bullets.
FRANK LEWIS (football) – Part of the Pittsburgh Steelers first two Super Bowl-winning squads, Lewis helped Grambling to a SWAC crown and then led the league in scoring over his final two seasons. A two-time all-conference wingback, he finished with 42 career touchdowns at Grambling, then had nearly 400 receptions and 40 touchdowns in the NFL. Later an all-pro with the Buffalo Bills, Lewis was the first player in league history to gain 100 yards in receiving in postseason games for two different clubs. He is employed in workforce development in south Louisiana.
ALEX PERO (baseball) – In 1962-63, Pero had a staggering 0.00 ERA to help Grambling to the national NAIA baseball tournament. Grambling led the nation in ERA that season, and the team would earn NAIA berths four times between 1961-67 under fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach R.W.E. Jones. In 1965, Pero set a Division II mark for strikeouts per nine innings amongst 50-game starters that to this day remains second all time. He played for three seasons in the minor leagues. Pero passed in 2009 at age 65.
EVERSON WALLS (football) – An all-conference selection for the SWAC champion Tigers, Walls led the nation in interceptions in 1980 – setting a school record that still stands. He then played 14 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, leading the league in picks in both 1982 and 1985, earning All-Pro honors three times and a Super Bowl after the 1990 season with the Giants. The Texas native works as a businessman in Dallas.
VISIT: GIFTFORLIFEFOUNDATION ROBERT WOODS (track and field; football) – A two-sport star, Woods left Grambling in 1978 with a SWAC championship and all-conference honors as an undersized but unstoppable wingback for fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson. He was the Bayou Classic MVP of 1977, then was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in ’78. Woods played two seasons in the NFL. Now executive director of a residential treatment center for adolescents in Houston, Texas, he has worked in the mental health field for more than 20 years.
LARRY WRIGHT (basketball) – Wright, of Richwood, Louisiana, helped Grambling to the 1976 league tournament championship and then led the Washington Bullets to an NBA title in 1978. A former head basketball coach for the Tigers, Wright was a two-time all-conference selection, a two time NCAA small college All-American and the SWAC player of the year in 1975-76. Later, Wright was a celebrated player overseas, earning MVP honors as Roma claimed its first-ever European title. He currently serves as an associate high school principal in northeastern Louisiana.
AL DENNIS JR. (pre-1960 honoree) – A New Orleans native and World War II veteran, the late Dennis was one of Grambling’s most celebrated early football captains. Playing from 1946-49, he was a two-time All-America blocker for future College Hall of Famer Paul “Tank” Younger. In 1968, he would become the first African-American to receive a master’s degree in health and physical education from Northwestern State University in Louisiana. He coached and taught for more than 45 years, notably at Brown High in Springhill, Louisiana.
DOUGLAS PORTER (contributor) – A former assistant at Grambling under Eddie Robinson, Porter was a head coach at FCS programs Mississippi Valley State (1961-65) and Howard (1974-78) and finally at Division II Fort Valley State (1979-94), earning induction into the College Football Hall of Fame (2008). He has remained a trusted advisor for every coach to have succeeded Robinson, and was instrumental in the efforts to construct a museum in Robinson’s honor on the Grambling campus.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The CIAA’s decision to drop baseball is something coach Kevin Ritsche of Winston-Salem State has been bracing for.
When Elizabeth City State dropped its program before the 2014 season, the conference had slipped below the NCAA minimum of six schools sponsoring baseball to qualify for an automatic berth into region play. Even though the CIAA had five baseball programs, the NCAA gave the conference a break over the next three seasons, with the conference champion still getting rewarded with an automatic berth into regional play.
The conference decided to drop the sport because there was no sign of another CIAA school adding baseball to compete with teams already at WSSU, Chowan, Saint Augustine’s, Virginia State and Lincoln (Pa.).
WSSU athletics director Tonia Walker said the school is committed to the sport.
“We will maintain baseball as an independent sport with hopes that the CIAA will increase membership with other schools who play baseball or if current schools add it,” Walker said. CONTINUE READING
Photo: Bethune Cookman University 2008 Baseball Team.
Baseball seeing fewer black athletes on deck.
Central High School junior Johnny Gray has never played organized baseball, although his friends have attempted to talk him into giving it a try. "They tell me I'd be good at it," said Gray, who plays basketball and runs track at Central. "But I'm so busy with basketball, I don't really have time."
Besides, Gray said, baseball just doesn't do anything for him. "It's kind of boring to me," he said. Gray's view seems typical of many young black athletes who dream of earning a college athletic scholarship. Baseball probably isn't their ticket. The number of black players in college baseball continues to decline, with black players comprising only 2.6 of the NCAA Division I total in 2006, the latest NCAA report.
That's down from 6 percent in a 2004 report by Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports. Lapchick isn't pointing fingers at the college game or its coaches. He said the dwindling number of blacks in baseball is an across-the-board problem.
HEAD COACH JAMEY SHOUPPE Courtesy FAMU Sports Information
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Florida A&M baseball officially announces its 2017 schedule that will total 30 home games at Moore-Kittles Field and will begin on February 17 with a three-game opening series against Wofford College. FAMU will start the season playing 16 of its first 20 games at home at Moore-Kittles Field. The Rattlers will also play 14 games against in-state competition and eight games against opponents who played in the 2016 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
“Our staff and players are extremely excited for the upcoming season and the level of competition we’re able to face on our schedule in 2017, “head coach Jamey Shouppe said. “The players have put in a lot of time this fall and worked extremely hard, both on and off the field, this fall to prepare for the upcoming season. We’re extremely fortunate to have 30 home games this spring, which allows our fans to have the opportunity to come see up play more often and also gives our student athletes the ability to stay in class more during the spring semester.”
FAMU will host non-conference series against Wofford, George Washington, Mercer, East Tennessee State and Jackson State, while having single games versus Jacksonville, Alabama State and North Florida at Moore-Kittles Field. Florida A&M will also travel to Auburn, Florida, South Florida, Jacksonville, Mercer, Alabama State, and North Florida as part of its out of conference schedule.
The Rattlers begin their MEAC schedule the weekend of March 11-12 at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. and the first home conference series is the following weekend, March 18-19, against Savannah State. FAMU will wrap up the regular season at North Carolina A&T on the weekend of May 12-13.
The 2017 MEAC Baseball Championship will once again be held in Salisbury, Maryland at Perdue Stadium, home of the Baltimore Orioles Single A team the Delmarva Shorebirds. The top three teams in each division of the MEAC will advance to the MEAC Baseball Championship.
Florida A&M is returning 16 players from a 2016 team that finished the regular season as the overall number one seed in the MEAC. Florida A&M also recorded its first 30-win season since 2003 and just the third 30-win season since becoming a Division I program in 1980. 2016 posted a strong offensive season as the Rattlers finished ranked in the top 10 nationally in three categories. FAMU also set program records in seven categories and finished in the top three of 19 different categories in program history.
With 21 newcomers to the fall roster, there has been plenty of competition for positions in the middle infield and in the outfield that was left vacant from graduating seniors following the 2016 season. With the addition of many talented new arms to help fill out the pitching staff, 2017 is poised to build off the success of 2016.
As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @BaseballFAMU and on Facebook. Updated news is also always available at FAMUAthletics.com.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A four-run eighth inning rally lifted the Alabama State baseball team to a 9-8 win over North Carolina Central Sunday at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
Trailing 7-5, Richard Amion led off the eighth with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. Cesar Rivera beat out a grounder to the right side for an infield single, scoring Amion. After a sacrifice bunt by Richard Gonzalez moved Rivera to second base, Waldyvan Estrada's single to right field scored Rivera to tie the game at 7-7. Emmanuel Marrero then singled to right field, advancing Estrada to third. Branden Castro's perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt scored Estrada with the go-ahead run. Dexter Price then walked before Chase Waters' single into right field scored Marrero for a 9-7 lead.
Amion, Rivera, and Estrada each had three hits and scored two runs in the 19-hit attack for the Hornets (24-8), who won their sixth straight game in completing the three-game sweep.
"We sat on a five-run lead, and we know in baseball that's not enough," head coach Mervyl Melendez said of his team, which scored five runs in the first inning but did not score again until the late-game rally. "Teams at this level are going to be able to come back, they're going to make a run, and put some innings together. That was the case today. North Carolina Central did a very good job in doing just that to take the lead. I'm just extremely proud of our team. I've said it many times – when adversity hits, that's when we are at our strongest and play our best baseball. This is a very good victory, especially coming from behind."
Armando Ruiz (2-2) pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and a run in the ninth. With the tying run on third, he struck out Eric Kimber on a 1-2 pitch for the final out.
"You have to depend on guys who want the baseball," Melendez said of Ruiz. "I had every intention in the ninth inning to take him out the game, but he said 'I got it.' He was very firm about wanting the baseball with the game on the line. I stepped back, and watched him do his thing."
Alabama State scored five runs in the first inning to take an early lead. The Hornets began the game with four straight hits. Amion and Rivera each singled to right field, and Gonzalez' single to left scored Amion. Estrada then doubled to left center field, scoring Rivera and advancing Gonzalez to third. After an RBI groundout by Marrero scored Gonzalez for a 3-0 lead, Castro's sacrifice fly scored Estrada. Price then walked and later scored on a single up the middle by Einar Muniz for a 5-0 lead.
North Carolina Central (9-17-1) took the lead with three runs in the fourth and sixth innings, and a run in the seventh before the late-game rally by Alabama State, which improved to 8-0 on Sunday games this season.
"All the credit goes to this group of guys that believe in themselves," Melendez said. "They made a commitment last year, knowing they had to play better to win ball games. It's a true testament of the hard work they have put in during the offseason and early part of this season and I'm very happy for them."
The Hornets continue the five-game homestand Tuesday against Mercer and Wednesday against Jacksonville State, with first pitch both days at 6 p.m. at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex.
PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions baseball team will begin its 2018 spring season on February 16 as it faces Alcorn State University in New Orleans, Louisiana, at Maestri Field at First NBC Ballpark at the University of New Orleans. UAPB will also face Grambling State University (Feb. 17) and Alabama State University (Feb. 18) at the same location.
On February 20, the Golden Lions will travel to Kansas to face the University of Kansas at Hoglund Ball Park before the highly anticipated home opener and three-game series against the University of Tennessee at Martin on February 23, 24 and 25 at Torii Hunter Baseball Complex. UAPB will then head to Knoxville, Tennessee, to face the University of Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on February 28 before returning home to open up Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Southern University in a three-game series which will begin on March 2.
Another SWAC three-game series at home, this time against Grambling, will start on March 9. UAPB will then play host to Valparaiso University on the following weekend for another three-game series at Tori Hunter Baseball Complex.
On March 20, the Golden Lions will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to face Texas Christian University at Charlie and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium before heading to Texas Southern University for a three-game series at Macgregor Park in SWAC play. On March 28, UAPB will head to Conway, Arkansas, to face in-state opponent University of Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium before hosting UCA at home on April 10.
The Golden Lions will head back to Texas on April 17 to face Stephen F. Austin at Jaycees Field before heading to Waco, Texas, to face Baylor University at Baylor Ballpark on April 18.
On April 24, UAPB will host the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in a much anticipated in-state game before returning the favor in Little Rock on May 8 at Gary Hogan Field.
On May 16, the 2018 SWAC Baseball Tournament will begin at Pontchartrain Park in New Orleans.
