Millsaps College -- A year removed from a season of great expectations in which they were picked to win the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, the 2003 Millsaps baseball team seeks to rise from the ashes of a 2002 squad that faded and otherwise burned late in its tumultuous campaign, ending its season 23-17 after jumping to a 17-4 start. Led by four returning All-SCAC players and a rejuvenated pitching staff, the 2003 edition of Millsaps baseball is poised for success.
"We're ready," said Millsaps head baseball coach Jim Page, who enters his 15th season as the Majors' skipper. "I am extremely excited about our players and our potential. We are intensely focused on the upcoming season."
Defensively, Millsaps boasts a veteran infield, led by three-time All-SCAC selection Matt Yglesias and two-time All-SCAC honoree K.K. Aldridge. Playing shortstop and second base respectively, Yglesias and Aldridge are joined by third baseman Scott Staines, who was a 2002 All-SCAC selection. Vying for playing time at first base this season will be first-year player Joe Thrash and sophomore Ben Wilson. At catcher, juniors Bo Roberts and Matt Renna and sophomore Drew Varnado will battle for the backstop position. Juniors Prentiss Lawson and Cliff Wilson and freshman Garner Wetzel are expected to play valuable roles as utility players.
Patrolling the outfield will be All-SCAC selection Stuart Philllips, who will make the switch from right field to center field. Holding down right field will be sophomore Ryan Skertich, while left field will be roamed by freshman Randall Vaughan.
From the mound, senior Chat Lenhart and junior Doug Garner will head up a pitching staff that managed an impressive team ERA of 4.81 in 2002. Lenhart and Garner, who collected a team-high 6 wins apiece in 2002, will look to the lively arms of junior Stephen Kirkpatrick, sophomore John Fox and freshman Todd Kindler to shore up the starting rotation in 2003. In relief, senior Will Selman and sophomores Barry Kidder and Rob Elling will prove valuable resources for the Majors. Adding depth to the pitching roster will be sophomores Cliff Kennedy and Brandon Morris. Freshman hurlers include Garner Wetzel, Tal Hendrix, and Brad Mizerany.
Offensively, Stuart Phillips, Scott Staines, and Matt Yglesias all posted batting averages of .300 or better in 2002. Phillips led the Majors with a batting average of .364 and tallied 29 RBI, while belting out a team-high 55 hits, including three homeruns. Staines hit a clip of .342 and pounded out two homeruns, while Yglesias charted a .333 mark, ripping 15 doubles and two homeruns.
Millsaps opens the 2003 season on Friday, February 7, versus Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. The Majors' first home contest is Tuesday, February 11, versus cross-town rival Belhaven College in the first game of the 2003 Cowboy Maloney Series.
