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Warriors Baseball
PREVIEW
The Warriors open the 2010 campaign hoping to build on the
momentum that carried them to the JUCO World Series in
Grand Junction in 2009. The Warriors are deep with
sophomore talent, but the lineup will see four new faces in it
for most of the season. Middle Georgia will again play one of
the toughest schedules in the country. The Warriors will face
nationally ranked opponents in its first eight games out of the
blocks. As if that wasn’t tough enough the Warriors open an
always tough conference schedule with rival Darton in
March. If the Warriors are up for the challenge it could make
a run for a National Championship.
Pitching: The Warriors return only one starter from 2009 in
the arm of Blaine O’Brien (8-1 W-L, 60 K’s). Gone are Bryan
Blough (Kennesaw State), Gary Smith (Kennesaw State) and
Chris Newell (Mercer University). Jarret Leverett (4-1 W-L,
3.10 ERA, 51 K’s) is expected to move into one spot after
compiling a very successful season out of the pen in 2009.
Jacob Stinson, a red shirt freshman, has shown promise and
will compete with returner Taylor Hart (4-1 W-L) and incoming
freshmen Jesse Scott (Warner Robins H.S.), and sophomore
Zach Smith (5.24 ERA, 44 K’s) who saw spot starts along
with Hart. The closing duties should fall in the hands of
freshman Evan Jarman (Effingham Co. H.S.) when not having
duties in the outfield and Derek Alex (4.45 ERA, 7 Saves)
who closed a portion of the 2009 season. Spencer Butler will
play an important role on the Warriors staff after surgery
forced him out in 2009. Travis Barrett has moved on to
Georgia Southwestern State which will open a spot for mid
week starters. Wyatt Brown (North Gwinnett H.S.) and
James Hager (Lowndes H.S.) will be used mid week as well as
Gray Carden (Lee Co. H.S.) and Furman University transfer
Jamel Mann. Taking over Leverett’s role from 2009 will be
Cameron Blinn (Jefferson H.S.) Freshman Kevin Franklin
(Clarksville H.S. Tenn.) is versatile and can be used out of the
pen or as a spot starter when needed.
Catching: Catching duties should be in capable hands with
perhaps the strongest duo in Junior College baseball. Cal
State-Fullerton transfer Cody Collins (Spring Valley H.S. NV)
brings leadership and a well rounded game while Sophomore
Brent Worsham (.276 BA, 70% caught stealing) brings
experience and perhaps one of the strongest arms in the
nation to help shut down opponents running games. Drew
McWhorter (Duluth H.S.) looks to see time as the third
catcher, while red shirt freshman Brian Erickson (Lovett
School) will see time behind the plate, at first and in a DH role.
Outfield: The outfield sees three solid returners in Dylan
Scott, Heine Rivera, and Josh Purvis. All three saw
substantial playing time in 2009. Scott (.394 OB%) will see
time in left and center throughout the season as will Rivera (9
HR, 44 RBI) who can play all three outfield spots. Purvis
(.340 BA, 3 HR) is taking over right field from Georgia College
and State signee Shawn Ward. New comer Reggie Williams a
Texas Ranger selection in the ’09 draft should line up in
Center and will lead off for the Warriors.
Infield: The Warriors must replace the middle of the infield
with the departure of Jakob Dalfonso the Atlanta Braves 17th
pick in the ‘09 draft and Los Angeles Dodgers draftee Shawn
Payne who opted to attend
Georgia Southern University. Third baseman Jonathan
Hester (.327 BA, 12 HR) will transition to short while
freshman Tony Cannaday (Clay Co. H.S. Florida) or Florida
International University transfer Javy Sujo will man second
and third. All Region XVII Tournament MVP T.J. Rich (.412
BA, 7 HR) will man first base and Chandler Hall has moved
from the mound and could see time at first, outfield or in a DH
role.
Summary: The Warriors will have to find their identity early
on with top 20 opponents such as Chiploa, St. Petersburg,
Walters State, Miami-Dade, and USC-Sumter on the schedule
early. Match that schedule with conference foes Young
Harris, Georgia Perimeter, Gordon, ABAC, Darton, South
Georgia, and Andrew makes the Warriors schedule one of the
toughest in the nation. Offensively the Warriors should be
able to score and if the pitching and defense are solid could
make a run at their 14th World Series appearance.
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Warrior News
The St. Louis Cardinals drafted center fielder Reggie Williams Jr. of the 2010 Middle Georgia College Warriors baseball team in the 10th round of the Major League Baseball draft. Williams came into MGC having been drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 32nd round of the 2009 MLB draft. After spending one season with the Warriors, Williams was picked 22 rounds higher.
Two future Warriors were also drafted. RHP Demondre Arnold of Creekside HS was taken in the 37th round by the Tampa Bay Rays and OF Patrick Smith of Redan HS was taken in the 43rd round by the Boston Red Sox. Both Arnold and Smith have been committed to the Warriors since early fall 2009. Three Middle Georgia College Warriors were honored by the NJCAA for their outstanding 2010 seasons. Johnnie Hester, TJ Rich, and Javy Sujo each garnered All-American awards. Johnnie Hester was named 1st Team All-American as he batted .421 with 19 homers and 74 RBI's. He led the team in home runs and RBI's while being named GJCAA conference Player of the Year. TJ Rich earned 2nd Team All-American status as he batted .476 with 8 HR, 18 doubles, 68 RBI's, and a team leading .579 OB%. Rich was a 1st Team All-Conference selection. Javy Sujo was named a 2nd Team All-American as he paced the conference with a .477 BA and 21 doubles. Sujo, a 1st Team All-Conference selection, also belted 8 HR's and knocked in 70 RBI's. The 3 All-American honors were the most selections by any one team in the nation. Hester, Rich, and Sujo are all moving on to division I programs after their monster years. Hester signed with the University of Georgia, Rich signed with Memphis University, and Sujo signed with Florida Gulf Coast University.
Chandler Hall, Johnnie Hester, Josh Purvis, TJ Rich, Zach Smith, and Javy Sujo were all honored in some fashion with GJCAA conference awards on Tuesday, April 27th. Johnnie Hester was announced the GJCAA conference player of the year as he hit .419 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI's. Hester slugged .800 as he paced the conference in HR's and RBI's and finished in the top ten in batting average. Josh Purvis, TJ Rich, and Javy Sujo were named all conference while Zach Smith made second team and Chandler Hall received a Golden Glove award in the outfield. Purvis hit .361 in conference and .342 for the season with 8 homeruns, 11 stolen bases, and 51 RBI's. Rich led the conference in hitting .473 on the season and .476 in conference with 70 runs scored, 6 homeruns, 17 doubles, 61 RBI's, and an amazing .574 on base percentage. Sujo finished right behind Rich in batting .472 on the season and a whopping .506 in conference with 18 doubles, 8 homeruns, and 64 RBI's. He led the team in at bats and hits. Chandler Hall received the Golden Glove award as he did not make an error in the outfield or at first base all season with 6 assists and 67 putouts. Hall hit .291 with 7 homeruns and sported a .409 on base percentage with 12 stolen bases. Smith went 5-1 in conference with 6 starts as the game one starter. He sported a 4.82 ERA in 37.1 conference innings with 34 strikeouts. He has a 3.98 ERA on the season and leads the team in wins at 7-3. MGC boasted the most players honored by the conference in 2010, a season in which they won the regular season title.
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