February 3, 2005
FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University will compete in its initial season of NCAA Division I Baseball during 2005 as the Lancers are scheduled to play 51 Division I games against 22 DI programs, including an early three-game series at the University of South Carolina (preseason #7) February 11-13. Veteran head coach Charles ‘Buddy’ Bolding, in his 27th-year as the only head coach in the program’s history, will lead a young Longwood team with only three seniors and one junior among the 24-man roster. Coach Bolding is assisted in 2005 by second-year coach Rick Blanc who has specific responsibility for the pitching staff, and first-year assistant Ryan Horning. The Lancers open the campaign at Division II Hawaii Pacific, a five-game series this weekend, Feb. 5-7, in Honolulu.
Longwood returns six position starters among 10 returning letterwinners from a year ago, along with three starting pitchers from a team that finished 31-16 in 2004. The Lancers add 13 newcomers to the tradition-rich program, including nine true freshmen, a junior transfer, two sophomore transfers, and a redshirt-freshman transfer. The three seniors include outfielders Chris Balus/Newport News (Denbigh) (.376, 8 HR, 31 RBI) and Brett Mooney/Virginia Beach (Salem) (.358, 5 HR, 32 RBI), and infielder Robert Gillis/Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Auburn Drive) (.314, 3 HR, 22 RBI). Balus, a career .362 hitter with 12 home runs and 60 RBI, is expected to start in right field. Mooney, a team tri-captain and career .322 hitter with 11 home runs and 79 RBI, will be the designated hitter. Gillis, a career .296 hitter with six home runs and 73 RBI, will most-likely platoon at second base to open the season.
“Overall, we’ll be young, but talented,” said Bolding. “Two big back-to-back recruiting classes are preparing Longwood Baseball to continue the great tradition which has been created over the past three decades by former Lancer greats like major leaguer Michael Tucker and others.”
Additional returning starters from last spring include sophomores Tyler Ames/Exmore (Northampton) (OF, .425, 1 HR, 34 RBI), Tyler Childress/Montclair (Forest Park) (C, .309, 4 HR, 25 RBI), and big 6-6, 255-pound Charlie Yarbrough/Richmond (Mills Godwin) (1B, .377, 8 HR, 45 RBI). The lone returning junior is local infielder Danny McCraw/Pamplin (Randolph-Henry) (IF, .337, 2 HR, 24 RBI). Ames, a team tri-captain, will start in center field. Childress will open behind the plate. Yarbrough will start at first base, and McCraw will probably pinch-hit early in the campaign.
Returning starters on the mound are sophomores Alan Moore/Richmond (Monacan) (RHP, 8-4, 4.10 ERA, 74.2 IP), Brian McCullough/Virginia Beach (Princess Anne) (RHP, 3-2, 6.02 ERA, 43.1 IP), and Zach Zigrang/Virginia Beach (Kempsville) (RHP, 7-1, 2.15 ERA, 29.1 IP). Also back to the mound staff this year is redshirt-sophomore Brett Mangigian/Midlothian (Midlothian) (LHP, 2003: 2-4, 4.56 ERA, 51.1 IP) who missed 2004 after undergoing surgery. Moore opens as the #2 pitcher. McCullough will enter from the bullpen. Zigrang, a team tri-captain, is still recovering from off-season surgery but could become a starter when fully recovered, and Mangigian should move into the rotation as well.
“The pitching staff is much improved and far deeper than in past years,” explained Bolding.
The new position players to the program include the following: junior third baseman Corey Huemmer/Abingdon, Md. (Eastern Tech), sophomore infielder Matthew Duval/Mechanicsburg, Pa. (Trinity), along with freshmen outfielders Joe Bott/Elyria, Ohio (Elyria Catholic) and Louis Ullrich/Centreville (Westfield), catcher Brian Polgar/Strongsville, Ohio (St. Ignatius), as well as infielders Travis Lydon/Westlake, Ohio (St. Edward) and Nick von Gersdorff/Purcellville (Loudoun Valley). Huemmer, a transfer from Community College of Baltimore County-Dundalk (Md.), will start at third base. Duval, a transfer from Burlington County (N.J.) Community College, will platoon at second base. Bott, named the Lorain County (Ohio) MVP last spring, will start in left field, while von Gersdorff, an All-Region selection last year, will start at shortstop.
The new pitchers include sophomore LHP Clay Horn/Culpeper (Culpeper County), redshirt freshman RHP Josh Simonds/Virginia Beach (Kempsville), along with freshmen RHP John Farrell/Nantucket, Mass. (Nantucket), RHP Rob Moody/Midlothian (Midlothian), LHP Sean Quinn/Mainesville, Ohio (St. Xavier), and RHP Isaac Weiderman/Chillicothe, Ohio (Huntington). Horn, a transfer from Belmont Abbey, begins the season in the starting rotation. Simonds, a transfer from Division I Florida Atlantic, will enter from the bullpen. Farrell, who tossed a no-hitter last spring and also set new school-records for season strikeouts (127, 14.11) and strikeouts in a game (18), will open as the staff’s #1 pitcher. Weiderman, an All-District choice last season, is also in the starting rotation, while Moody (All-Metro by the Richmond Times-Dispatch) and Quinn (All-City in Cincinnati) will work from the pen, as could the versatile Ullrich (All-State).
“We are extremely excited for this season to get rolling,” added assistant coach Blanc. “We see this 2005 season as another turning point in Longwood Baseball history. Playing nationally ranked teams such as South Carolina, Virginia, and Winthrop will bring tremendous exposure to our program, student-athletes, and Longwood University."
As mentioned, Southeastern Conference member South Carolina is #7 in the preseason Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll after posting a 53-17 record in 2004 while advancing to the College World Series (3-2, 3rd). The Gamecocks return six position starters among 19 letterwinners, including nine pitchers. Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Virginia is #29 in the preseason poll following a 44-15 season a year ago. Winthrop of the Big South Conference is ranked #35 in preseason after finishing 37-23 last season after posting a 53-17 record in 2004 while advancing to the College World Series (3-2, 3rd). The Gamecocks return six position starters among 19 letterwinners, including nine pitchers. Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Virginia is #29 in the preseason poll following a 44-15 season a year ago. Winthrop of the Big South Conference is ranked #35 in preseason after finishing 37-23 last season.
Longwood will also host several prominent Virginia Division I baseball programs at Lancer Stadium this spring, including James Madison, Old Dominion, VCU, and William and Mary. The Lancers will also welcome the Big Ten Conference’s Indiana University to Farmville (March 25-27), along with Ivy League member institution Princeton University. Other noteworthy opponents on the schedule include the ACC’s Maryland, the Big South’s Radford and VMI, along with Southern Conference members Appalachian State, The Citadel, and Wofford.
