February 6, 2007

LAURINBURG, N.C.—Second year head coach Chris Chaffinch is looking for the 2007 St. Andrews Presbyterian College baseball team to build on last years experiences and to open some eyes as the new season progresses.

“The expectations for us are to get better from last year,” said Chaffinch. “We want to be over .500 at the end of the season and to have really surprised some people.”

St. Andrews finished the 2006 season with a 20-30 overall record that included three wins against nationally ranked opponents. The Knights plan on improving on last years mark with 16 letter winners returning to go along with 19 newcomers.

Chaffinch, along with new assistant coaches Daryl Evans and Greg Wrape, expect their pitching and defense to be the strong foundation to the ’07 ball club. Evans will work most closely with the Knights pitchers and catchers while Wrape will serve as the head infield coach and assistant hitting coach.

SAPC will take the mound with six veteran arms and eight recruits. Senior southpaw Ryan Curley (Emmaus, Pa.) will anchor the Knights rotation as a three-year veteran. Curley brings 13 career wins and 144 strikeouts into his senior season and is expected to be a weekend starter like in the past while chewing up a lot of innings.

Junior hurler T.J. Chrusch (Fleetwood, Pa.), a 2006 CVAC Pitcher of the Week, returns after seeing most of his playing time in the bullpen in his first two seasons. Chrusch has logged a winning 8-7 record with 12 saves and a 3.86 ERA in 54 career appearances while fanning 98 batters.

Junior B.J. Horne (Hamlet, N.C.) and red-shirt sophomore Ryan Kirkman (Liberty, N.C.) are two returning right-handers that will also see a lot of time on the rubber. Horne has a 7-5 overall record and 49 K’s while Kirkman had a win and 38 strikeouts in 16 appearances in 2006. Senior leftie Mike Mianulli (Ellicott City, Md.) pitched in 12 games after transferring in last year while junior Chad Ross (Sacramento, Calif.) is SAPC’s sixth returning arm.

Junior Josh Porter (Laurinburg, N.C.) returns to St. Andrews after two seasons away. Porter was 4-2 with 24 strikeouts for the Knights in 2004. Porter is one of eight new pitchers for a young SAPC squad. Chaffinch has also added three junior college transfers to the ‘07 pitching staff. Junior leftie Daniel Rabon (Delco, N.C.) comes from Southeastern Community College, junior rightie Travis Lee (Frederick, Md.) left Del-Tech Community College, and sophomore leftie John Cratch (Angier, N.C.) transfers from Lenoir Community College. Four freshman round out the deep pitching staff including leftie Mark Dlugokienski (Naples, Fla.), rightie Jordan Cudney (Charlotte, N.C.), rightie Justin Prince (Sneads Ferry, N.C.) and rightie John Child (Wilmington, N.C.).

Chaffinch also believes that the St. Andrews defensive play will be much better in 2007 with the addition of a lot of faces at each position including several junior college transfers. He expects the Knights to me much more sure handed on defense after SAPC posted a .930 fielding percentage last season.

Chaffinch’s biggest concern will be the team’s firepower offensively. The Knights had only 31 home runs and a .398 slugging percentage in his first season at the helm.

“We (St. Andrews) will be a small ball team with only one big slugger,” explained Chaffinch. “Our team speed is very good and our players are buying into our system of playing small ball.”

Senior catcher Cliff Allred (Franklinville, N.C.), who will also see time at first base and as the designated hitter in 2007, will be St. Andrews one big bat in the lineup. Allred had one-third of the Knights home runs last year with 10 diggers. Over three years, Allred has a .290 batting average with 115 RBI, 29 doubles, and 27 home runs.

Senior outfielder Ritchie Priest (Elizabethtown, N.C.), who has been plagued by injury his whole playing career, will be looked to provide an offensive spark to this years lineup if he can stay healthy. Priest has only accumulated 268 at bats over three years but has batted .347 cumulatively with 54 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Priest can also supply some power with 46 RBI, 12 doubles, six homers, and three triples.

Senior Adam Stemple (Holly Spring, Ga.) is the Knights fifth senior on this years team and is coming off a breakout junior year in which he batted .371 in 18 games.

Chaffinch returns five infielders from last season. Junior middle infielder Michael Eastwood (Grantsboro, N.C.) has a .290 career batting average at SAPC while providing some speed that includes 12 career doubles and nine stolen bases. Sophomore’s Matt Harkness (Walnut Cove, N.C.) and Ivan Rodriguez (New York, N.Y.) gained valuable experience at the middle infield positions in their rookie seasons with 29 and 17 games played, respectively. Junior first baseman Jeff Hayes (Wake Forest, N.C.) returns after red shirting last year and sophomore Taylor Maul (Ft. Collins, Colo.) completes the returning Knights infielders.

The Knights infield will see the addition of seven new gloves including three junior college transfers. Junior Eric Stone (Laurinburg, N.C.) will be a middle infield anchor from Southeastern Community College; junior Josh Day (Bessemer, N.C.) will play on the hot corner after playing at Rockingham Community College; and junior Sam Williams (Rockingham, N.C.) will defend first from Lenior Community College.

Additional freshman infielders on the 2007 St. Andrews roster include Alex Ridout (Wake Forest, N.C.), Charles Weber (Concord, N.C.), Adam Traywick (Marshville, N.C.) and Andrew Bizjak (Mt. Airy, Md.).

Helping Allred behind the plate will be a duo of catchers. Junior Chad Heckler (Sidney, Ohio) transfers in from Wilkes Community College and will also see time in the outfield. Freshman Zach Dunn (Harrisburg, N.C.) is a switch-hitting backstop.

Junior Andrew Hoffner (Ellicott City, Md.) and sophomore Jordan Scott (Tarboro, N.C.) will complement Priest and Stemple as the Knights returning outfielders. Hoffner has played in 55 games over two years while a speedy Scott saw time in 29 games last year.

Chaffinch added two new freshman outfielders to complete the 2007 squad in Jonathan Ramkissoon (Dallas, N.C.) and Steve Lambert (Millis, Mass.).

“We have a lot of newcomers with 19 new faces this year,” added Chaffinch. “They have been very competitive in practice and we expect the cream of the group to rise to the top. We have a lot of team chemistry and we are anxious and eager to get the season started.”

The Knights will play a 55 game schedule in 2007 including 31 non-conference games and 24 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC) contests. The conference season will be broken down into eight 3-game weekend series. SAPC will host CVAC foes Barton, Belmont Abbey, Coker, and Limestone at Clark Field while visiting CVAC rivals Erskine, Mount Olive, Anderson, and Pfeiffer. The 2007 CVAC Tournament will be once again held at Fleming Stadium (hosted by Barton) in Wilson, N.C. on April 20-22. The Knights non-conference schedule features 10 different home dates and three games at the 2007 Peach Belt/CVAC Baseball Challenge (hosted by Francis Marion) in Florence, S.C. on February 9-11.

St. Andrews was picked No. 9 in the 2007 CVAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll as voted upon by the league coaches after finishing 9-15 in league play last year and earning a No. 8 seed in the CVAC Tournament. However, the coaching staff and players expect to open some eyes in the conference by finishing much higher.

“We are expecting to be very competitive every weekend in the CVAC and will never take a weekend off,” concluded Chaffinch.