College of Charleston arrives for the much anticipated debut of the 2017 Dawgs. On paper, and from what I’ve gathered, I would venture to say that this is one of the better opening opponents that we’ve had in a while. I thought that the 2014 Georgia Southern team was good. We didn’t know how good Stetson was in 2011 until we got a bit deeper into the season. I think College of Charleston is on that level. They have a some new faces this year, but like us, appear to have added some instant impact guys. And they do have some very good players returning.
In 2016, College of Charleston finished 31-26-1 and an even 12-12 in the Colonial Athletic Conference. They did manage to beat some big schools, however. The College took 2/3 from Nebraska to open the season (I imagine Husker baseball fans really rue that move to the Big Ten) and also beat Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon before dropping the next two. They also beat Coastal Carolina twice, they beat South Carolina, they split with Clemson, went 1-1-1 against UC Santa Barbara, and for good measure, swept Mercer. At the halfway point of the regular season, these guys were 20-8 overall and 5-1 in the CAA. I’m not real sure what happened down the stretch, but I imagine they were quite disappointed with their overall record.
College of Charleston put together an outstanding preview of their team on their website, which makes my task here much easier. They put more time into this than a lot of SEC schools would, I think.
Here is the link for their pitcher preview
Friday afternoon, we are going to see Bailey Ober. This giant 4th year junior hails from Charlotte NC. Ober had an outstanding freshman campaign in 2014, being named as Louisville Slugger Freshman All American. Tommy John surgery forced him into a redshirt in 2015. He returned last year and put up good numbers, going 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA in 15 appearances, all starts. He did throw 2 complete games. His 97 innings lead the staff and he posted a strong 96/27 K/BB with a .247 average against. The Dodgers took him in the 23rd round. I respect him coming back. With another year of leverage, I imagine that he believes that he can improve his stock as he is a year farther from Tommy John. This guy is legitimate and I imagine he would be in most SEC rotations. Great test for us right out of the gate.
The above linked preview would indicate that we should be seeing Evan Sisk on Saturday. Stricklin mentioned on the radio this morning that this is not the case. Interestingly, the College’s game notes indicate that Carter Love will get the Saturday start, and things Sunday are TBD. I just assumed that Tucker White and Jakob Frismuth would go Saturday/ Sunday, but this does not appear to be the case. Love was College of Charleston’s closer last year. He appeared in 23 games, all in relief, and went 3-2 with a 2.87 ERA and 10 saves. He threw 37 2/3 innings and had a 34/17 K/BB. Opponents hit .257 off of him and he did allow 4 HRs. Carter Love is a big righty (starter’s frame at 6’5, 225 lbs) and also hails from Charlotte. Love attended Ardrey Kell HS up there, alma mater of one Alex Wood.
A preview of College of Charleston’s outfielders can be found here ... I imagine that we’ll see Dupree Hart in CF this weekend, but we may see him at 2B also. And, I would imagine we’ll see Hart hitting leadoff. This guy is 5’7 170 lbs, which I think is around where Johnathan Taylor was listed for us. Hart is a sophomore from Rock Hill, SC. He’s coming off a fantastic freshman campaign where he was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team and also picked up rookie of the week honors in the CAA on three occasions. His bio states that he was named Mr. Baseball in South Carolina in 2015. Last season he hit .314/.443/.414 with 2 HRs and 33 RBI. He was 10-13 in steals to lead the College. He did lead College of Charleston in errors last year as well with 12 (fielding .952).
College of Charleston adds a corner OF who transferred from Vanderbilt in Joey Mundy. If he was good enough to get on at Vandy initially, we know he can play. Munday is from Huntington West Virginia and is 6’2, 220lbs. They have a couple of options in LF. They add a JC transfer named Xaiver Freeman from New Lima Oklahoma. Freeman played last year at Seminole State College and hit 27 HRs with a .371 average to earn JC All American honors (geez, I would imagine so…)
I know what you’re thinking. What about their infield?
Stricklin mentioned their catcher Ervin Roper, a senior form Easley, is a guy they’ll lean on in their lineup this year. Last season, Roper hit .263/.339/.368 with 4 HRs and 34 RBI. He also hit 10 doubles. Tommy Richter also returns and was a fairly tough out last year. The junior is small in stature (5’9, 160 lbs) but big in heart (I don’t know, maybe he is). We’ll likely see Richter at 2B if Dupree Hart is in CF. The junior from Wayne Pennsylvania hit .271/.70.357 last year and was 6-9 in stolen bases. Richter also hit 2 HRs and drove in 21 runs.
From their write up, it looks like College of Charleston has some different options they can go with in different places, a lot like us. I’m interested to see how their pitching shakes out this weekend. I was surprised that Sisk isn’t starting for them and I wonder if he’s hurt and, if so, if their bullpen will be a little short.
These guys are coming over here to beat us. Two years ago when we opened with Eastern Illinois, it’s not that I didn’t think they were trying or anything like that, but I think the kids from Eastern knew what the deal was and knew that they probably would not get a game down here. I’m sure College of Charleston is in a different boat, heck, they knocked up some heavy weights last year in what wound up being a disappointing year for them.
Last season when we played that “Bulldog Invitational” I really wished that he had just played South Alabama three times. I’m glad that we are playing these guys three times and I think that this is an excellent test for us at this time of the year. We’ll have one game under our belts in well under 24 hours now and we’ll have a series wrapped up in less than 72 hours. Hard to believe it’s back, but come Monday morning, I’m sure it’ll feel like it never left.
In 2016, College of Charleston finished 31-26-1 and an even 12-12 in the Colonial Athletic Conference. They did manage to beat some big schools, however. The College took 2/3 from Nebraska to open the season (I imagine Husker baseball fans really rue that move to the Big Ten) and also beat Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon before dropping the next two. They also beat Coastal Carolina twice, they beat South Carolina, they split with Clemson, went 1-1-1 against UC Santa Barbara, and for good measure, swept Mercer. At the halfway point of the regular season, these guys were 20-8 overall and 5-1 in the CAA. I’m not real sure what happened down the stretch, but I imagine they were quite disappointed with their overall record.
College of Charleston put together an outstanding preview of their team on their website, which makes my task here much easier. They put more time into this than a lot of SEC schools would, I think.
Here is the link for their pitcher preview
Friday afternoon, we are going to see Bailey Ober. This giant 4th year junior hails from Charlotte NC. Ober had an outstanding freshman campaign in 2014, being named as Louisville Slugger Freshman All American. Tommy John surgery forced him into a redshirt in 2015. He returned last year and put up good numbers, going 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA in 15 appearances, all starts. He did throw 2 complete games. His 97 innings lead the staff and he posted a strong 96/27 K/BB with a .247 average against. The Dodgers took him in the 23rd round. I respect him coming back. With another year of leverage, I imagine that he believes that he can improve his stock as he is a year farther from Tommy John. This guy is legitimate and I imagine he would be in most SEC rotations. Great test for us right out of the gate.
The above linked preview would indicate that we should be seeing Evan Sisk on Saturday. Stricklin mentioned on the radio this morning that this is not the case. Interestingly, the College’s game notes indicate that Carter Love will get the Saturday start, and things Sunday are TBD. I just assumed that Tucker White and Jakob Frismuth would go Saturday/ Sunday, but this does not appear to be the case. Love was College of Charleston’s closer last year. He appeared in 23 games, all in relief, and went 3-2 with a 2.87 ERA and 10 saves. He threw 37 2/3 innings and had a 34/17 K/BB. Opponents hit .257 off of him and he did allow 4 HRs. Carter Love is a big righty (starter’s frame at 6’5, 225 lbs) and also hails from Charlotte. Love attended Ardrey Kell HS up there, alma mater of one Alex Wood.
A preview of College of Charleston’s outfielders can be found here ... I imagine that we’ll see Dupree Hart in CF this weekend, but we may see him at 2B also. And, I would imagine we’ll see Hart hitting leadoff. This guy is 5’7 170 lbs, which I think is around where Johnathan Taylor was listed for us. Hart is a sophomore from Rock Hill, SC. He’s coming off a fantastic freshman campaign where he was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team and also picked up rookie of the week honors in the CAA on three occasions. His bio states that he was named Mr. Baseball in South Carolina in 2015. Last season he hit .314/.443/.414 with 2 HRs and 33 RBI. He was 10-13 in steals to lead the College. He did lead College of Charleston in errors last year as well with 12 (fielding .952).
College of Charleston adds a corner OF who transferred from Vanderbilt in Joey Mundy. If he was good enough to get on at Vandy initially, we know he can play. Munday is from Huntington West Virginia and is 6’2, 220lbs. They have a couple of options in LF. They add a JC transfer named Xaiver Freeman from New Lima Oklahoma. Freeman played last year at Seminole State College and hit 27 HRs with a .371 average to earn JC All American honors (geez, I would imagine so…)
I know what you’re thinking. What about their infield?
Stricklin mentioned their catcher Ervin Roper, a senior form Easley, is a guy they’ll lean on in their lineup this year. Last season, Roper hit .263/.339/.368 with 4 HRs and 34 RBI. He also hit 10 doubles. Tommy Richter also returns and was a fairly tough out last year. The junior is small in stature (5’9, 160 lbs) but big in heart (I don’t know, maybe he is). We’ll likely see Richter at 2B if Dupree Hart is in CF. The junior from Wayne Pennsylvania hit .271/.70.357 last year and was 6-9 in stolen bases. Richter also hit 2 HRs and drove in 21 runs.
From their write up, it looks like College of Charleston has some different options they can go with in different places, a lot like us. I’m interested to see how their pitching shakes out this weekend. I was surprised that Sisk isn’t starting for them and I wonder if he’s hurt and, if so, if their bullpen will be a little short.
These guys are coming over here to beat us. Two years ago when we opened with Eastern Illinois, it’s not that I didn’t think they were trying or anything like that, but I think the kids from Eastern knew what the deal was and knew that they probably would not get a game down here. I’m sure College of Charleston is in a different boat, heck, they knocked up some heavy weights last year in what wound up being a disappointing year for them.
Last season when we played that “Bulldog Invitational” I really wished that he had just played South Alabama three times. I’m glad that we are playing these guys three times and I think that this is an excellent test for us at this time of the year. We’ll have one game under our belts in well under 24 hours now and we’ll have a series wrapped up in less than 72 hours. Hard to believe it’s back, but come Monday morning, I’m sure it’ll feel like it never left.
