Baseball’s Inaugural Season Begins Monday in Florida

COMPLETE WEEK ONE GAME NOTES (PDF)

MONDAY, MARCH 2
Marygrove (0-0, 0-0 WHAC) at Florida Northwood (11-5, 5-2 SUN)
Time: 2 p.m. (single nine-inning game)
Location: Silvester Field – West Palm Beach, Fla.
Coverage: Live Audio (1:50 p.m.)

TUESDAY, MARCH 3
Marygrove (0-0, 0-0 WHAC) at Ave Maria (5-11, 1-6 SUN)
Time: 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m. (DH)
Location: Bowie Ballpark – Ave Maria, Fla.
Coverage: Live Audio (11:50 a.m.)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4
Marygrove (0-0, 0-0 WHAC) at St. Thomas (9-4, 5-2 SUN)
Time: 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. (DH)
Location: Paul Demie Mainieri Field – Miami Gardens, Fla.
Coverage: Live Audio (2:20 p.m.)

THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Marygrove (0-0, 0-0 WHAC) at Florida Memorial (2-11, 0-4 SUN)
Time: 12 p.m., 3 p.m. (DH)
Location: Harry T. Moore Baseball Field – Miami Gardens, Fla.
Coverage: Live Audio (11:50 a.m.)

OPENING DAY IS FINALLY HERE!
Finally! Opening Day for Marygrove baseball is here after seven cancellations and a year of waiting ever since the Detroit-based NAIA institution announced its latest varsity sport addition in February of 2014. First-year head coach Ryan Kottke, alongside assistants Brett Borrocci and Phil Macke, will lead the inaugural team into battle in the Sunshine State of Florida with games in Miami and West Palm Beach March 2-5. 

YEAR ONE SUCCESS?
Marygrove is no stranger to concocting the recipe for successful first-year programs. In 2009, Marygrove women’s soccer – a team made up of only 12 players – went on to post a 10-4-2 overall record en route to winning the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championship, proving anything can happen at anytime throughout college athletics landscape.

MARYGROVE VS. THE SUN CONFERENCE
The Mustangs, members of the NAIA’s Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), will take on four members of The Sun Conference this week in Florida. The Sun Conference is a fellow NAIA league that is home to 10 baseball programs with eight hailing from Florida, one from Georgia and another from South Carolina.

MARYGROVE’S ROSTER MAKEUP
Nine upperclassmen, some of which will be forced to sit out the 2015 campaign due to transfer rules, lead the first-year baseball program into play this season. Of the nine, the Mustangs will rely on a pair of seniors to lead the way as Detroit-native James Edwards returns home after playing for NCAA Division 2 Shaw University while Chris Gittleman joins the club for his final campaign after playing for Trinity Christian College (Ill.) for two seasons.

ON THE MOUND
Look for a group of fearless freshmen to take the mound this week in Florida. Freshmen Daniel Bailey, Jacob Baker and Ryne Underwood are three of the top arms in the rotation for Kottke and the Mustangs this year.

A LOOK AT FLORIDA NORTHWOOD
Led by first-year head coach Jeremy Kennedy, the Northwood Seahawks are off to a 11-5 start overall and a 5-2 mark in conference play as of Saturday (Feb. 28). Flying high, the Seahawks knocked off NCAA Division 2 No. 8 Nova (Fla.), 7-5, behind a two-run ninth inning to break the tie and secure the upset. Sophomore outfielder Keivan Berges leads a potent Seahawk lineup with five homeruns and 23 RBIs to go along with a .357 average.

A LOOK AT AVE MARIA
The Ave Maria Gyrenes enter Saturday (Feb. 28) with a 5-11 mark overall and a 1-6 record in Sun Conference action. Sticking with the theme of first-year coaches, Casey Scott takes over as skipper of the Gyrenes in 2015 after previously serving as an assistant coach at Ave Maria. Austin Munn paces a strong pitching staff with a 2-1 record and 1.16 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched this season.

A LOOK AT ST. THOMAS
At 9-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play, the St. Thomas University Bobcats have been in a groove lately by tallying an impressive 32 runs over their last two outings heading into Friday (Feb. 27). Jorge Perez returns for season seven as the Bobcats’ skipper to lead an offense that has outscored the opposition 29-3 in the first inning this season.

A LOOK AT FLORIDA MEMORIAL
Stuck in the middle of a 10-game losing skid, the Florida Memorial Lions welcome the Marygrove Mustangs to Miami Gardens on Thursday (Mar. 5) for a doubleheader in the bright Florida sun. The Lions, 2-11 overall and 0-4 in conference play, are paced by senior infielder Blake Martinez with eight hits in 26 at bats for a .346 average. On the mound, Mike Hardison has logged the most innings (17) to earn a 1-1 record and a 5.82 ERA.

EXTENDED COVERAGE ALL SEASON!
Join Jeremy Otto and Jimmy Stewart all season as they bring you Marygrove baseball live on the Mustang Sports Network at marygrovemustangs.com/live! Look for game day previews, highlights and more as well!

BY THE NUMBERS7: Like many teams across the eastern half of the United States, the Mustangs have played the waiting game as Mother Nature as dominated the headlines in the early going of the 2015 season. In all, seven (7) games have been cancelled thus far for the Mustangs, setting back Opening Day from the orginally-scheduled Feb. 13 game in Kentucky to March 2 in Florida.

13: A cast of 13 freshmen are on the inaugural Marygrove baseball roster, three short of the 16 brought in by the men’s soccer team on the eve of their first campaign in 2009. Of the 13 freshmen on Kottke’s inaugural roster, 11 hail from Michigan while two – Trey Blandford and Ryne Underwood – made the trip north from Fern Creek High School in Louisville, Ky.

2: Determined to build a winning program from day one, first-year head coach Ryan Kottke set out to recruit talent with championship experience. Freshman David Chung (Warren, Mich./Bishop Foley High School) enters the collegiate ranks as a two-time MHSAA Division 4 State Champion after helping the Bishop Foley Ventures to two (2) of their three-straight titles from 2011-13.

 

STAY CONNECTED: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW: Text & Email Alerts
DOWNLOAD OUR APPS: iOS (iPhone/iPad) | Android

BASEBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected] /* */ | @tjohnston56
MARYGROVE BROADCASTS: Mustang Sports Network | Twitter
FOLLOW THE TEAM 24/7: Twitter