Chris Whitaker
AMERICUS — Georgia Southwestern had a small first accomplished Sunday.
With Ryan Lackey and Jody Sellars getting the wins on the mound in GSW's doubleheader, it marked the first time the Hurricanes opened the season 2-0 since joining the Peach Belt.
Coach Bryan McLain hopes to build on that as the Hurricanes look to make a move from last in the conference.
"Last year, it was obviously disappointing," said McLain of last year's 19-33 overall and 8-19 conference records. "We're not in this to consistently every year go through losing seasons. We've got nine seniors coming back and with the infusion of some talented newcomers that don't have any association with what's gone on the past two years, I hope this year is the year we get over the hump and make some real progress."
Darton transfer Trent Dooley led the offensive attack in the first game of the doubleheader, going 4-for-5 with four RBI in a 12-8 win.
In Game 2, Sellars pitched five scoreless innings before the bullpen of Brandon Reeder and Chris Carroll managed to get the final 12 outs as GSW held on for a 3-2 win.
Runs scored were the trend last year that were proved again to open the season. When the Hurricanes scored 10 or more last year, they were 6-0; when opponents were held to two runs or less, GSW was 6-0.
McLain said the biggest key for his team this year is learning to maintain success when they have it.
"That is something that's a learned trait and is something we're working at," he said. "Winning is something you can learn, and you how to lose, too. We've got to overcome those issues.
"There's no secret to the game we play. You have to pitch well and play good defense. I don't think we played good defense for the most part last year. That's part of my fault for not having people in the right positions. We've made some changes that will give us as a team and the guys as individuals to have better years."
GSW returns seven position players including leading batter Bud Long and six pitchers, headed by Lackey and Sellars.
The Hurricanes were last in batting at .269, and they hit .258 in conference play. They also had the fewest base hits and home runs in the conference.
"We had some guys hitting in spots they weren't accustomed to," said McLain. "I also think we had a couple of guys early on that had some success, and as we struggled, they tried to do too much. We have to be more focused at the plate and understand situations better. We're a year older with another year of experience, and I hope it pays off."
Long (.345 BA, 68 hits, 24 RBI) and Zack Stanton (.294 BA, 4 HR, 34 RBI) led the Hurricane offense last season. Long was the team's designated hitter for most of the season with an elbow injury.
McLain sees bigger things from him as he's now healthy.
"He's our most consistent performer offensively, and he's really done a great job getting himself in shape and being ready to play," said McLain. "He's one of our team leaders, a speed guy on the base paths, and he can hit with power. He's a confident guy, and he does try to do things that aren't his strengths."
Both Long and Stanton came through in the clutch, leading the team in average with runners on and in scoring position, and McLain sees Stanton being a smarter batter at the plate.
"Zack was kind of up and down, but he's shown so far that he's matured a little bit and is starting trow a little bit in understanding how this crazy game works. He's showing some signs of consistency, and he's a talented player on both ends of the spectrum, offensively and defensively."
McLain hopes their confidence and the addition to Dooley will provide a foundation at the plate. He said one bad swing in at-bat last season was all it took for his players to lose their focus. The coaching staff worked on the mental side of the team, and McLain believes there will be a difference in the average and less strikeouts.
Run production wasn't necessarily all the problem. The pitching staff was 10th in earned run average at 5.83 and was ninth in conference play, surrendering more than six runs a game.
GSW is without Second Team All-Conference performer Zach Whtiman, who is academically ineligible and closer Bud Fuller, who transferred to Valdosta State. The Hurricanes lost all three of their pitchers who had more than seven games started.
McLain said a lot will be expected from the pitching staff as roles have changed.
"We have to have guys step up and do things either they haven't been done or asked to do in previous years," he said. "Ryan Lackey's going from middle of the week to leading the rotation on the weekend, and Jody Sellars will get a lot of opportunities to throw on the weekend and be a conference guy. Our numbers are thin on the mound. Our freshmen have to contribute so our upperclassmen can be able to tote the bulk of the load. We need to get some innings from everybody. I know the guys have worked their tails off to get ready for this, and we won't be hesitant at all to go to anybody to play."
McLain said pitchers faced a lot of pressure since the offense didn't produce. GSW was 9-29 last season when it allowed five runs or more and was 14-12 when it scored five runs or more.
The Hurricanes surrendered most of their runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
Reeder and Carroll, along with Corey Hawes, look to be the go-to guys in late relief and the closer role.
"We're struggling in finding guys to come out of the bullpen who will get a stop for us or hold the lead for us," said McLain. "With the lack of production, guys tried to throw shutouts all the time, and that makes it more difficult, and when you make mistakes, it hurts that much more.
"We've got to attack the strike zone. We want to pitch to contact. We can't be afraid to give up a hit because the next guy could hit into a double play."
Junior transfer Stephen Daneman from St. Leo (Fla.) is expected to get a lot of innings, too.
Defense didn't help, either. GSW was last in errors committed and had 19 games of three errors or more. Almost 25 percent of the runs were unearned.
"Three errors is just a bad defensive team," he said. "I'm a believer you have to build success around pitching and defense."
The Hurricanes were picked to finish last in the preseason coaches poll, but McLain said the team is ready to shed that position this season.
"The guys came in with high expectations for themselves," he said. "I try to tell them 'let's not limit ourselves, to reach as high as we can and see where it ends.' I've been proud of the effort and preparation entering the season, and they've kept good attitudes.
"We have to believe we're winners. We've struggled with that for a few years, listening how everybody talks about us being a small program, this and that. We can control only what we do. If we don't believe we belong here, we're wasting our time."
