Previewing Georgia State's baseball season:
2012 record: 24-31 (finished seventh (14-16) in the Colonial Athletic Association)
Coach: Greg Frady (six seasons, 193-152-1 at GSU; 380-264-1 overall)
Gone: The team lost 14 letterwinners, including Brandon Williams (.280 batting average, 8 home runs, 41 RBIs), Joey Wood (.272/6/37), Kody Adams (.270/4/30), Jonathan Kolowich (.268/5/35) and pitchers Ben Marshall (5-6, 3.82 ERA), Jake Dyer (6-5, 5.00 ERA) and Justin Malone (1-3, 5.35 ERA).
Returning: The team returns several position players, including shortstop Caden Bailey (.315 BA), third baseman Drew Shields (.303 BA), outfielder Mark Hogan (.319/2/13), second baseman Greg Bowder (.314 BA) and catcher Scott Sarratt (.292/3/21). Promising newcomers include position players Nic Wilson, Chris Triplett, Chase Raffield, Josh Merrigan, Joey Roach, Matt Rose, who will likely bat third, and pitchers Garrett Ford, Ben Burns and Brantley Burton.
Quotable: "We have a very, very good offensive team. We have more power than we've had in the past. We led the nation scoring 10.5 runs per game in 2010. We have that level of offense again this year."
Three big ifs for success
● The pitching stays healthy. Georgia State isn't eligible to compete in the CAA tournament because of the move to the Sun Belt, so every game will count toward trying to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament. Nick Squeglia, projected to be the No. 1 starter, missed the 2012 season because of an injured elbow. Aidan McLaughlin, projected to be the No. 2 or 3 starter has been hampered by injuries. Ford, the No. 2 or No. 3 starter, is a freshman.
● The team stays injury-free. The team had a rash of injuries last year. Frady said he was able to fill out a lineup that included the planned-on starters just a few times early in the season.
● The team continues to mature. Because of the injuries and then by choice, Frady played a lot of freshmen. He added 10 more freshmen this year as he rebuilds the squad. "Now that we are in this mode we are going to see the results get better and better," he said
Schedule
February: 15-17 vs. Butler; 19 at Georgia Tech; 21 vs. Alabama A&M; 22-24 vs. Grambling State; 26 vs. Georgia.
March: 1-3 vs. Boston College at St. Petersburg, Fla.; 5-6 vs. North Carolina-Asheville; 8-10 vs. George Mason; 13 at Kennesaw State; 15-17 vs. Old Dominion; 19 vs. Mercer; 20 at Mercer; 22-24 at North Carolina-Wilmington; 27 vs. Alabama State; 29-31 at Delaware.
April: 3 at Alabama State; 5-7 vs. Fordham; 9 vs. Kennesaw State; 12-14 at New Orleans; 16 at Kennesaw State; 19-21 at James Madison; 23 vs. Savannah State; 26-28 at Northeastern.
May: 3-5 vs. Towson; 8 vs. Kennesaw State; 10-12 vs. Hofstra; 16-18 at William and Mary.
Radio schedule
All will air on 88.5 FM:
Feb 19 Ga Tech
Feb. 26 Georgia
March 8 George Mason
March 13 Kennesaw State
March 15 Old Dominion
March 19 Mercer
March 20 Mercer
March 27 Alabama State
April 5 Fordham
April 9 Kennesaw State
April 16 Kennesaw State
April 23 Savannah State
May 3 Towson
May 8 Kennesaw State
May 10 Hofstra
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