Valdosta State Baseball, 1995. Program
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1995 BLAZER SCHEDULE FEBRUARY The working media is cordially 11 Sat. Tampan (2pm) ..................................................A welcomed to Billy Grant Field as guests 12 Sun. Brewton Parker* DH (2pm)...................................H of the athletic department. Sports 15 Wed. Brewton Parker DH (2:30pm).................................A Information Director Steve Roberts can 18 Sat. West Georgia**- DH (1pm).................................H be contacted at (912) 333-5890 19 Sun. West Georgia* (1 pm)...........................................H (office) or (912) 244-6560 21 Tue. St. Leo (3p m) ...................................................... A (home).Other baseball contacts are 25 Sat. North Alabama** DH (1pm)............................... H Head Coach Tommy Thomas and top 26 Sun. North Alabama* (2pm).........................................H assistant Pete Meyer. The office 28 Tue. GA. Southwestern (3pm).......................................A number is 333-5890, and both can be MARCH reached in the mornings. Home 1 Wed. St. Leo (3p m) ...................................................... H numbers are 245-0303 (Thomas) and Steve Roberts 3 Fri. Albany State (3pm)...............................................H 241-7168. 4 Sat. Shippensburg* (Noon).........................................H 4 Sat. Lynn (6pm).......................................................... H The 1995 Blazers will, as many teams, have as their ultimate goal a 5 Sun. Eckerd (2pm).......................................................H berth in the Division II W orld Series, which will be held at Paterson 8 Wed. Florida Southern (6pm).........................................H Field in Montgomery, Ala. The Blazers won the 1979 national 10 Fri. West Florida** DH (4pm)...................................A championship and have made six other appearances in the national 11 Sat. West Florida** (1 pm)........................................ A tournament. Valdosta State again will be the host school for this 15 Wed. North Florida (7pm).............................................H year's national tourney, but that does not give the Blazers an 18 Sat. Lincoln Memorial** DH (4pm)............................. H automatic bid. Information on this year's team, the coaches and 19 Sun. Lincoln Memorial* (1 pm).......................................H statistics and records can be found in this yearbook. 23 Thu. GA Southwestern (6:30pm)...................................H 24 Fri. Kennesaw State (3pm).........................................A RADIO 25 Sat. West Georgia** DH (1 pm).................................A 26 Sun. West Georgia** (1 pm).......................................A Valdosta State has a booth reserved in the press box for the official 27 Mon. Jacksonville State, AL (7pm)...................................H broadcast team of the opponent for each game. Permission and 28 Tue. Jacksonville State, AL (7pm)...................................H credentials should be obtained in advance from Steve Roberts. Gulf 30 Thu. Columbus (6pm).................................................. A South Conference opponents are provided the phone line at no charge. Others are charged a $50 fee. The visiting radio number APRIL will be given on request. 1 Sat. North Alabama** DH (4pm)............................... A 2 Sun. North Alabama** (1 pm).....................................A 4 Tue. North Florida (7pm).............................................A PRfSS BOX PHONE NUMBER 6 Thu. Florida A&M (7pm).............................................H The phone number at Billy Grant Field is 245-3864. 7 Fri. Albany State (3pm).............................................. A 8 Sat. Georgia College (2pm).........................................H 9 Sun. Georgia College (2pm).........................................A PHOTO CREDITS 11 Tue. Armstrong State (6pm).........................................A Special thanks goes to Bill Malone, graphic artist at Colson Printing 12 Wed. Thomas College (6pm).........................................H Company and a Valdosta State alumnus, who took the cover photo, 14 Fri. West Florida** DH (4pm)................................... H and to free lance photographers Ken Klanicki and Tammy Driggers 15 Sat. West Florida* (1 pm).............................................H for the photos appearing in the 1995 yearbook. 18 Tue. Columbus (6pm)...................................................H 22 Sat. Lincoln Memorial** DH (Noon)............................. A 23 Sun. Lincoln Memorial** (1 pm)................................... A 25 Tue. Columbus (7pm).................................................. A 28-30 Fri.-Sun. Gulf South Conf. Tournament (TBA) Site of Eastern Div. Winner MAY 2 Tue. Armstrong State (6pm)......................................... H 3 Wed. Florida A&M (7pm).............................................A 4 Thu. Thomas College (5pm).........................................A Game broadcast on WVLD 1450am * Gulf South Conference games ALL TIMES LOCAL Breakdown of Games: 4 NCAA I, 43 NCAA II, 8 NAIA 29 Home Games, 26 Away Games and 10 Doubleheaders 1995 VALDOSTA STATE BASEBALL GfHfRAL iHfORMATION N a m e .................................................... Valdosta State University Location................................................. ..........Valdosta, Georgia Founded ................................................. ..................................1906 Enrollment............................................... ................................. 9150 President............................................... Dr. Hugh C. Bailey C o lo rs .................................................... ................. Red and Black Nicknam e............................................... ...............................Blazers Home Facility.......................................... .Billy Grant Field (1000) Conference............................................ ......................Gulf South National A ffiliatio n.............................. ..........NCAA, Division II 1994 Record.......................................... 25-25 overall, 9-9 GSC ATHLETIC STAff Athletic Director................................................................. Herb Reinhard Secretary.......................................................................... Debbie Bennett Faculty Athletic Representative............................................Bobby Tucker Sports Information Director..................................................Steve Roberts Graduate Assistant S ID ........................................................John Sullivan Trainer................................................................................. Jim Madaleno Field Maintenance................................................................Larry Lampert typewriter* BASEBALL STAff Head C o a c h ................................................................... Tommy Thomas Assistant C o a c h ................................................................................... Pete Meyer Graduate Assistant.....................................................................Mike Lee Student Assistant.................................................................................W ill Smith Student Trainers...................................Danny Johnson, Phillip Pieplow Scorekeeper.....................................................................Amy Buchanan Scoreboard O perator.............................................................Laura Stoltz Public A ddress...............................................Greg Mcllvain, Bill Postel WVLD 1450am Radio Broadcast Crew. Dick Rockey, Bill Malone 1995 VALDOSTA STATE BASEBALL l year ago, and leftfielder Gene Swift, who played third base in 1994, will be in the opening day starting lineup. (The other returning offensive starter will be designated hitter Billy Lillis.) "I think we helped ourselves a great deal offensively and defensively, especially up the middle," Thomas said. "I was impressed with our recruiting class in the fall. The fact they stepped in as starters ahead of some players who started last year should certainly improve our depth. It all points to an improved team overall." pitching With two of the top righthanders in Division II baseball returning, the Blazer pitching staff should offer a firm foundation for the total VSU package. Seniors Bryan Shover, who has won 21 games in his career, and THf OUTLOOK Dwayne Cushman, who threw the first VSU no-hitter in 20 years in 1994, return to anchor If pitching is indeed the key to ultimate an eight-man staff. baseball success, Valdosta State could very Shover, who pitched better a year ago than possibly live up to its preseason Gulf South his 6-6 record, became VSU's all-time Conference billing, and in the process erase strikeout leader and goes into his final the unpleasant memories of a late season campaign with 261 career Ks. Cushman led collapse in 1994. the team in wins and ERA last season and The 1995 Blazer contingent, which will be the teams with Shover to give the Blazers a 28th squad fielded by Tommy Thomas, has formidable 1-2 pitching punch. been picked to win the pennant race in the The likely No. 3 starter is Shane Shook, one league's eastern division. Thomas, with 903 of the seven JUCO transfers, who was the ace career victories under his belt, is pleasantly of nearby South Georgia's staff last season, surprised by the lofty selection and believes winning eight games. He had several his veteran pitching staff must be the reason. impressive