Tuesday, January 29, 2002
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE BASEBALL READY TO OPEN 2002 SEASON Blue Hose open season against #16 Georgia College
CLINTON,
SC – 23
home dates, a trip to Jacksonville, Florida for the University
of North Florida Tournament along with ten matchups with
preseason ranked teams highlight Presbyterian College’s 2002
regular season baseball schedule announced today by ninth-year
Blue Hose head coach Doug
Kovash.
The
Blue Hose return 21 letterwinners and all eight starting
position players from the 2001 Blue Hose baseball squad, that
won 30 games against 29 losses and finished 3rd
(12-8) for the South Atlantic Conference regular season title.
The Blue Hose enter the 2002 season having been picked
fourth in the SAC regular season poll voted on by league
coaches.
Presbyterian will open the season with a trip to Jacksonville, Fla. to participate in the University of North Florida Invitational where they will play #16 Georgia College & State University (2/1), #1 North Florida University (2/2), and USC Aiken (2/3). The Blue Hose return home for a four-game home stand to play Lander University (2/5), Milligan College (2/9-10), and Montreat College (2/12) before they travel to Livingston, AL to play the University of West Alabama for a four-game series (2/15-17). The end of February and beginning of March sees the Blue Hose return home for an eight-game home stand against North Georgia College (2/19), Southern Wesleyan University (2/23), Limestone College (2/24), Francis Marion University (2/26), #9 Florida Southern College (3/2-3), and St. Andrews College (3/6). Presbyterian opens SAC play as they travel to Hickory, NC for a three-game series against #31 Lenoir-Rhyne College (3/9-10). The Blue Hose travel to North Georgia College (3/12) and Limestone College (3/14) before SAC foe Tusculum College comes to town for a three game series (3/16-17). The month ends with a road trip to Due West, SC to play Erskine College (3/19), a trip to face Carson-Newman College (3/23-24), and two home series against West Virginia State College (3/26-17) and Catawba College (3/29-30) before the Easter Holiday. April opens with home games with Erskine College (4/2) and USC Aiken (4/3) before traveling to #38 Wingate University (4/6-7). Presbyterian returns home to face #4 Kennesaw State University (4/9), travels to Montreat College (4/11), and comes back home for there final home series against Mars Hill College (4/13-14). The Blue Hose finish the month on the road with trips to play Francis Marion University (4/16), Lander University (4/17), and Newberry College (4/20-21). Presbyterian rounds out the month of April with the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in Newberry, SC. The Blue Hose host Piedmont College (5/4), before a trip to Gardner Webb University (4/6), and #4 Kennesaw State University (4/6) finish the 2002 season.
“I
am very excited about our upcoming season,” Kovash said.
“We have put together a very demanding schedule early
to get us prepared for conference play.”
Led
by Kovash, who owns a 241-196-2 school record in eight seasons
with Presbyterian, the Blue hose will welcome back a strong
nucleus of players. Headlining
the list is preseason All-American selection junior first
baseman Matt Warren (.402,
14 HR, 60 RBI, .734 SLG %), and returning All SAC performer
senior outfielder Chris Turco (.363,
18 2B, 21 SB), and preseason All-SAC selection junior pitcher Richard
Barkley (5-3, 5.30 ERA, 61 K’s).