2008 Woodie Awards
Baseball team starts season off strong
Kim Gailliard
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Sports
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Although reminders of last season's outcome still evoke negative emotions from some baseball players, the team is off to one of its best starts ever. The Patriots (20-9) are ranked No. 15 in the nation and third in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC).
"We've started out extremely well," Coach Art Inabinet said. "(It's) probably the hottest start that we've had here at Francis Marion (and) also during my coaching career."
After posting the second-best record in the program's history (36-18) last year, the team saw its 2007 season end when it was shut out of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Two losses in the PBC Tournament and key mishaps earlier in the season cost them a regional bid.
Senior catcher Bryan Brown said the end of the season was a disappointment.
"We ended our season at breakfast at Miss Annie's, so it was very disappointing because we ended up with a pretty good record last season," Brown said.
The success of the team so far this season has the team excited, Brown said.
"We love it," he said. "You can't get any better than that. As a team, we have a lot of big expectations this year, and right now, it looks like we're going to fulfill them. If we stay on this track, we're going to do pretty well."
Brown said the work the team put in during the offseason, such as improving their strength and speed, has helped the team to be successful.
"I think our work ethic and chemistry as a team are a whole lot better," he said. "One person pushes the next person just as hard - it's like a chain reaction."
Several new players were added to the roster during the offseason, including junior pitcher David Walters, who is taking over for Dylan Owen.
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