The SMC Pioneers start their journey to a National Championship
SPARTANBURG, SC: "My expectations never change. Expect to win and make it happen." Head Coach Tim Wallace said confidently on Tuesday afternoon. The 2015 baseball season begins Saturday with a double header at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, North Carolina. If Coach Wallace's expectations for his previous twenty three seasons at SMC (where he has earned a 1032-325 record) has stayed the same, it is safe to say that the 2015 season will be even better. The Pioneers had a very productive fall season and feel prepared for this weekend opening series.
Coach Wallace has led the Pioneers to seven World Series appearances; three of these being 2012, 2013 and 2014 (The first baseball team in the NJCAA to make three consecutive appearances) finishing third in the country in 2013 and 2014.
The Pioneers are shooting for a fourth consecutive trip to the Junior College World Series tournament. At least that is what assistant coach Marc Rape believes after stating "Our expectation is simple… win the National Championship. We try not to get caught up in rankings, we just have to win one game at a time and work to become one of the top ten teams to make it to the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado." This pretty much sums up the projection of the season and what this programs goal is. Although SMC is ranked 16th in the country to start the season, they are ranked 1st in Region 10 Eastern District ahead of Region 10 member Florence Darlington Tech, Potomac State WVU (Region 20) & Pitt Community College (Region 10). It seems as if the NJCAA feels the same as Coach Rape considering they have projected the Pioneers to reach the Grand Junction yet again.
With three above average arms from the 2014 pitching rotation returning, (CD Pelham, Blake Smith and Hayden Heflin) Coach Wallace feels the "young guns" have someone to look up to. With that said, out of the enormous 40 man roster that SMC has, only six are returning players that even earned slight playing time in the 2014 season. "We are probably the youngest, yet most talented group of guys that I have ever seen" Coach Rape said.
Pelham was drafted in the 25th round of the MLB draft this past summer by the Milwaukee Brewers; with only one year of experience at the college level. In addition, Blake Smith earned only a few innings last season, but through his improvement over the off season, Coach Wallace has named him the starting pitcher for SMC's first game of the season. Another key player that SMC was planning on having behind the plate was Tyler Lancaster from Dutch Fork High School. Unfortunately, Lancaster received a season ending injury this past week. Going back to what the skipper for the Pioneers said, the freshman class has been hit with a lot of responsibility. The starting job behind the plate will come down to two freshman (Seth Wall, and Tyler Busby) fighting for the starting job. Wall is from Georgetown High at 6' 195lbs; Busby is from TL Hanna High at 5'11 185lbs.
I will tell you two major aspects to the game that explain why SMC has a history of being a great baseball program. Last season the Pioneers had a combined team batting average of .315, a combined on base percentage of .399 and averaged 6.2 runs per game. On the defensive side, SMC's pitching staff last season gave up an average 3.24 runs per game. With these statistics being accurate, theoretically the Pioneers should have won every game by three runs; The Pioneers posted a .727 winning percentage and 48-18 record last season. Games vary and stats go up and down, but with a combination of offensive production and a lights out pitching staff, Spartanburg Methodist College is the team to beat once again!
Article By: Alex Rogers
I am a freshman student here at Spartanburg Methodist College. I graduated from Saluda High School where I played baseball. I love sports and I have a passion for stats and watching athletes on a high level. I love to write and plan to be a sports analyst/writer for my career. While I am in school, I am doing everything I can to gain experience and learn from others. I plan to do an article for every game of the 2015 baseball season.
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