The Lions baseball team thoroughly dismantled the Crusaders of Tennessee Temple (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 16-6 Tuesday evening. With this victory, the Lions now have a record of 16 wins and 23 losses for their overall record. They are 7-8 in the AAC.

At bat, the Lions were a force Tuesday night. The team finished the game with 22 hits and two home runs with 16 runs total. This is the second highest total of runs they’ve scored in a game this season.

“We really manufactured runs tonight,” Head Coach Taylor Hasty said after the game. “I think our team is really dangerous because we can really hit.”

The game was close for the first three innings with Tennessee Temple ahead just 2 – 1. However, the Lions were able to make a break away in the bottom of the third with junior outfielder Josh King pounding a home run with two men on base. The Lions continued the surge and were leading 10 – 3 by the end of the fifth inning. Defensively, the team stood their ground, turning a “huge” double play at the top of the sixth, according to Hasty.

One strength Hasty said he has observed with the team this year is their concern for each other on the field.

“This team really loves each other,” Hasty said. “They are passionate about seeing one another succeed.”

“We’re just like brothers out there,” sophomore outfielder Shane Clawson said.

Clawson said he, like Hasty, has observed the team chemistry and commented that it is important as players to know “we’ve got each other’s back.”

With only 15 games left in the season, the Lions are currently ranked fifth in the AAC. However, as nice as it may be to land a good seat in the playoffs, placing well in the tournament is still not a primary goal just yet, according to Clawson. King said the team likes to take things just one at a time.

The strengths of the team have undoubtedly come through in their hitting, according to King. He said he thinks the batting coaches deserve a lot of credit this season for helping the hitters to shine at the plate.

Overall, the baseball team has played exceptionally better this year than last, according to Hasty. Hasty said he attributes the better playing, not to mention much better record, simply to better playing all around in the game and he expects to see good results throughout the rest of the season.

Sophomore Ryan Hill makes a pitch during this weeks series against Covenant.

by Ericka Simpson
Staff Writer

The Bryan College baseball team hosted Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) at Senter Field in a three-game series on March 26 and 27, losing the first two games but winning the third.

Lions lose first game

The Lions fell to the Scots 8-2 in the first game, despite taking the lead in the first two innings. Senior first baseman Pablo Rodriguez hit a home run in the first inning, which was the highlight of the game according to Head Coach Taylor Hasty.

Freshman outfielder Kevin Layne scored the Lions’ second and final run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI from junior outfielder Josh King, according to Hasty.

Junior pitcher Tyson Latham started the game on the mound, and pitched well, according to shortstop junior Jonathan Davis. Latham threw nine strikeouts.

According to Hasty, in the fourth inning Davis had an error and the Scots’ next hitter banged out a home run. The Lions could not recover from the Scots taking the lead.

Lions fall to Scots in the second game of the series

In the second game, the Lions lost 14-5 to the Scots. Hasty said the team did not “execute on defense,” and the Scots’ pitcher threw multiple strikes, which eventually led to Bryan’s second loss.

“We did not make adjustments to the pitcher,” Hasty said. “We were really anxious on offense all weekend and as a result, we lost.

According to Davis, the game was “all around an ugly game.” The Lions were not consistent in offense, defense or pitching.

“In the first two games, we could not get all three parts firing at once,” Davis said.

The Lions did not make routine plays on defense, which allowed Covenant to get players on base and score runs, according to Hasty.

The only highlights were that Rodriguez hit another home run in the fourth inning and had two RBIs, according to Davis. Freshman third baseman Trey Colvard also hit a home run in the sixth inning.

Lions win last game of series

The Lions defeated the Scots 6-5 in the last game of the series after the Scots led with four runs in the second inning.

Junior pitcher Zack Breault pitched six and a third innings with six strikeouts, according to Davis.

“Breault really stuck in there for us and battled on the mound,” Davis said. “He kept us in the game while we were struggling at the plate.”

The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Layne came up to the plate and hit a two-run home run, according to Hasty, pulling the Lions ahead by two.

The Scots were able to score another run in the final inning, but junior pitcher Josh Smith got the last two batters out and threw one strikeout, ending the game in the Lions’ favor, Hasty said.

“Our guys fought hard that game, especially after losing the first two,” he said. “I was proud of them.”

The Lions are currently 5-7 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and 13-19 overall.

Covenant’s take on the game

Covenant’s Head Baseball Coach Doug Simons said that the Lions have improved since Covenant played them last year.

The Lions lost to the Scots in every game in the three-game series played at Covenant in April 2009.

“Coach Hasty has done a very good job in getting more talent and getting them to play hard,” Simons said.

Bryan’s offense is better than their pitching and defense, according to Simons, who said that the Lions run the bases “as well as any team that we have played.”

He said that the Lions are capable of the “big inning,” when batters focus on drawing walks or getting extra base hits and home runs; this proved to be an obstacle for the Scots.

“We tried to keep their offense down to put more pressure on their pitching,” Simons said. “But they never gave up!”

The Bryan Lion’s baseball team tackled a tough three-game series this past weekend against the RedStorm of the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) and came out with two loses and one determined win.

Head Coach Taylor Hasty said that the RedStorm is a “very well-coached team from top to bottom” with “five really good seniors in their lineup who can all hit.”

This showed Friday night as Rio Grande took the lead in the first inning and caused a devastating loss of 15-3 for the Lions.

“Friday, we failed to throw strikes, and we really didn’t finish off hitters,” commented Hasty. “We had eight total walks, seven of which scored and we kind of lost momentum as a result of that.”

Junior pitcher Bronson Holland said, “I believe we’re better than the team we played. We just made costly mistakes.”

Saturday proved to be better for the Lions with the first game a close loss and the second a solid win.

“In game one, we didn’t have a good offense approach and got away from our hitting philosophy, but in game two we did much better offensively at the plate,” said Hasty, who continued by praising the Lions’ defense that shut down the RedStorms’ running game.

The first highlight of Saturday came when senior catcher Jon Brown took an 85mph fastball to the face, a move that junior outfielder Josh King referred to as, “taking one off the cheek for the team.”

Brown continued to have “two great games on Saturday after not playing on Friday,” said Hasty. “He went 4 for 4 with a home run and two singles.”

The Lions kept the momentum growing Saturday by starting the final game with a three-run home run by freshman pitcher Josh Harris, giving the team a 4-0 lead.

Hasty said that “Zach Breazeale threw exceptionally well as a starter in game three and Josh Harris came in and finished the game well for the team.”

Sophomore outfielder Shane Clawson was also an outstanding player in the final game, hitting two home runs, including the game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Although the team came out 1-2 for the weekend, they are now 4-3 overall, and Hasty is unconcerned about the loss. His philosophy for the rest of the season: “We’re just going to take one game at a time.”

“As a team, we want our identity to be one where we are fundamentally strong and tough, and I think that winning game three out of a three game series after getting beat the first two demonstrates toughness and character.”

The Lions play at home again this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the Bryan College Invitational. The first game will begin at 6 p.m. against Toccoa Falls College (Ga.).

The Lions baseball team is taking the field this season with high expectations and focused minds, bolstered with a determination not to allow this season to end up like the last. Already, hopes for a better season are being solidified as a team once plagued with eligibility problems, coaching changes and fierce competition has been restructured, revamped and reenergized for the 2010 season.

Along with 12 returning players, 15 new players have been added to the roster along with four redshirts However, even more good news is that all 32 players are academically eligible this season, an astonishing contrast to last year’s team.

“We have had an excellent year academically, especially versus last year,” said Head Coach Taylor Hasty. “We have taken steps in the right direction in terms of being a team that is committed to excellence both on the field and in the classroom.”

The seniors have been a solid example for the rest of the team, according to Hasty. While there will be five new players in the starting lineup, Hasty said the returning players have done a great job at working hard and staying committed throughout the off season.

Senior pitcher Daniel Zimmerman said he expects this team to be competitive and not to make it easy for other teams to win. Senior pitcher Ben Young concurred.

“We’re a lot better ball club than we were last year at this time,” Young said.

Young says he’s excited about the pitching staff this year, especially incoming 6’6” right-handed pitcher Zach Breault from New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, N.M.) with his 92 mph fast ball.

“This year I think we’ll be more competitive and more fun to watch,” Young said.

For Hasty, success will come as long as the team can focus on each game individually.

“That is our focus, to take care of the little things and let the big things (like our final record) take care of themselves,” Hasty says.

The Lions’ next game will be at Emmanuel College (Franklin Springs, Ga.) on Feb. 5.

Photo coutesy bryanlions.com. Bryan's Senter field at night.

by Justin Morton, design editor

The weekend of Oct. 30, the Bryan College Lions baseball team will be hosting, well, themselves in a series of games known as the World Series. The World Series is an intrasquad scrimmage that will be played to the best out of 3 games with teams that are selected by the coaches in a draft-type situation.

The teams are split up as evenly as possible according to skill and seniority by the coaches and placed on two teams: the red team and the white team.

The series will most likely open this weekend with a doubleheader. The games were supposed to have begun approximately two weeks ago but have been pushed back to this weekend due to the rain on the field.

Sophomore Jey Steele says that there are several players that he thinks will stand out in the starting lineups for either team: sophomores Zach Breault, Adam Polston, Shane Clawson and Josh King and senior Zack Bowe.

“I’m excited for the World Series because I love to pitch, and I’m excited to step on that mound and do what I love to do,” Steele said.

With new additions to the Bryan College baseball team, Head Coach Taylor Hasty has high hopes for the Lions this year.

In the midst of an eight-week fall practice preseason, Hasty said that it is too early to predict a lot of things about how the season will go, but, overall, the team this year is much better than last year’s.

The first addition to the team is pitching coach Nathan Beuster. According to Hasty, Beuster is one of the “best young pitching coaches of the nation” and is an enormous asset to the team. Originally from Geneseo, Ill., Beuster graduated from Culver-Stockton College (Canton, Mo.) in 2007.

For the past two years, Beuster worked as the pitching coach for Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), which is one of the top 15 NAIA baseball programs.

One of the baseball team managers, Diana Rice said that the team Beuster coached last year won 20 games before they lost, an outstanding accomplishment. Rice holds high expectations for Beuster’s influence on the team this season.

“The guys really respect him,” Rice said, and senior pitcher Daniel Zimmerman agreed.

“[Beuster] is an exceptional coach,” Zimmerman said.

Another addition to the baseball program this year is a junior varsity squad, which includes an excellent incoming class.

Hasty said that while the team did not do well on the field last year, the team excelled off the field as far as recruiting new players. According to Hasty, this year holds one of the best recruiting classes in several years.

Good team chemistry and some competition for starting lineup positions indicate to Hasty a good up-coming year. Still, several players have stood out during fall practice.

In Hasty’s opinion, juniors J.D. Davis (shortstop) and Pablo Rodriguez (first base), as well as sophomore Zach Breault (pitcher) and freshman Joseph Delrosario (outfield) have all done very well in practice so far.

New additions Rodriguez and Delrosario are international transfers. Rodriguez is originally from Cuba, and Delrosario is from the Dominican Republic. Both of these players, according to Rice, are very talented and will be major assets to the team.

“But they’re not the only ones,” Rice said. Both Rice and Zimmerman said that the team is overall more physically talented than last year’s team.

Hasty said that the team last year was “bitten by the eligibility and injury bug,” and, though it is still early in the season, they have not had to deal with that this year.

“The tenor of the team has changed significantly since last year,” Zimmerman said.

Hasty anticipates a much better baseball season this year and is excited to see how the varsity and junior varsity teams will compete with their new players and pitching coach.

Lion’s baseball closed their worst season since the reinstatement of the program in 2005, finishing with a 6-45 overall record, and going only 2-25 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

Ending a year plagued with eligibility issues, coaching changes and tough conference competition, the Lions dropped their last three games of the season in a weekend series against the Bluefield College Rams (Bluefield, Va.).

The Lions finished ninth in the conference of ten teams, in front of Virginia Intermont (Bristol, Va.), which finished a game behind the Lions.

The Lions will enter the AAC Championship Tournament this weekend as the #9 seed and will play #8 Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) on Friday at 3:00 p.m.

The Bryan baseball team dropped three games against King College (Bristol, Tenn.), at home Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3.

Monday’s game started out with senior pitcher Mark Barnwell on the mound.

Update on players and lineup

Junior catcher Jon Brown was cleared to play after sitting out from an arm injury at the beginning of the season. Freshman catcher Jordan Day has a leg injury and was only able to play in the second game.

Triangle photos by Emily Echols

During the second inning junior Zach Bowe injured his leg and had to sit out the rest of the games, while sophomore Doug Stroup took his place in right field. There was also a switch in the lineup, with senior Will Newman on first base and freshman Brantley Hattrich on third base because senior first base Matt Hicks was injured.

Change in pitching

In the top of the fifth, the score was 12-3 and King College was winning.

Junior Daniel Zimmerman came in as relief pitcher in the middle of the fifth inning after Barnwell gave up three runs.
Zimmerman did a great job starting off on the mound and struck out his first batter, but in the fifth inning King was able to bring in four runs, putting the Lions behind by 10 runs.

Important Plays

In the bottom of the fifth inning, junior Ryan Henn hit a double to lead off. He then stole third base and scored, while the Lions were down by nine. Brown came up to bat after sophomore JD Davis and Newman had made it on base. Brown slammed the ball over the fence in centerfield and brought in three runs for the Lions. This made the score 13-7.

Ending of the First Game

In the top of the sixth, King College brought in three more runs. Henn caught two pop flies to centerfield and made an diving catch to end the inning.

The Lions were not able to come back for the win and lost to King College 17-7. This loss made the team’s record 4-11.

Second Game against King College

Starting out with freshman pitcher Zach Breazeale, the Lions were able to hold King College to one run at the top of the first.

The cold weather played a big factor while the players froze in the outfield and the strong wind was against them all. At the bottom of the third inning the score was 3-0 while the Lions were held to no runs.

The game seemed to be a drag for the men, while King College still had energy from their prior victory over the Lions.

Breazeale gave up two solo home runs and a grand slam, which gave King College six runs. Junior Ben Young came on in relief during the fifth inning.

The game ended with another loss for Lions with the final score 7-0.

Third Game Against King

Monday afternoon the baseball team lost their third game, 7-3, against King College at home.
The game started with strong pitching from freshman Tyler Brown, but Young was brought in as relief in the fifth inning.

The game was close with some good hits from the team. Freshman Mason Kitzmiller hit a single, was able to make it to second and steal third base. Henn also recorded some solid hits, along with Hattrich.

The Lions fought through the game, but lost 7-3.

The next game is March 6 against Montreat College (Montreat, N.C.) at home.

With two losses Feb. 13 and a rewarding victory on Feb. 14, the Bryan Lions baseball team has a record of three

Junior Zach Bowe lifts a homerun over the right field fence at a recent home game. Triangle photos by Emily Echols.

wins and five losses. Friday started out with a game away against Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga.

The starting pitcher was junior Daniel Zimmerman. By the third inning, Head Baseball Coach Taylor Hasty had to bring in relief pitcher junior Patrick Miller.

Freshman Drew Brown scored the only run in the third inning, making the score 13-1.

In the bottom of the third inning, sophomore JD Davis was hit by a pitch and walked to first base. Davis was able to steal not only second and third base, but also home, making the score 13-2. The game was called early at 13-2, making it a loss for the Bryan Lions.

The Bryan Lions then hosted the University of Rio Grande (Rio Grande, Ohio). The starting pitcher for this game was freshman Zach Breazeale. Breazeale started out strong by getting the first three outs and making it the Lions’ time to come up to the plate.

By the top of the second inning, the score was still 0-0. The Lions were on the field, and with two outs, Rio Grande was able to score five runs.

With the score 5-0 at the top of the third, freshman Steven Brown was able to end the inning by catching a pop fly over second base. The Lions were able to stop Rio Grande from making any progress in that inning.

In the fourth inning, the score was still 5-0 with no runs for the Lions. Freshman catcher Jordan Day dropped the ball, and Rio Grande was able to get in two more runs, making the score 7-0.

In the top of the fifth, Hasty brought in junior Ben Young to relieve Breazeale. In this inning, Davis made the catch for the first out. The second out was a diving catch by senior Will Newman, and Young struck out the batter to close the inning.

There were some good plays made by the Lions in the next innings. Junior Jon Brown hit a double during the bottom of the fifth. Day hit a grounder and made it to first base, putting Brown on third base, but no runs came across before the inning ended.

In the top of the sixth, Rio Grande scored another run, making the score 8-0. which was the final score at the end of the game after seven innings. At the end of Friday night, the Lions had made 18 strikeouts and eight errors.

Saturday night the team played Rio Grande again.

According to sophomore Diana Rice, team manager, “The game was incredible.”

The first inning, the Lions started off right by holding Rio Grande to no runs while Lions scored one.

The game was a close one until the fifth inning when junior Zack Bowe hit a home run bringing in two other runners. This put the Lions ahead 10-7, and in the end the Lions won the game 10-8.

With new Head Coach Taylor Hasty, Assistant Coach Jeremy Deal, and 15 new eligible freshmen, the baseball team is ready for the 2009 season.

Lions baseball players relax during one of their final off-season practices. The Lions opened their season on Feb. 3.

Last year the baseball team finished with a 19-30 record led by Coach Joel Johnson, and this year they were ranked 8th out of 10 teams during the preseason in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The team started out with 26 new recruits in the fall and ended up with 15 eligible players for the spring.

According to Davis, a primary reason for the drop in numbers is academic ineligibility.

Bryan College requires the freshman players to maintain a 1.5 GPA in order to play in the season.

The captains for the 2009 season are seniors Matt Hicks and Will Newman, juniors Jon Brown and Ben Young and sophomore JD Davis.

The team’s goals this year, said Jon Brown, are “to have a better record, to finish above .500 and to be top five in the conference.”

“This year the team practices more and puts in more time, so hopefully it will pay off,” Young said.

Freshmen recruits looking to make a big impact are: first baseman and designated hitter Drew Brown, catcher Jordan Day and pitchers Tyler Brown and Zach Breazeale.

Day will be starting catcher for the first few games while captain and catcher, Brown, recovers from an arm injury. Davis said freshman Tyler Brown is a talented pitcher with “four quality pitches and ability to throw strikes.”

“This team has good defensive players and is able to make plays in the field and are deeper in our pitching and can throw strikes.” Hasty said.

Of the returning players Hasty is depending heavily on senior pitcher Mark Barnwell, captain and junior pitcher Ben Young, first base Matt Hicks, captain and shortstop JD Davis, along with junior Ryan Henn. He is hoping that with these strong returning players and freshman the team will have a winning season.

Davis and Young both agreed that in order to win games this season the team needs to “pitch and play better with no errors, and not give up runs.”

Hasty is confident that this year will be a great transition year.

“We are really close to turning this program around.” Hasty said. “It takes a special team to take a program to the next level and I hope it’s this team.”

Senior Will Newman snags a grounder during infield practice