ANDERSON, S.C. -- On the Anderson College baseball team bulletin board, there is a sign posted: "20-35: Do Something About It!" After suffering through a 20-35 season last spring, head coach Joe Miller and his Trojans are determined to make a big turnaround in 2005. "We got off to a bad start last season and never got things turned around," Miller said. "We had one pitcher - Will Cheatham - and one offensive player - Caleb Owen - who had better years than what we were expecting. Five or six guys had average or below average years. You put all that together and it adds up to a 20-35 record." The Trojans open their 2005 schedule Saturday, Feb. 5, at UNC Pembroke. Miller says he has noticed a lot of determination on his team to put last year in the past. "The guys have a lot of motivation to put that 20-35 record behind them," Miller said. "Our work ethic during the summer and last fall was very good." Miller says the strength of this year's team should be the starting pitching and the infield. "We lost just one pitcher from last year's team and all three guys who pitched conference games for us last year - Nat McCarty, Brett Youngblood, and Desmond Robson - all are returning and healthy," he said. "They all gained a lot of experience last year pitching in a lot of big ballgames for us. "In the infield, (Donavon) Schmidt is healthy for the first time in two years, and we had some good offensive numbers last year out of (Kyle) Lewis and (Jonathan) Pitts. Here is a look at the Trojans position by position: First Base - Senior F.A. Vildosola (.257, 11 2B, 20 RBI) is seeking to close out his career at AC with a big offensive year. "Vildosola was All-CVAC as a sophomore," Miller said. "He's a guy who should be hitting in the middle of the lineup for us, and he's as good as I've had defensively at first base. We need a big year out of him." Junior Marcus Smith (.250, 4 RBI) will back up Vildosola. Second Base - Schmidt, a senior and a three-year starter, has battled through a variety of injuries the past two seasons. In 40 games last season, he batted .320 with 12 doubles and 32 RBI. Sophomore Tony Graham played in 29 games as a freshman. Shortstop - Lewis started as a freshman and batted .307 with 28 RBI and was fourth on the team in runs scored with 33. Senior Jeremy McCauley, who is returning from an injury, also will get some time at shortstop. Third Base - This spot is jammed with three experienced candidates -- Pitts, senior Seth Thompson, and junior Anthony Gonzalez. Outfield - Graduation cleared out two positions so this area is a work in progress. Senior Caleb Owen (.365, 10 2B, 29 RBI, 58 runs) set the school single-season record for hits with 80 last season. "Caleb is our only experienced guy," Miller said. "He'll play left and some center. We lost four guys from last year. We look for speed first because you can't hide a 7.5 guy in our outfield. We have a lot of guys out there but not many with game experience." The top candidates to join Owen in the outfield are junior Cody Nye and sophomores Bradley Miller, Josh Harrison, and Jacob Reid. Reid, a member of the pitching staff, was one of AC's top hitters during fall practice. Catching - Miller lists catching as the most improved position on the team. The returnees are Jessie Whiteside (.224, 8 RBI) and Bryan Cato (.257, 6 RBI). The newcomers are freshmen Ed Johnson and Clint Neville. "We've got four decent guys behind the plate," Miller said. Pitching - Youngblood (4-6, 6.40), McCarty (4-6, 6.14) and Robson (3-6, 6.16) all return as weekend starters. "Youngblood has been a conference starter for two years," Miller said. "He needs to be the guy we can depend on every weekend to give us a quality start. We're hoping McCarty has a consistent year. Robson had a solid year as a freshman." Potential mid-week starters are juniors Aaron Griffith (1-1, 3.86), Will Cheatham (2-1, 3.64), Brad Owens (1-2, 7.58), Nate Miller (2-2, 7.71), and Michael Farotto; sophomores Reid (1-3, 11.81) and Gib Bethea, and freshman Brandon Sherriff. Cheatham and Farotto are the leading candidates to be the closer.
June 21, 2005
Miller Adds Nine Players To Baseball Roster
May 23, 2005
Anderson Announces Spring Athletic Honor Rolls
May 23, 2005
Volleyball Team Compiles Highest Team GPA
May 12, 2005
Anderson Claims CVAC Sportsmanship Award Again
April 26, 2005
AC Athletes Receive Recognition At Honors Night
April 22, 2005
Owen, Robson Make All-CVAC Team
April 19, 2005
Owls Spoil Anderson's Senior Night
April 18, 2005
Solo Homer, Relief Pitching Lead Catawba Past AC
April 17, 2005
Barton Routs AC To End CVAC Tourney Hopes
April 16, 2005
Barton Damages AC's CVAC Tourney Hopes
April 13, 2005
Trojans Outlast Augusta State, 5-3
April 11, 2005
Carson-Newman Strikes Early To Beat Anderson, 11-6
April 10, 2005
Trojans Rally To Win A Thriller
April 9, 2005
Anderson, Belmont Abbey Split Doubleheader
April 7, 2005
Solo Homers Lead Lander Past Anderson, 5-3
April 6, 2005
Trojans Erupt In Ninth To Smash North Georgia
April 5, 2005
Southern Wesleyan Rally Nips Anderson
April 3, 2005
Mount Olive Takes Two From Anderson
April 2, 2005
Robson Pitches AC Past Mount Olive, 5-4
April 1, 2005
Rain Forces Change In Baseball Schedule
March 30, 2005
Walk-Off Grand Slam Beats AC, 9-5
March 29, 2005
Trojans Slap Spartans, 9-6
March 26, 2005
Fleet Completes Sweep With Walk-Off Grand Slam
March 25, 2005
Fleet Takes Two; Clinches AC-Erskine Cup
March 23, 2005
Trojans Topple Bearcats, 5-4
March 20, 2005
Youngblood Goes The Distance Against Falcons
March 19, 2005
Trojans Split Doubleheader With Pfeiffer
March 13, 2005
Limestone Sweeps AC With Two Walk-Off Homers
March 13, 2005
Saints Complete Three-Game Sweep Of AC
March 10, 2005
Vildosola Hits For The Cycle; AC Downs Eagles
March 9, 2005
Anderson Second On CVAC All-Academic List
March 9, 2005
Owen, Schmidt Lead Anderson Past SWU
March 8, 2005
Anderson, Newberry Split Doubleheader
March 6, 2005
Cobras Strike Late To Beat Anderson
March 5, 2005
Anderson, Coker Split Doubleheader
March 3, 2005
Trojans Jump On Jags, 9-4
March 1, 2005
Erskine Gets Past Anderson, 4-1
February 27, 2005
Anderson Rallies Late To Beat Presbyterian
February 26, 2005
Trojans, Blue Hose Split Doubleheader
February 23, 2005
North Georgia Strikes Early To Beat AC, 5-3
February 19, 2005
Trojans, Knights Split; Robson On A Roll
February 17, 2005
Limestone Wins Slugfest Over Anderson
February 16, 2005
Spartans Display Late Power To Beat AC
February 15, 2005
Robson Named CVAC Pitcher Of The Week
February 15, 2005
Blackburn's Blasts Lead SWU Past Anderson
February 13, 2005
Trojans Rally To Beat Newberry, 11-10
February 12, 2005
Robson Blanks No. 5 Kennesaw, Trojans, Owls Split
February 8, 2005
Cato's Single Is Game Winner For The Trojans
February 6, 2005
Pembroke Completes Sweep Of Anderson
February 5, 2005
Braves Take Two From Anderson
January 28, 2005
AC Baseball Team Determined To Improve
January 26, 2005
Mt. Olive Claims Top Spot In CVAC Baseball Poll
January 26, 2005
Owen Named To CVAC Preseason Team
December 17, 2004
Anderson College Announces Fall Honor Roll
August 19, 2004
AC Adds Two More Assistants To The Athletic Staff
August 6, 2004
Nall Named Assistant Baseball Coach At AC
August 2, 2004
AC Places 95 Student-Athletes On CVAC Roll
July 30, 2004
Rettinger Named Head Trainer At AC
July 23, 2004
Miller Adds Eight Players To Baseball Program