Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs will open up the 2013 baseball season this Friday, traveling to Erskine College for a three-game series. Wingate will have a different look than the 2012 team that led the nation with 95 homers, but will only feature two newcomers in the starting lineup on opening day. The weekend rotation also has three returners from last year’s staff.
 
“I think I feel the same as the team and our coaches about the upcoming season,” third year head coach Jeff Gregory says. “We are all excited about the 2013 season and the opportunities that we have in front of us.  It is a good schedule and a good conference and we know we have to give our best effort day in and day out. Preseason practice has been good. Our guys have been very focused on what they need to do to be prepared for the season. We have been able to keep our pitchers on track to build up pitch counts to get them ready. At the same time we have been able to get our offense a lot of game looks to get their timing down.”

That pitching staff is led by the three weekend starters who all tossed over 44 innings last season. Junior right-hander Ben Currie (Clemmons, N.C.) will be the Friday night starter once again this season. He led the Bulldogs with 13 starts in 2012, while also leading the team with seven wins and 77 2/3 innings pitched. Junior right-hander Olen Little (Charlotte, N.C.) will also be a weekend starter. The preseason All-SAC selection was 4-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 2012, striking out 45 batters in 44 2/3 innings of work while walking just 14. The third weekend starter will be junior right-hander Stephen Vaughan (Wilmington, N.C.). He had 20 appearances last season, starting four games. Vaughan piled up 51 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings of work, walking only 12 batters while finishing second on the team with six wins.

Other pitchers on the staff that will get some starts and could potentially earn a spot on the weekend rotation include freshman right-hander CJ Harris (Clover, S.C.) and freshman left-hander TJ Rinoski (Yorktown, Va.). As a senior at RCJ Academy, Harris had 74 strikeouts and just seven walks in 63 innings of work in 2012, going 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Rinoski was an All-District and All-Region selection at York High School last year, compiling a 2.01 ERA.

The Wingate bullpen will once again be anchored by redshirt senior right-hander Joshua Karr (Richmond, Va.). He had seven saves last season, after registering three wins and two saves in 2011, leading the team with a 2.20 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Brett Morgan (Clemmons, N.C.) had a solid freshman season at Wingate, registering a 2.87 ERA in 20 appearances out of the bullpen, striking out 30 in 31 1/3 innings of work. Graduate Student Kyle Brady (Cincinnati, Ohio) appeared in 21 games in 2012, piling up 49 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings of work. Redshirt senior Blake Parsley (Charlotte, N.C.) led the team with a 1.69 ERA last season, allowing just four earned runs in 21 1/3 innings of work. Senior right-hander Steven Chaffee (Greenville , S.C.) made 12 appearances on the mound for Wingate last season, starting two games.

“The keys for us will be pitching and defense,” Gregory says. “I think if we are able to do both to what we are capable, then we will have a chance to be where we want to be at the end of the season. We are going to rely on a mix of experience and a lot of new faces this year. We had some very good players move on from last year that made big impacts on the program, but I have been impressed by a lot of guys that have made improvements in their game that should provide what we need to be successful. Our pitching staff has a lot of depth and they have worked very hard through the fall and the preseason. I think it can be a real strength for this season. Offensively, I think we need to understand our identity and what we need to do to be successful. I believe it will be a well-balanced group that can provide the run support we need.”

The Wingate offense will still have some firepower this season. The leader will be 2011 All-American Brian Yeung (Raleigh, N.C.). The redshirt senior will move to second base after playing first base during his first three seasons at Wingate. Yeung is on pace to finish in the top 10 in the SAC in several career categories, including doubles, homers, RBI, total bases and hits. He led the team with a .362 batting average last season, adding 16 homers, 21 doubles, 63 RBI and 54 runs scored, piling up 79 hits and 148 total bases. Replacing Yeung at first base will be redshirt sophomore Brad Cherry (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.). He appeared in 10 contests in 2012, starting three games for the Bulldogs.

The left side of the infield will be anchored by sophomore shortstop Michael Godinez (Cutler Bay, Fla.). He started 34 games as Wingate’s shortstop as a freshman, hitting .284 with six doubles and 11 RBI. The projected starter at third base is sophomore Blake Prince (Winter Park, Fla.). A junior college transfer, Prince hit .408 during his senior season at Edgewater High School.

The outfield will be led by sophomore Thomas Spitz (West Chester, Pa.). The preseason All-SAC selection will move to center field after starting all 55 games in left field as a freshman. Spitz hit .298 last year, registering eight homers, 10 doubles and a league-best seven triples. He led the team and finished fourth in the SAC with 60 runs scored, while stealing a team-best nine bases. Sophomore Will Sapp (Salisbury, N.C.) will be the left fielder for the Bulldogs. He appeared in 14 games last year, hitting .300 while scoring four runs. The right fielder will be junior Eric Serra (Miami, Fla.). The Elon transfer stole over 70 bases his final two seasons in high school, while hitting .221 with 16 runs and seven stolen bases at Elon in 2011.

The catcher and designated hitter positions will be occupied by sophomore Josh Clark (Clemmons, N.C.) and redshirt senior Jason Hunter (West Chester, Pa.). Clark earned preseason All-SAC honors as a catcher. He finished third on the team with a .345 batting average in 2012, adding 12 doubles, a homer and 25 RBI. Hunter hit .327 with nine homers, 12 doubles and 45 RBI.

Keys to the Wingate bench include junior Matthew Barrier (Mt. Pleasant, N.C.). He hit .364 in 13 games last season, hitting a pair of doubles while scoring five runs. Sophomore Michael Benitez (Miami, Fla.) appeared in 13 contests in 2012, starting three games. He hit .278 with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Grant McCoury (Canton, Ohio), another transfer from Elon, will also play a key role off the bench, as a designated hitter, and out of the Wingate bullpen.

After opening their season with three games at Erskine, the Bulldogs come home to take on Chowan Wednesday. Wingate will host Kutztown for a three-game series next weekend, playing a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday. The Bulldogs open conference play Friday, Feb. 15, traveling to Catawba to take on the defending regional champions. Wingate’s first home conference series begins Friday, Feb. 22 against Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the preseason SAC poll. Catawba and Tusculum were tied atop the preseason poll, voted on by the league coaches. The Bulldogs defeated Catawba to win the 2011 Food Lion SAC Tournament, while Tusculum beat Wingate to win the 2012 SAC title.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy and education.

With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visitwww.youtube.com/wingateuniversity.

In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.

Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 52 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 52 Academic All-America® honorees are tied for first (with Duke University) during this millennium. Wingate’s 61 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.