By Richard Torres
Tue, May 13 2008
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FAIRMOUNT — Like Highland High School’s latest hire, Matt Bair, the Madison-Grant baseball team’s newest head coach brings an Anderson University and Madison County connection to the 2008 baseball season.
As a senior shortstop for former coach Monte Sprague during Alexandria’s 1998 Class 2A state title run, Scott Rowland embarks on his first head coaching position in 2008 motivated to succeed.
“The kids are starting to get used to my philosophy and expectations,” said Rowland, a 1998 Alexandria graduate and former player under AU baseball coach Don Brandon. “It’s just about working hard and approaching each practice how you would play the game. I’m on my seniors a lot about how they approach practice. I tell them, if they’re not practicing how they should, then the younger kids aren’t getting what they need.”
While actively working toward a bachelor’s degree in education at AU, Rowland has employed the use of a three-person coaching staff to help ease the transition from former Argylls’ baseball coach Steve Shugart.
Former AU baseball standout Brandon Dillon, Madison-Grant head football coach Randy Sehy and Jerry Young will work with Rowland this season.
“There’s just so much that you really don’t know that takes place in coaching,” Rowland said. “There’s a lot of extras, and I’m getting used to it.”
With five returning starters from last year’s 20-5 team, the first-year coach will rely on a core of experience to build upon the Argylls’ runner-up finish in the final 2007 Central Indiana Conference standings.
Amassing a 74-29 record the last four years, the program is coming off back-to-back 20-plus win seasons and four straight winning seasons.
Ranked eighth in the Class 2A polls late last year, Madison-Grant welcomes back five of the team’s top hitters, but also will turn to some inexperience on the mound with the graduation of staff ace Ryne Brown.
“I think we can hit,” Rowland said. “I’m not worried about scoring runs. It’s keeping them from scoring runs; that’s the biggest thing. We have to stay away from the big inning.”
(2ND MADISON-GRANT BREAKOUT WITHIN A BREAKOUT)
Projected Starters
C Jacob Morrical (Sr.)
C/3B David Little (Jr.)
1B Nathan Hiatt (Sr.)
2B Austin Lee (Sr.)
SS Shawn Smith (Jr.)
3B/1B Justin Cornelious (Sr.)
OF Matt Andry (Sr.)
OF Andrew Stroup (Jr.)
OF Zack Nolder (Sr.)
Pitching Staff
RHP Nathan Hiatt (Sr.)
RHP Jacob Morrical (Sr.)
RHP Austin Lee (Sr.)
RHP Shawn Smith (Jr.)
RHP Andrew Stroup (Jr.)
RHP Justin Cornelious (Sr.)
RHP Clayton Eccles (Jr.)
(MAIN MADISON-GRANT BREAKOUT)
Team: Madison-Grant
Coach: Scott Rowland (1st season)
Conference: Central Indiana
2007 record: 20-5 (2nd in CIC)
Class: 2A
Argylls at the plate: Madison-Grant returns five players from last season with a batting average of .300 or higher. Among them, the duo of senior Nathan Hiatt (.430) and junior Shawn Smith (.472) did the most damage, combining for 52 RBIs. Smith clubbed a team-high 10 doubles in 2007 and added 11 stolen bases.
Senior Jacob Morrical (.356) amassed seven doubles and 32 runs scored for last year’s Central Indiana Conference runner-up. Junior Andrew Stroup (.350) and senior Austin Lee (.317) compounded for 56 total bases. Stroup swiped 10 bases in 24 games.
Argylls on the mound: Losing their staff ace to graduation in Ryne Brown, an Indiana Wesleyan University recruit, the Argylls will turn to a pitching-by-committee approach with a rotation stretching nearly nine-deep. Of the returnees, senior Austin Lee holds the most experience with 26.2 innings logged, mostly in relief. The right-hander limited batters to a .238 average against and sported a 3.15 ERA with 19 strikeouts. He finished the year with a 2-1 record.
Nathan Hiatt (2-0, 1.40 ERA), who started two games in 2007, held hitters to a paltry .167 average in 10.0 innings pitched.
Player to watch: Senior catcher Jacob Morrical was a steady contributor for the Argylls in several offensive categories last season. Among the team’s leaders in hitting, Morrical paced the Argylls on the basepaths, swiping 20 in 24 attempts. The CIC honorable mention drove in 19 runs and was ranked second on the team in doubles and first in walks (13).
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