GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference conducted interviews with Alderson Broaddus head coach Luke Harrigan and senior infielder/pitcher Trent Shaw as part of this year’s baseball season preview.
The Battlers had an impressive regular-season run cut short a little more abruptly than they would have preferred in the conference tournament. After being picked second in the 2016 preseason coaches poll, the expectations are again high in Philippi.
AB fell victim twice to Ohio Valley in its postseason run despite running through the league schedule with a 19-5 record. The Battlers also finished 33-17 and were 12-2 on their home field.
As many have found out, the key to making any kind of noise at the G-MAC Championship is pitching depth. The Battlers still have as talented of a stable of arms as anyone in the conference with the number of returners back on the mound.
Harrigan was recognized by his peers as G-MAC Coach of the Year and is gearing up for what should be another successful season with his program.
The Battlers are one of the last teams around the G-MAC to get the spring started. Alderson Broaddus will throw its pitch of the new season on Saturday with scheduled games against Bellarmine and Hillsdale, a future G-MAC opponent for the spring of 2018.
Hitting: AB hit .317 as a team in 2015 but have numerous vacancies to fill in the lineup from a year ago…Luke Shiflett topped the Battlers with a .371 average and he’s just entering his junior season…Marquis Collier is a valuable left-handed bat that anchors the infield at first base…Chuck Hooker will be looking to build on a strong freshman season with 43 games started and a .317 average…Cody Cowart started 47 of a possible 50 games in the outfield…Shortstop Brandon Gignac (.290), catcher Daniel Essian (.316), outfielder/pitcher Brandon Quay (.321), third baseman Travis Hurley (.370), and leadoff hitter Deonte Settles (.323) are all gone either by graduation or other circumstances…Each should be considered as noteworthy departures due to their contributions and games played…Watch for various student-athletes to emerge throughout the season as their roles become defined.
Pitching: AB’s pitching staff led the conference in runs allowed and hits allowed…Chris Boatto fashioned a 6-0 record and a 2.15 ERA in nine starts…Randy Dobnak struck out over a batter per inning (72 K/71 IP) and tied for the team lead in wins (7) with Tyler Stage…Dobnak routinely goes the distances once he starts after firing eight complete games with four shutouts…He was also put on the Collegiate Baseball News Midwest Region Players to Watch list entering this spring…Stage averaged more than a strikeout per inning and was an impressive 7-2 while posting a sub 3.3 ERA with 11 games started…Koby Overstreet was 6-2 in nine starts…Shaw had a 3.32 ERA in nine relief appearances and Zach Thompson made two spot starts out of his eight total appearances.
Coaching: Harrigan begins his fifth year leading the program…He played collegiately at Adrian College and later returned for a stint as assistant coach…In just four years, Harrigan has already coached the Battlers to 114 total wins.