GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference conducted interviews with Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Todd Lillpop and senior first baseman Troy Paris as part of this year’s baseball season preview.
In 2015, the Panthers put up big-time offensive numbers on their way to a 32-18 overall record and 15-9 mark in the regular-season conference schedule. Kentucky Wesleyan was picked third in the G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Opening Day for Kentucky Wesleyan is scheduled for Friday with a twinbill set in Tennessee against Lane. KWC is one of three G-MAC teams scheduled to throw the first pitch of the spring on Friday with Ohio Valley and Salem International also heading south for doubleheaders.
Hitting: Paris was a deserving second-team All-American after mashing 27 doubles, four triples and five home runs while sporting an on-base percentage over .500…He also matched Ted Williams’ coveted 1941 season with an identical .406 batting average at the dish…Paris locks down half of the corner infield at first base and was third in the league in runs scored (57)…Another feared bat in the middle of the lineup is Johnathan Eberhardt, who belted 13 home runs of his own; he led the Panthers with 55 RBI was second in the conference in both categories…Also keep an eye on switch-hitting catcher/outfielder Josh Galvan following a .388 average and seven homers swatted in 2015…Key players to replace include Dennon Koziol, Josh Vance, Kyle Emig and Chad Klein; they combined to start 168 games…The Panthers hit .328 as a team last spring and generated 20 or more runs in four games.
Pitching: A noticeable void in the rotation will be left behind from fireballer Matt Pobereyko, who mowed through pretty much every lineup he faced…2015 G-MAC Freshman of the Year Sammy Holder was 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 total appearances; most notably, he went the distance for five complete games and hurled a pair of shutouts…Lefty Austin Tibbs is a lockdown arm out of the bullpen…Closer Justin Kittel has moved on after recording seven saves/13.2 scoreless innings…Head coach Todd Lillpop is pleased with the overall depth of his pitching staff this year.
Coaching: With a .649 winning percentage since joining the conference in 2013, Lillpop’s successful track record speaks for itself…He has coached the team to consecutive 31-plus win seasons…He enters his 15th season at the helm and was a former outfielder at KWC.