2006
BASEBALL PREVIEWAt season’s end there was no MEAC regular-season championship. The team played just enough games in the MEAC tournament to be eliminated and advancing to a NCAA Regional is what other teams did.
In fact, the season came to an end with just four wins and backed up with 45 losses. Despite all of that, it is a year North Carolina A&T baseball coach Keith Shumate will never forget. Why?
He knew there was not much room to go down. However, there was plenty of space and opportunity to build a program. The next year Shumate’s team won eight. Eventually, his team broke the school record for wins. They kept doing it until in 2005 they decided to go beyond breaking records and reached the point where they started making history.
A
year ago, the N.C. A&T baseball program broke the school record for wins by
going 27-27. Yet, this time they took things a little further. They won the
MEAC regular-season with a 12-6 record, ending Bethune-Cookman’s
stranglehold on the title. 
In Florida, the Aggies dominated with their bats and arms on their way to their first MEAC Tournament title in 12 years as they defeated Norfolk State in the championship game.
Unlike 12 years prior, winning the MEAC Tournament had an additional prize, an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies berth into the NCAA postseason marked the program’s first trip as the Aggies were sent to the regional hosted by Clemson.
Numerous newspaper articles followed as many media members wanted to know more about the Aggies season. As if that were not enough, it took until the seventh inning before the surprised Clemson faithful were able to relax. N.C. A&T battled the Tigers pitch for pitch and led 2-1 before Clemson went into its half of the seventh and had a scoring outburst after there were two outs.
The next day the Aggies stayed competitive with Oral Roberts before being eliminated 6-3. So in nine seasons, Shumate went from not having much room to go down to not having much room to go up after the success of 2005.
NEVER SATISFIED
WRONG! While Shumate was thrilled with last season’s results, he was not content. The 1988 Western Carolina graduate didn’t walk away from the Clemson Regional happy to be there. He walked away believing the Aggies could have, should have and in the future can advance beyond the opening regional round.
As the 2006 season approaches, he and his returning 17 Aggie players and 12 newcomers are seeking to accomplish that goal. The Aggies have been picked to win the MEAC this season by baseball coaches and sports information directors in the league. They are picked No. 6 by the blackcollegebaseball.com poll.
“We’re hungry” said Shumate. “Our players were never surprised at our accomplishments. The MEAC was winnable by any of the league teams. “The same will be true in 2006. All teams truly have the capability of coming out on top. We are convinced in the hard work part of the equation.”
“The hardest workers will give themselves the best chance. Two-thousand and five was great for our fans. The memories will live a lifetime. However, as a team we have to turn the page on last year. This is a new year and we will not be able to sneak up on anybody. We loved the experience, but we are striving for bigger things.”
Shumate shown some Love
The first big thing Shumate did was go out and hire the program’s first full-time assistant coach. Austin Love, former Aggie first baseman, pitcher and outfielder from 2001-2004, was added to the Aggies coaching staff. Love will join six-year volunteer assistant Tim Wilson. Wilson started in 1998 and 1999 as an outfielder for Coach Shumate. Shumate believes the addition of Love gives the Aggies an edge in player development.
“More eyes give us some juice,” said Shumate. “Austin has the unique perspective of coaching under his former head coach at his alma mater. “Austin is energetic, has pitched, played infield, and outfield. He’s been an execution guy in the short game, has stolen bases, and yet has been a middle of the order power type hitter. He pitched as a starter and as a reliever. He knows our system and relates well to our players. He is loyal to the coaching staff and has a deep love for A&T. Love added to a staff with Tim Wilson gives us a great player development staff.”
A Gambling Love Jones
Wilson and Love have some great players to develop starting with junior outfielder Jeremy Jones. Jones is the reigning MEAC Player of the Year. The 2006 preseason has been kind to Jones as well. Two media outlets – Collegiate Baseball and the National College Baseball Writers Association of America (NCBWA) – named Jones a third-team All-American.
The junior outfielder has also been named as a candidate for the 2006 Brook Wallace National Player of the Year Award. Jones is one of 120 players across the country named to the initial watch list.
All the preseason accolades are justified. Jones batted .402 last season
with four home runs and 46 RBI. He led the MEAC in batting, hits, runs
scored (53), on-base percentage (.479), d
oubles
(20), total bases (120), total plate appearances (236) and plate appearances
(204). He also ranked 26th in the nation in batting. Jones was
also named blackcollegebaseball.com’s Player of the Year. His season was so
good, Baseball America has listed him as a potential June draft pick.
But he is not the only Aggie that might be in the draft soon. Jones benefited from having junior third baseman Charlie Gamble hitting behind him at the cleanup spot. Teams could not pitch around the left-handed bat of Jones because Gamble’s power was awaiting them.
Gamble hit five of his 13 MEAC league-leading home runs at War Memorial Stadium, one of the biggest facilities any college team in the country plays in. Last season, Gamble hit for the cycle and hit a walk-off home run in a 3-2 win over Campbell.
Gamble was named first-team All-MEAC and blackcollegebaseball.com. He ranked second in the league in slugging percentage (.612), runs scored (51) behind Jones and total plate appearances (228). He tied Jones for the league lead in total bases (120) and led the league in RBI (48).
“When the weather gets warm people should really come out and see these
guys play,’’ said Shumate. “They are outstanding and we don’t know how long
they are going to be around.”
THE MOUND
The Aggies also have an excellent one-two punch on the mound in senior Michael Hauff and sophomore John Primus. Hauff and Primus combined to go 15-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 2005. Hauff led the MEAC in strikeouts with 132 and was 9th in the nation. He won a league-lead eight games on his way to an 8-5 season that included a miniscule 2.92 ERA.
His season earned him the honor of starting the Aggies first-ever NCAA Regional game, where he kept the Clemson Tigers bats quiet for 6.1 innings.
He earned first-team All-MEAC honors and was named MEAC and blackcollegebaseball.com’s Pitcher of the Year. Eight different times, he struck out 10 or more batters. Hauff also led the MEAC in strikeouts looking (42), innings pitched (108) and games started (14). Further showing Hauff’s stature as a pitcher, he started three games against ACC teams last season. Despite losing all three he gave up a combined 13 hits, while striking out 16 in 20.1 innings pitched. He also had a combined 3.58 ERA in those games against Duke, Virginia and Clemson.
Primus was a nice surprise for the Aggies last season. Primus went 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA. He started his rookie season 3-0 and had a league-leading seven complete games. His efforts earned All-Freshman Louisville Slugger honors. Primus had a 3.25 ERA, and his ERA stayed under three through his first nine starts.
Hauff will be the Aggies ace, while Primus will fit into the No. 2. The No. 3 spot will be handled by slugger Patrick Oates. Oates had an outstanding season at the plate last season hitting behind Jones and Gamble (More on Oates in the outfield section). Oates made two starts without surrendering a run in six innings. He was 1-0 with three strikeouts.
The No. 4 and 5 spots in the rotation will likely go to left-hander freshman Ryan Sellers and right-hander freshman Chris Watson, both freshmen. Joe McIntyre, another Aggies slugger, could also see a few starts. McIntyre made 11 appearances and six starts in 2005. Most of his appearances will likely come from the bullpen.
The Bullpen
Converted OF Skegee Brooks (Senior, Pembroke, NC), who did not play in ‘05 is the leading candidate to replace Richard Hawk as the Aggies closer. Top set up men will likely be senior Erik Neal (Columbia, SC) and freshman right-hander Cyril Daniel. The Aggies left-handed specialist will go to junior Jasper Smith (Durham, NC) and freshman Chris Mullins will help to provide good match-ups for Shumate. Middle relief duties will go to junior Chris Eggers (Sanford, NC).
Catcher
The men responsible for catching the Aggie pitchers this season will be the catching duo from 2005 – Neil Rosser (sophomore, Sanford, NC) and Raul Santiago (senior, Fayetteville, NC). Rosser made the majority of the starts in 2005 with 39, while Santiago started 15 times behind the plate. Runners tried to steal against Rosser 80 times, 19 of them were caught for a 23.8 percent success rate, second-best in the MEAC.
He also made just five errors in 301 fielding attempts. At the plate, he hit .266 with one homer, nine doubles and 15 RBI. Santiago hit .238 with 4 home runs, 8 doubles and 20 RBI, and his clutch hitting clinched the regular season title last year with a walk-off homerun against Coppin State University.
Santiago, when not starting doubles as a utility player who plays several positions in a pinch. Last year, he spent most of his time away from catcher’s position in right field.
“They will share duties early with Rosser giving us added emphasis when we need defense and Santiago doing the same when extra offense is needed,’’ Shumate said.
Freshman Jerel Wilson will be the emergency third catcher and conduct bullpen duties. “All three are extremely unselfish and understand that one catcher cannot win a championship by himself. They are the heart of everything that we do,’’ added Shumate.
Infield
Joining Gamble in the infield this season will be converted outfielder Phillip Brewington (sophomore, Sanford, NC). Brewington had a slow start in 2005 and then caught fire midway through the season. Between March 31 and April 16, Brewington put together and team-best 11-game hitting streak. Not bad considering he had the best streak on a team that included Jones, Gamble and McIntyre.
The Aggies shortstop will be Nick Mayo. Mayo worked his way into the Aggies leadoff spot by showing a tendency to get on base. He batted .304 on the season and .315 when batting in the leadoff spot. Mayo also stole 20 bases, ranking him fourth in the league and he had 25 RBI. He also walked a team-high 28 times.
With Oates moving to the outfield, the Aggies will go to freshman William Sunderland (Marston, NC) to play first base. Sunderland, the 2005 Southeastern 4-A Conference Player of the Year, will move to first base after catching at Scotland High School.
Ronald Phelps will also see action in the infield showing off his ability at third base, shortstop and second base along with his duties in the outfield. Phelps’ talents have him pegged at third base most likely in the future.
Outfield
Jones will man centerfield again this season. Jones made just two errors in 103 fielding opportunities. Oates will move to left field. He belted six home runs, including gigantic shot at War Memorial Stadium that nearly reached East Lindsay Street located about 150 feet behind the center-field wall last season. The Aggies will turn to either McIntyre or freshman Brandon Cain (Pinebluff, NC) to play right field. McIntyre, who was named the MEAC Tournament’s MVP, returns having a great season at the plate.
McIntyre batted .327 with 16 doubles (second in the MEAC) and 29 RBI. He was especially dangerous with runners in scoring position, batting .358 in that situation.
Situational Players
The Aggies will look to senior Dustin Ijames (Kernersville, NC) and junior Joel Battle (Kinston, NC) to handle the Aggies pinch-hitting duties from the right side. From the left side, the Aggies will turn to Marcus Mack. Mack started 38 games for the Aggies in left field and batted .246 with nine RBI. Mack’s speed will also be added punch off the bench, the junior out of Fayetteville, NC stole 20 bases in 24 attempts last season for an 83.3 percent success rate.
“We definitely believe that you win on the mound,” said Shumate. “We are excited about our young men that are returning and have carefully evaluated our newcomers. Off-season goals were very clear for us. First, build the bullpen staff. Second, extend the lineup. Better match-up guys out of the pen and a more dangerous attack in the 6-9 spots in the batting order can make us better. A third goal was also to add more range in the middle infield.”