Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Coach Chris Pollard said that his Appalachian State baseball team isn’t resting on the success of winning a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title and locking up the No. 1 seed for this week’s league tournament.
But it has been a successful season.
The Mountaineers finished first in the regular season for the first time since 1987.
“It mostly boils down to good players, but we’ve also had tremendous continuity with our coaching staff,” said Pollard, whose program has reeled off six straight winning seasons. “Craig Scheffler, our pitching coach, has been here for seven years, Josh Jordan, our recruiting coordinator, is in his sixth year. Matt Boykin was with us for six years and Chris Moore took over when Matt left to go to St. Andrews, and he’s been here for two years. We’ve had very little turnover in our coaching staff. That continuity is important.
“But more importantly, we’ve been able to get good players. Like Tommy Lasorda said, ‘good players make good coaches.’”
ASU will now try for its first SoCon tournament title since 1984. They’ll begin that quest Wednesday at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
Pollard likes his team’s chances.
“This team has the best mentality of any team I’ve ever been around, in terms of mental toughness and work ethic,” he said. “And these guys really enjoy being around each other.
“We haven’t played perfect all the way, but we’ve figured out ways to win.”
Read more on the resurgence of ASU baseball in today’s Winston-Salem Journal and at journalnow.com, and on the Mountaineers in this year’s SoCon Tournament in Wednesday’s editions.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Ryan Arrowood, outstanding in April, will try and help Appalachian State cap things off in May.
The task will begin Friday when Arrowood takes the mound and Appalachian State opens a three-game series at home against UNC Greensboro.
The Mountaineers, 32-10 overall, 16-5 in Southern Conference play and ranked No. 28 in one national poll, are locked in a battle to win their first SoCon regular-season title since 1987.
“I definitely think we’ve made the first step toward the next step,” said Arrowood, the senior ace on ASU’s pitching staff. “We really want to win the conference. That’s the next goal, and it begins with this series.”
Arrowood, 8-0 this season, won all four of his starts in April and posted a sterling 1.61 earned-run average in the process.
A victory Friday would be his 26th career win, tying a school record set by former teammate Matt Andress.
Arrowood’s success this season hasn’t been a surprise to SoCon followers, but he gained notice nationally in February with a 1-0 victory over LSU. Arrowood, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-hander, pitched seven innings against the Tigers, now ranked No. 4 in national polls, and allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out 10.
Coach Chris Pollard of ASU said that he breathed sighs of relief when Arrowood wasn’t drafted out of high school, and after last season’s performance as ASU’s top starter.
“We really kind of sweated the draft when he was coming out of high school because he was a guy who was getting interest,” Pollard said. “There was a time we thought he might never make it to Appalachian. Last year we worried and sweated the fact that he might be drafted after his junior year.
“For whatever reason, to our benefit, he’s been able to stay here for four years and he’s had a breakout year and he’s garnering a ton of pro interest. I will be absolutely shocked if somebody doesn’t take him this time.”
Read more on Ryan Arrowood in Friday’s Winston-Salem Journal.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Appalachian State, off to one of its best starts in school history, has a big series ahead this weekend.
The Mountaineers will play host to College of Charleston in a battle between Southern Conference front-runners at Smith Stadium. Games are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
ASU is 22-5 overall and 7-2 in Southern Conference play. The Mountaineers are ranked No. 30 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
College of Charleston, which was ranked earlier this season, is 21-9 overall and 11-4 in league play.
The Cougars have a team earned-run average of 2.44. ASU has scored 10 or more runs in 10 of their 15 home games this season.
The Mountaineers are 15-0 at home this season.
Only two other ASU teams have had better records than this year’s 22-5 team. The 1969 and 1984 teams both were 23-4.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Appalachian State will wrap up spring practice in a few days. Coach Jerry Moore said recently that a highlight this spring has been how well a revamped coaching staff, with seven new members, has worked.
“Every one of the new coaches are excited about being here,” Moore said. “Not just one of them, every one of them. I’ll use Mark Ivey (linebackers) as an example. He’s been a high-school coach in Florida for several years and he played for us here, and he’s excited to death to be back up here. We tried to hire him several other times and it just didn’t work out. Now he’s here…and there’s excitement about it.”
Moore said he has been impressed, in different ways, with all the new staff members.
“The first time we ever had a meeting, the first thing Byran Brown (cornerbacks) started talking about was tackling,” Moore said. “He wasn’t talking about schemes and that stuff, he started talking about tackling. Well, that’s football. If you can’t tackle, you’re probably not going to be very good. If you can’t block, you’re probably not going to be very good…
“They’re teaching. You’ve got to be able to teach. I’m tickled to death with these guys. Dwayne Ledford (offensive line) is a great example of that. He’s a great teacher. He’s a detail guy. You read his resume and he played nine years in the NFL. He was never a start. He is one of those guys who says every Tuesday he was worried about his job, because that’s when they bring the free agents in. Guys like that don’t just hang on without a reason.
“In meetings, he’s a great note taker. He doesn’t leave anything to chance. I think our players have bought into it…. He gets things done and he’s a very, very good teacher.”
Ledford joined Brown, Ivey, Chris Foster (running backs), Justin Stepp (receivers) as new members of Moore’s staff this spring – along with Scott Satterfield (quarterbacks, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach) and Nic Cardwell (tight ends), both of whom rejoined the staff – and he said that it’s been a compatible mix.
“The way we get along and communicate has been great,” Ledford said. “As far as being off on the right foot it’s been a great start, it really has.”
Friday, March 16, 2012
Austin Trotman of Appalachian State is making the most of his final trip to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.
Trotman, a fifth-year senior from Winston-Salem in his fourth appearance in the national tournament, locked up All-America honors this afternoon and put himself in position to do even more with a quarterfinal victory over the top-seeded wrestler in the 184-pound weight class.
Trotman beat No. 1 Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming 12-9 in the quarterfinals in St. Louis. Trotman handing LeBlanc just his second loss in 34 matches this season.
“I don’t believe in upsets,” Trotman said, who is seeded No. 9 in the tournament. “I was the better wrestler today, and it showed in my wrestling. We were both tired in the third period, and it showed. I was defensive in the second period and was hit with stalling, but I kept my composure.”
Trotman is the only wrestler so far in the tournament to knock off a No. 1 seed.
“This win means everything for my program. I’ve been coming (to Appalachian State) for camp since ninth grade and the hard work has been paying off,” Trotman said. “The win is awesome, a real blessing. I got what I worked for. Every opponent is nameless and faceless, and I’m ready for the semifinals.”
LeBlanc had beaten Trotman 10-2 at the Reno Tournament of Champions earlier this season. The only previous loss for LeBlanc (32-2) this season was against unbeaten Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, who is now wrestling at 174.
Trotman (36-4) will next face No. 4 Steve Bosak (32-4) of Cornell in the semifinals. The match is scheduled to start after 7 p.m. tonight and will be broadcast on ESPN 3.
Bosak won a match against Trotman, 2-0, earlier this season.
If Trotman wins tonight, he will advance to Saturday’s championship match. If he loses to Bosak, he will wrestle again tonight or Saturday morning and could finish as high as third place and as low as sixth.
Regardless of the outcome, Trotman is assured a top-eight finish and All-America status.
“I knew coming in that this is my last year,” said Trotman, ASU’s all-time leader in victories, on Thursday. “After five years on this team, it’s my last chance to step up.”
Also today, Kyle Blevins of ASU kept his hopes of All-America status alive in the 165-pound weight class. Blevins will be guaranteed a top-eight finish and All-America status with another victory tonight.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Anthony Breeze, former Appalachian State basketball player, is one victory away from closing his college career in the NCAA Tournament.
Breeze is a graduate student at Bethune-Cookman and playing his final season. His team will face Norfolk State at 1 p.m. today in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Breeze, a 6-foot-5 guard from Greenville, S.C., played at Coastal Carolina for two seasons in 2007-08 and 08-09.
He transferred to ASU and sat out the 2009-10 season as required by NCAA rules.
Breeze wound up playing in only 14 games at ASU as a junior in 2010-11 as result of an assortment of reasons, including suspension and injury. He averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds a game for the Mountaineers.
He graduated from ASU last May with a degree in communication disorders and minor in psychology. He is working toward completing a master’s degree in transformative leadership at Bethune-Cookman.
Breeze was able to play this season as result of an NCAA rule that allows transfers who have eligibility left to play immediately upon enrolling in a graduate program.
“It was a great opportunity,” Breeze said.
Breeze has played in 27 games and started 19 this season. He is averaging 10.9 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Wildcats, who are 18-16.
Breeze said that he has been playing with a shoulder injury most of the season and sat out Friday night’s semifinal win over Hampton. He scored six points in 15 minutes in a semifinal win over N.C. Central on Wednesday.
Breeze said that he will play today in the Wildcats’ biggest game of the season.
“I’m going to play,” Breeze said. “It would be great to get to the NCAA Tournament. It’s something you dream about.”
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Maryah Sydnor is a 6-foot-1 freshman who sports a ponytail springing from the top of her blonde head. She says that people call it “peacock feathers.”
She had reason to be proud today.
Sydnor scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Appalachian State dominated the inside game and whipped Chattanooga 77-52.
The prize was a second straight trip to the Southern Conference Tournament championship game, where the Mountaineers will have a chance to avenge last year’s loss to Samford in a 5 p.m. game Monday at Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Center.
Sydnor was off a sub-par performance in the quarterfinals, when she hit just 2 of 10 field-goal attempts against Western Carolina.
“I had opportunities and I was missing wide-open layups,” said Sydnor, who hit 13 of 18 shots against Chattanooga. “Today was just a different day.”
It was a great day for Sydnor.
“But tomorrow is what we’re really after.”
ASU will get another shot at Samford, which is in the SoCon title game for the third straight year.
The Bulldogs beat ASU 57-54 in last season’s final.
It was a game in which the Mountaineers missed opportunities down the stretch.
“It was 26 seconds of the worst basketball things that could happen to you happened,” Coach Darcie Vincent of ASU said.
The Mountaineers led most of the way and by as many as nine points in that game. They led 54-52 with 2:36 left but didn’t score again.
The Bulldogs took a 55-54 lead after grabbing an offensive rebound following a missed free throw. ASU’s Courtney Freeman then missed a layup that would have put the Mountaineers back on top, but teammate Ashlen Dewart kept hopes alive by snagging a rebound and drawing a foul while shooting with 4.1 seconds left
Dewart, a 76-percent free-throw shooter, missed both free throws.
The Mountaineers were left with what would have been a miracle shot to tie, but Sam Ramirez, with only 1.4 seconds remaining, couldn’t beat the clock with a desperation shot that sailed wide of the mark.
Monday will bring a new chance.
“We know what stands between us and our ultimate goal,” Vincent said. “It’s a matter of us just going out and attacking it.”
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Appalachian State’s season ended today in similar fashion to the way much of the season went.
The Mountaineers showed flashes of brilliance, but couldn’t put it together for a long enough stretch.
That’s how it today went.
ASU led UNC Greensboro by 11 points with 12:57 left but couldn’t hang on and lost 65-55.
But, one difference, which drew the praise of Coach Jason Capel, was consistent effort throughout the Mountaineers’ Southern Conference Tournament run, which kicked off with an impressive start-to-finish victory over College of Charleston on Friday.
Capel complimented his team for its tenacious effort, something he that had been wanting to see all season. He said he was proud of the way his team prepared for a final run in Asheville.
“They entered this tournament not just to get a bag or a badge, or a trip to Asheville, but to show up to win,” Capel said. “We fell a little short but we have nothing to hang our heads about because we absolutely left everything on the court. Because of that I’m proud.”
Wes Miller, who took over as interim coach at UNC Greensboro in December, wouldn’t trade today’s victory but said that he hates that it came against Capel, who, like Miller, played college basketball at North Carolina.
“I really admire Jason Capel,” Miller said. “He’s a friend of mine, and I’m always pulling for him. When you have to play against a friend, it’s not good because somebody has to lose. I feel terrible for him. He had his team playing fantastic basketball at the right time of the year. That’s as good of an App State team as we’ve played in two years and watching what they did yesterday (against College of Charleston) just absolutely hats off to him and his staff.”
Western Carolina ended Wofford’s two-year run of SoCon titles with an 82-59 victory in today’s quarterfinals.
“They’ve had a heck of a run,” said Coach Larry Hunter of Western Carolina, whose team has won its last six games. “They hadn’t lost a tournament game in the Southern Conference for over two years. That’s an amazing accomplishment.”
Friday, March 02, 2012
Appalachian State kicked off the 2012 Southern Conference Tournament today with one of its best performances of the season. The Mountaineers were rather dominant in a 93-81 victory over College of Charleston.
Next up for the Mountaineers (13-17) is UNC Greensboro (12-18) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
ASU and UNCG split a pair of games during the regular season. The Mountaineers won 78-64 on Dec. 1 in Boone. UNCG won 77-73 in overtime on Jan. 26 in Greensboro.
Coach Jason Capel of ASU likes the matchup, especially given his team’s performance today.
“We understand this is a team we beat early and it was a different team when we played them the second time and they got us,” Capel said. “But we’re confident. We know what they’re going to bring but whoever we play it doesn’t matter what they do. If we come out and play the way we’re capable of playing, that will take care of itself.”
Ike Butts, ASU’s 6-foot-10, 290-pound center continued a late-season surge and totaled 14 points and 11 rebounds against Charleston.
Butts has had double-doubles for four straight games.
“Butts is tough,” Coach Mark Byington of Charleston said. “He probably outweighs our starting center by 90 pounds. The ball goes up and he wedges them (opponents) under the rim and he grabs it.”
Byington, who became Charleston’s interim head coach in January when Bobby Cremins took a medical leave of absence, said he doesn’t know if Cremins will be back next season.
“First and foremost, we want to see Coach Cremins get better,” Byington said. “If Coach Cremins wants to come back, then obviously everybody will be happy about that.”
Today’s round of games were the first event of any type since the old Asheville Civic Center building – now known as U.S. Cellular Center – underwent $8.9 million worth of renovations that were completed just earlier this week.
The stone building played host to the Southern Conference Tournament for 12 years from 1984 through ’95.
The 6,600-seat arena is a lot cleaner and smells new. It’s brighter with new coats of white paint, and cushioned seats have been installed on the lower level.
The cozy double-deck arena won’t swallow light crowds, and is remembered for producing a loud and energetic atmosphere back in the days when former SoCon members Marshall and East Tennessee State brought particularly large crowds to town. The right matchups now in the later rounds could create a ticket demand.
The Asheville location provides a central location for the league’s tournament.
“The venue is absolutely terrific,” Coach Larry Hunter of Western Carolina said. “In my opinion, it’s the almost-perfect size. As the tournament progresses and we get 5-6,000 people in here it’s going to be a whale of an atmosphere – what a college tournament should be like.”
Monday, February 27, 2012
Final Southern Conference rankings (teams get two points for a road win, one point for a home win, minus-one for a road loss and minus-two for a home loss in conference games only):
1. Davidson (21 points)
2. Georgia Southern (9)
Wofford (9)
4. College of Charleston (3)
UNC Greensboro (3)
6. Elon (0)
7. Furman (-3)
Samford (-3)
Western Carolina (-3)
10. Appalachian State (-6)
11. Chattanooga (-12)
12. The Citadel (-18)
North vs. South: South Division wins 31-17.
Hot and Cold: Western Carolina has won four straight games; UNC Greensboro has lost three in a row.
North Division Intra-division records (counting only games between North Division teams):
UNC Greensboro 6-4
Western Carolina 6-4
Appalachian 5-5
Elon 5-5
Chattanooga 4-6
Samford 4-6
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