The Harris-Stowe State University baseball team was back on the diamond recently for their fall ball schedule. For the first time in program history, they played countable games for the spring, beginning in the fall. NAIA started to allow games during fall practice to count as regular season games. The baseball program decided to play some games in the fall to avoid missing class in the spring.
During fall workouts, the team went 6-2. The Hornets played four games against Viterbo College and four against Ohio Christian University. They went 2-2 against Viterbo College, winning 15-10 and 5-2 and losing two close games, 2-1 and 5-3. The Ohio Christian series was a mostly well played series by both teams. Harris Stowe won by the scores of 10-4, 6-3, 4-3 in extra innings, and 9-7, scoring three runs in the 6 inning to take the lead. In all six of the victories, they trailed at some point in the game.
Top Returners:
Davie Pound (Sophomore)
2019 Season: .277 average / 9 doubles / 7 home runs / 28 RBI
2019 Fall: .480 average / 4 doubles / 3 homeruns / 13 RBI
Fall Assessment: Davie has had a very productive fall. He has worked on cutting out his strikeouts and it showed in his two strike approach in intra-squad games as well as the past two weekends. The coaching staff expects him to be one of the top 20 hitters in the conference in the spring.
DeDe Cole (Junior)
2019 Season: .333 average / 7 doubles / 3 triples / 5 home runs / 25 RBI
2019 Fall: .333 average / 1 double / 4 RBI / 2-2 on stolen bases
Fall Assessment: DeDe has had a very solid fall in the field. He has worked hard and cleaned up his footwork and head coach CJ Bilbrey expect his error numbers to drop. He had a great summer in the M.I.N.K League and it carried over from the first day. He has taken on a leadership role on the roster. “I felt he was snubbed from all-conference last spring and I think he has carried that chip on his shoulder.”
Juan Griffin (junior)
2019 Season: 4-5 record / 73 innings pitched / 5.50 ERA / 45 strikeouts
2019 fall: 1-0 / 11 innings pitched / 1.64 ERA / 9 strikeouts
Fall Assessment: Juan continues to keep developing under pitching coach Travis Tingle. He has picked up 15 mph on his fastball since the fall of 2017. He has gotten more comfortable with throwing submarine and sidearm and his control keeps getting better. He will see a lot of time on the mound for us this spring.
Tyler Cox (Senior)
2019 Season: 4-5 record / 83 innings pitched /4.63 ERA / 33 strikeouts
2019 Fall: 0-0 record / 7 innings pitched / 2.45 ERA / 7 strikeouts
Fall Assessment: Cox was a big surprise for the program in 2019. Came in at break as a reliever and ended up being a weekend starter. This year he is expected to continue to hit the weight room hard and see gains. Has a lot of versatility and has bounced back well. He will be key for he 2020 spring season.
Top Newcomers:
Matt Janocik (Senior)
2019 Season: (Lindenwood-Belleville) .331 average / 6 doubles / 6 home runs/ 41 RBI
2019 Fall: .375 average / 2 doubles / 3 home runs / 13 RBI
Fall Assessment: According to the coaching staff, Matt has been a huge pick up for the program in fall ball. He came to Harris Stowe State after an unfortunate situation at a conference school that had to close down its program. He is familiar with the conference and has fit in since the first day of conditioning. He will be big for the middle of the order, come the spring.
Arcentae Stone (Junior)
2018 Season: (Maryville University) 4-1 record / 53 innings pitched / 4.92 ERA / 42 strikeouts
2019 Fall: 2-0 record / 12 innings pitched / 3.00 ERA / 13 strikeouts
Fall Assessment: Had a good fall after not pitching last season. Has the ability to be a number one in the conference but has to get into pitchers counts earlier in the game and staying out of self inflicted jams. One of the Hornets hardest workers.
Antonio Dominguez (Junior)
2019 Season (Carl Sandburg) .276 average / 3 doubles / 1 homerun / 8 RBI
2019 Fall: .571 average / 1 double / 1 triple / 1 homerun / 4 RBI
Fall Assessment: Antonio had a great weekend against Ohio Christian with a couple of big hits. He plays with a lot of passion which fits in well with the players and coaches. Expect him to get a lot of at bats in the spring.