Diary

Jason
Glushon

April 3 , 2006

In order to understand the present, one must understand their past.

In 2001, Kyle Foster had 75 hits, Tim Hobbs had 36 RBIs, Allen Rigell had 35 walks, and Ryan Donegan pitched 97 innings with 12 wins an a 1.11 earned run average. That Emory team also became the first ever Emory Eagles team to be ranked #1 in the country.

Five years have passed, Eagles have arrived and flown away, but the Emory baseball tradition remains alive at Chappell Park, with this year's new squad earning the #1 ranking from the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll, up from #3 a week ago.

The past week accounted for five wins, starting off with a 8-1 win over Depauw on Tuesday. Mike Levin had 3 hits, Frank Pfister and Tim Cournoyer 2 RBIs, while Griffin Baum and Sam Cunningham added 1 hit and 1 RBI apiece. While it wasn't one of our best efforts, we took the win in stride for a doubleheader in Tennessee on Thursday.

For all those young pitchers out there, take this week's advice: "I know that my success on the mound is directly related to getting ahead of hitters. That's why I concentrate on throwing good, low first pitch strikes in the bullpen" (Dick Mills, 1997).

In the first of two 7 inning games, we were behind after 5 innings despite Corn Dog and Baumer's early RBIs. In the top of 6th, Dave Hissey hit his first collegiate home run to straight away centerfield, tying the game at 4-4. After a shutout inning of relief by Ryan Lumsden, Griffin Baum hit a base hit, stole second, and with two outs, P Fister smoked a ball up the middle to take the lead 5-4, with Rich Babb saving the game with a perfect 7th to give Ryan Lumsden his third win of the year.

Did you know that the highest career batting average at Emory is .433, shared by Andrew Pinckney, Doug Markott, and Doug Serafin.

The second game was a dominating affair from Mike Kerfeld, who pitched all 7 innings, while allowing only two hits, no walks, and striking out 10 batters. While only one run was needed, the offense provided four runs, including RBIs by Custer, Langbord, and Pfister. Frankie P and Ryan Lollar also added 2 hits on the day, with Bo Schill chipping in with a pinch hit as well.

Did you know that current Eagle parent, Chuck Gordon, is responsible for Ernie Els' 1994 US Open Championship.

On April Fools Day, it marked the celebration of birth of freshman outfielder Chris Higgins. We also had a doubleheader which was an unusual one because the first half was a two inning conclusion to our March 9th game vs. LaGrange. We were already ahead 6-1 through seven, and behind Anthony Vidal and a Rich Babb save, were able to close the door to set us up for the second half, a normal 9 inning game vs. LaGrange.

Did you know that brothers Jeff and Scott Kramer used to throw pole to pole.

A dogfight from start to finish, a second inning LaGrange run was quickly equaled in the bottom half by a Frank Pfister single followed by a patented Bryan Langbord RBI double. That double ties Splint for all-time doubles here at Emory. Another run was tacked on in the third by Emory, after a Hissey walk and a Cournoyer single led to an RBI single from Frank Pfister, his team leading 33rd of the season. The offense added one more run in the sixth after Sam Cunningham's pinch hit single drove in Taylor Gettinger, who doubled the at bat before. Frank and Taylor both finished with 2 hits on the day, while Splint and JGo each added doubles.

Just a reminder: Atlanta Braves (Tim Hudson) take on your Los Angeles Dodgers (Derek Lowe) on Monday, 4:10 est on ESPN.

A 3-2 game heading into the ninth started off with a huge Bo Schill pick in the dirt, accounting for the first out. A P.F.P. back to Ian 'Terminator' Ganzer got the second out, and Tom Mieczkowski's side arm 'Widowmaker' accounted for the save, a one-batter strikeout to solidify a 3-2 win, and a 5-0 week.

Did you know that the most RBIs in a single game by one Emory player is 7, done three times: Brad Barnes (3/7/95), Jason Zaremski (2/16/97), and Rob Segear (3/17/04). This year's high is by Joe Roth with 5 vs. Case Western on March 16.

Sunday was a great day to relax, get in a good a lift, and celebrate the 22nd birthday of Ian Ganzer. It also marked opening day to the 2006 baseball season, with the defending champion Chicago White Sox defeating the Cleveland Indians 10-4.

The week ahead calls for 4 games, including 3 on the road. Down the stretch and with a bullseye on our uniforms, it is time to take the intensity up a notch.

"It's like I always tell you. Sometimes you just gotta say what the heck." - Risky Business

Jason Glushon is a Junior from Encino, Calif. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.