Baseball: Fresh Coaches, Fresh Mentality

A new coaching staff and numerous returning players have created a much improved team chemistry this year for Royals baseball.

Returning to EMU baseball are senior co-captain Brandon Zollman from Lexington, Virginia, and junior co-captain Jameson Jarvis from Culpeper, Va. In addition, EMU will include a group of eight pitchers this year, three more than last season. This grants second year head coach Mark Mace more opportunity for game management, added flexibility and will help the team out greatly in case of injuries.

Zollman played a key role for the Royals last season as a centerfielder/pitcher. He was fifth on the team with a .312 batting average and led the team with 44 hits, 10 stolen bases, and tied for the lead with 25 runs. Zollman also made a new EMU record with five triples. "Zollman is going to get more innings this year on the mound and he is an exceptional outfielder with range and as great arm. He will be key for us to get things started on offense as our lead-off hitter," says head coach Mark Mace.

Jarvis led last year's team in offense and is looking to do the same this season. He ended the season with a batting average of .355, 10 home runs, 41 RBIs and 82 total bases, a slugging percentage of .678, and on-base percentage of .451. He was also fourth on the team with 22 runs, second with 43 hits, and second with nine doubles. He ranked 15th nationally in home runs per game.

EMU struggled last season on the mound due to a lack of depth in the pitching staff. This season however will be different, with former Turner Ashby High School coach Bill Buracker and former TA standout Preston Miller assisting the pitching staff. "Bill comes to us with a great amount of success. Having him around to help mold the staff will be a huge advantage for us. Preston will help share his knowledge as well as work with the catchers," says Mark Mace.

"This year should be exciting" notes Zachary Polloni a sophomore who medically red-shirted last year. "Our biggest goal is to make the NCAA tournament. We have a lot of freshman and transfer students so has taken us a couple of weeks to build chemistry, but it is improving and we are starting to play together really well."

The Eastern Mennonite University baseball team was picked ninth out of the ten teams competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason poll, which was voted on by head coaches throughout the conference.

Virginia Wesleyan, lead the conference with six first place votes, Bridgewater College took second, followed by Washington & Lee, Randolph-Macon and Lynchburg rounding out the top-five teams in the ODAC this year.