Baseball Announces Schedule, Roster
49-game itinerary begins on Jan. 27
Jett leads 13 encumbents into the fray
WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The baseball season is just a month away for Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Seeking their first winning season in history, the Lions and new head coach Jon Shockley are filled with optimism.
Shockley is as enthusiastic as a three-headed cat in a creamery. Formerly the coach at Central Christian College (McPherson, Kansas), he is switching from the stripes of the CCC Tigers to SAGU’s kings of the jungle.
The new coach released the team’s 49-game schedule last week, and it includes 25 home contests. The Purple Pride will begin with a nine-game homestand, starting with a single game against Hillsdale College (Okla) on Friday night, January 27.
Southwestern will play in 15 doubleheaders, nine of them in Waxahachie.
LSU-Shreveport, 47-15 last year, is the team to beat in the Red River Athletic Conference this spring. The Pilots were ranked #6 in the NAIA’s Pre-Season Coaches Poll. LSUS comes to Waxahachie for a three-game series on March 30-31.
Northwood University (39-18) enters as the #2 club in the league while rated #24 by the NAIA. UT-Brownsville (35-26) was #41 in the pre-season poll.
Their complete itinerary is posted on-line at www.sagu.edu/athletics under baseball and schedule. Also available there is the Lions current team roster.
Coach Shockley announced there are 31 players who comprise the Lions' roll call. Thirteen players were on the 2011 team, which finished 10-30 overall and 5-25 in RRAC action. The roster is on the SAGU website next to the schedule.
Competition to earn a starting position was fierce during fall camp.
Five of the newcomers were also SAGU football players; Rockie Davis, Nephtali Fletcher, Reid Golson, Adam O'Bannion, and Matthew Umphenour.
Shockley has filled his coaching staff. Brady James enters his second with the Lions, while Tommy Benningfield and Rance Melton have joined the squad as assistant coaches. All three are former players for Southwestern.
Second Hand Lions
SAGU has a core of last season’s team returning. Of the veterans, centerfielder Dustin Jett (Patterson, La / Patterson HS) is expected to figure prominently in the team’s attack. Appropriately named, the speedy Jett hit .368 and led the Lions in scoring with 33 runs. The Cajun native swiped 25 bases in 27 tries.
Others who are back include:
Ben Chavez, Senior, Outfielder
Dominic Denney, Senior, Catcher
Jared Denton, Sophomore, Catcher
Riley Hensel, Senior, Third Baseman
Dustin Jett, Senior, Outfielder
Tim Kolczak, Senior, Pitcher
Weston Lippe, Sophomore, Shortstop
Nic Morgan, Senior, Pitcher
Michael Reeves, Sophomore, Pitcher
Jon Savis, Sophomore, Pitcher
Trevor Schexneider, Senior, Pitcher
Nick Sheffield, Sophomore, First Baseman
Chris Stanley, Senior, Pitcher
Spotlight on SAGU Baseball Coming Next Week
A review of the fall camp and Coach Shockley’s assessment of the team as they begin practicing in January will be posted on-line during the holidays. A feature on one of the team’s most compelling players, Tim Kolczak, will appear next week.
Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.
*RRAC 2011 Final Baseball Standings
Team (RRAC Record), Overall W-L Record
LSU-Shreveport (26-4), 47-15
Northwood (24-6), 37-16
Texas Wesleyan (20-10), 31-23
Texas at Brownsville (19-11), 35-26
Wiley College (17-13), 21-21
Texas College (15-15), 27-27
Univ of Southwest (11-19), 15-32
Bacone College (11-19), 15-35
Huston-Tillotson (10-20), 12-30
Jarvis Christian (7-23), 7-30
SW Assemblies of God (5-25), 10-30
*Standings as listed on the RRAC website
