Chants baseball looking for a new group of stars

To capture its third 50-win season in four years and host a second consecutive regional as a No. 1 seed last season, Coastal Carolina baseball enjoyed significant bumps in production from veteran Chanticleers.

While Coastal inked one of its better signing classes in the fall of 2008, that group of players will not be on campus until this fall. So, if they hope to stay among the elite in college baseball, the Chanticleers will again need improvement from within the current roster. They will be looking for replacements to make up for the offensive production last season's squad received from the departed Dock Doyle, Tommy Baldridge and David Sappelt, and the pitching depth provided by former Chants Pete Andrelcyzk and Joey Haug.

Here are some possible contenders to fill the holes:



Adam Rice OF/1B - Rice, a JUCO transfer, was off to a torrid start in '08 until he was slowed by injury midway through the season. Rice finished with a .344 batting average, but had six of his eight home runs in the first 30 games of the season. If he can stay healthy, Rice should be able to eclipse those numbers this spring. He has a powerful frame and compact stroke that makes a .400+ average and 12-15 home runs attainable.

Jose Iglesias C/DH - You can't teach 6 foot, 4 inches and the leverage that comes with that size: see CCU's David Anderson. It took the 6-foot-5 Anderson until his junior year to make good on his mammoth frame (20 home runs), and the 6-foot-4 Iglesias enters his junior season this spring as the Chants' second-most intimidating presence in the batter's box. The CCU staff raves about Brian Gabriel's strength program and Iglesias, if he wins the starting catcher job, has the potential to post impressive power numbers. He earned all-Dade County (Fla.) honors in his prep career - no small feat in baseball-rich Miami, where he slugged .850 as a senior.

Cody Wheeler LHP - Wheeler may not have the best stuff on the staff with the addition of Anthony Meo, but a left-hander who touches the low 90s with a good breaking ball is a nice option. Sure, the walks must improve (46 in 65 2/3 inning last season), but his rate of 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings as a freshman last season - third best on the team - are a testament to his stuff and his potential.

Coastal baseball opens its season at home Feb. 20 against Southern Illinois in the Caravelle Resort Tournament.

CCU women struggling

The struggles of the Coastal Carolina women's basketball team - fives loses in their last nine games - can be traced to poor shooting.

Coastal is shooting just 35.2 percent from the floor, down from 36.8 percent from a season ago.

While Coastal has the top scoring defense in the Big South (55.6 points per game), Coastal's scoring offense ranks fifth (57.7 points per game).


Source: myrtlebeachonline.com