Home-State Advantage
Southern location gives Charlotte a leg up on A-10 foes
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PrintCHARLOTTE—Charlotte 49ers baseball coach Loren Hibbs was faced with a difficult choice this season. When it came to scheduling, which was more important—quantity or quality?
As it turned out, it was both. But it was not an easy choice for Hibbs to maintain a full 56-game regular-season schedule for his team in the reduced time period allowed by the change-of-season plan.
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| Brad McElroy |
Perhaps it was not surprising that of the top three teams in the A-10 last season, two—Charlotte and Richmond—were the two southernmost schools. Charlotte won its first A-10 regular season and tournament championships last season and is a preseason pick to repeat in 2008.
The 49ers outscored their three opponents by a 44-9 margin in three victories at the 2007 A-10 championship. Charlotte will be led this season by senior outfielder Brad McElroy and senior infielder Shayne Moody, the most outstanding player of the 2007 A-10 tournament.
Still The One To Beat
The Feb. 22 starting date and the compacted schedule present problems for Charlotte like for everyone else, but there's no reason to think the 49ers' dominance over the A-10 will subside.
"I like the fact we went to a common start date. I think the thing I was most concerned about and what our program was most concerned about was getting 56 games in the allotted time," said Hibbs, who enters his 16th season with Charlotte. "If you look at our schedule, basically we play Friday-Saturday-Sunday and Tuesday-Wednesday just about the entire season. So, if we get any type of bad weather, the ability to attempt to play makeup games is going to go right out the window."
Hibbs said those schools that plan to play the maximum 56 games in the reduced time allotted will face several obstacles.
"You're going to have to go five starters deep; you're going to have to have a lot more pitching depth than you have had in the past," Hibbs said. "We tried to make an adjustment in our program to have more arms available. That has been a significant challenge, trying to work the roster with the 35-(player) limit we have and try to have enough guys to remain competitive in every game from a pitching standpoint."
Hibbs is also concerned how scheduling changes could impact the strength of the league and the ability of schools to schedule quality competition, particularly for those schools that decide to play less than 56 games.
"We've got some big-time programs that are not scheduling the 56, and I think that could be used down the road as ammunition to reduce our games in the future," he said. "You want to give yourself the opportunity to schedule and play games to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. For us, being able to play 56 games goes a long way to being able to get to that end. If we only play 50, it would really hinder our choices."
Wind In Their Sails
Last season, Charlotte made great strides with its program, on the field and off.
The 49ers set a school-record for wins in a season; earned their first two NCAA tournament wins in school history; made their first-ever appearance in the top 25; and led the nation in ERA (2.64).
Charlotte had three players drafted, including first-team All-American righthander Adam Mills, who set a school record with 14 wins and was taken in the sixth round by the Red Sox.
The 49ers should be strong at the plate this season, with seniors McElroy and catcher Chris Taylor and junior infielder Aaron Bray leading the way. Junior righty Zach Rosenbaum is the lone returning weekend starter on the pitching staff.
"We lost some tremendous players. We've got some young guys who have ability but it will take time," Hibbs said. "I think we're going to be a little bit different in that we may not be quite as good defensively as we were last year, but we may end up being more physical and have more power from an offensive standpoint."
Charlotte will also begin play this season in a fully completed Hayes Stadium, a $5.9 million project that includes permanent seating for more than 1,000 fans, major league-style in-ground dugouts, hospitality suites and expansive press facilities.
The 49ers were able to play a few home games late last season in the stadium, but parts of it were not yet complete. Hibbs hopes the school will soon be able to host Atlantic-10 tournaments and NCAA regionals.
When that happens, the 49ers will have a chance to build even further upon their A-10 dominance.
Jim Utter covers Charlotte for The Charlotte Observer.
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