Bobcats, Lady ‘Cats have the same goal

Baseball

It’s not often that both the baseball and softball teams from the same college or university have good seasons, let alone both teams ranked in the national rankings.

Fans at Georgia College & State University have a lot to cheer about with both sports, as the Bobcats and Lady Bobcats not only have nationally ranked teams, but also are in the thick of heated championship races in the always tough Peach Belt Conference.

The Bobcats (23-16, 12-9 PBC), who are currently ranked 14th in this week’s

Collegiate Baseball poll, have had success in every aspect of the game, according to Head Coach Steve Mrowka.

“We’ve had a pretty good season so far,” he said. “We’re getting good pitching, playing pretty good defense, scoring some runs, and as we continue to play down the stretch, we’ve got to win some big games if we’re going to compete for this (PBC) championship.”

The PBC traditionally has been one of the toughest Division II baseball circuits in the nation, with the league sending six different teams to the D-II World Series since 1993, including defending national champion Columbus State last year. If that weren’t amazing enough, since 1984, current PBC members have been to 22 World Series, which includes six visits to the NAIA championships, which of course, was long before the Peach Belt Conference came into existence.

In addition to GC&SU, five other PBC teams are currently ranked in this week’s poll, with Kennesaw State standing in at number six, with Armstrong Atlantic State at number seven, followed by North Florida at number eight, CSU at number sixteen, and Francis Marion at number 28.

Mrowka believes several factors, including location, have contributed to the overall quality of baseball in the Peach Belt Conference over the
years.

“This conference has several quality schools, and being in the Southeast, you have very good weather for baseball,” he said. “So you get a lot of players from up north, and other areas who want to come (to the South). (The PBC) is a good quality conference because you have programs that are established, have good histories, and have good weather.”

As for the conference race itself, the Bobcats currently find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the Peach Belt Conference with Armstrong Atlantic State and Kennesaw State, with the Pirates currently sporting a 10-5 mark in conference, while KSU is 14-7, respectively. The Owls were ranked first in the nation until losing two out of three games at North Florida last weekend. But Mrowka believes that’s the least of his team’s worries.

“We’ve got to take (each series) one at a time,” he said. “This is anybody’s conference. Whoever plays good ball and gets it done will have a good shot (at winning the PBC championship).”

Softball

While the PBC has proven to be one of the toughest NCAA Division II baseball conferences of recent years, it also has become one of the toughest softball leagues around the country as well.

And one team who has figured to be a factor in the 2003 conference race are the Lady Bobcats of Georgia College & State University (32-4, 12-4 PBC), who have been ranked as high as second in the nation this season, but has never won a league championship.

Head Coach Windy Thees believes teamwork has been the key to the success of the GC&SU softball team thus far.

“We’ve been playing really well as a team,” she said. “We’ve got everything going for us, we’ve got a strong pitching staff, and have been dominant on the mound.”

Speaking of being dominant on the mound, Jennifer Joiner has proven one of the toughest pitchers in Peach Belt Conference history, sporting an 18-2 mark with a 0.41 ERA. In fact, Joiner has been named the PBC Pitcher of the Week three times this season. Cathy Chandler has been just as dominant, going 7-1 with an ERA of 1.97 so far in 2003.

The teams first two losses came on April 2, where the Lady Bobcats fell 1-0 in both games at Armstrong Atlantic State an experience that Thees believes will benefit her team down the stretch.

“No team has ever gone undefeated for a whole season,” she said. “I’m glad we lost now (to AASU) instead of the PBC or regional tournament, where we hope to make it to the World Series.”

Like her baseball counterpart, Head Coach Steve Mrowka, Thees also sees the competition in the Peach Belt Conference as a challenge.

“Every year, when you get into (PBC play), you know they’re going to be the best teams you face no matter who you play or where they’re ranked nationally,” she said. “When you play someone in the PBC, every team is talented from the team (that’s in last place), that’s never won a game, they’re going to give you a fight just like the number two, number three team in the conference.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 18 2003. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry