The Sports Guy

     GCSU Athletics has been dominated for many years by one sport: basketball. Men and women’s basketball has claimed all the attention due to the allure of the game and the abundance of talent we have received for this sport.
     But the school has slowly transitioned sports in the last couple of years. We are now a bat and glove school and not a basketball school. Just look at GCSU’s baseball and softball programs. Both these sports are achieving everything needed to create a competitive and intense program: a talented team, accomplished track record and a heated rivalry. I cannot talk about both programs in one column, so I will focus on baseball this week and show my love for the Lady Bobcats next week.
     Since the inception of Chris Calciano as head coach two years ago, the baseball program has become one of the most impressive programs in the NCAA Division II. The Bobcats are favored to win the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) and are ranked second in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine Division II Preseason Poll.
     Last season GCSU won its first PBC Championship and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. GCSU went 53-12 overall, the most wins since the program joined the NCAA ranks in 1992. The Bobcats also hosted the NCAA South Atlantic Regional for the first time in school history. The Bobcats also were ranked No. 1 in the nation for a school record eight weeks during the season.
     In claiming their best season in school history, the school established two intense rivalries with the Spartans from the University of Tampa and the patriots of Francis Marion University. GCSU took two out of three from 2006 national champion University of Tampa in the season opener and battled with them all season for the No. 1 ranking. The Spartans lucked out as the Patriots eliminated GCSU 7-4 in the semifinals of the College World Series.
     This year Tampa is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II and Francis Marion is ranked sixth and is predicted to finish second in the PBC. I would not miss a game, as things will not cool down this year. The Bobcats open the season in a No. 1 versus No. 2 match-up at Tampa on Friday, Feb. 2.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 2 2007. 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