Taylor Freeman batted .372, hit eight home runs and drove in 52 runs to win the Cowboy triple crown in 2008.
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
McNeese State’s Cowboys expect to present a much improved baseball team in 2009, particularly on the mound and in the field.
We addressed the issues that we had – pitching and defense – and I feel that we have made big strides,” said McNeese State coach Terry Burrows, a former Cowboy standout who is now in his second season.” Our offense wasn’t a question last year. We could score runs. We were just short in pitching and our fielding and I think that we have corrected that with the additions that we have made to this year’s squad.
A year ago the Cowboys posted a 13-42 overall record and missed the league playoffs with a 7-23 conference mark.
There are 20 lettermen returning including seven who saw starting action, that group led by catcher Taylor Freeman and shortstop Shon Landry. Freeman won the Cowboy triple crown title last year by batting .372, hitting eight home runs and driving in 52 runs.
Landry, who is slated for his fourth consecutive year as the McNeese starting shortstop, was second on the team in hitting with a .299 average and he also drove in 35 runs.
Two other standouts returning are outfielder Sam Merrill and pitcher Tyler Davis. Merrill played in center and left last year and in his first season with the Cowboys came up with a .288 batting average. According to NCAA statistics, he was the 52nd hardest player in the nation to strike out last year (14 strikeouts in 235 trips to the plate).
Davis, who throws from the left side, posted a 3-6 won-lost record along with a 5.42 ERA. He made 14 starts, hurled a team high 91 innings and struck out 81 batters. Among his wins was a triumph over No. 24 Oral Roberts. Two of his setbacks were one run decisions.
Among the top newcomers on the team are pitcher Tommy Luce and infielders Alex Johnson, Matt Fontenot and Steve Irvine.
The 6-foot-6, 232-pound Luce is out of Broken Arrow, Okla., and played for Seminole State College where in two campaigns he posted a 7-4 record with a 3.34 ERA and 10 saves. He has already been drafted once, that by the Cleveland Indians following his first year at Seminole.
Johnson belted 20 home runs in two seasons at Wharton Junior College while Fontenot, who was sidelined last year after Tommy John surgery, stole 58 bases during two seasons at Bossier Parish Community College and Irvine batted .404 with 30 stolen bases last year at Eastern Oklahoma State College.
One thing Burrows, who is a former Southland player of the year (1990), is the fact that they lead off their schedule by playing the first 11 games at home.
