MD JUCO Preview: College of Southern Maryland

February 19, 2019
Kyle Campbell
Maryland Scouting Director

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JUCO programs across the state of Maryland began preseason practices back in early January. As the calendar quickly turns and with several teams getting ready to open up their 2019 campaigns in the next few weeks, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the 2018 season, examine key players that have moved on or left the program, look at some new faces and key players for the upcoming season, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2019 season. We continue our preseason previews with a look at the College of Southern Maryland Hawks.

College of southern Maryland 2019 SEASON PREVIEW

Head Coach: Aaron Michael (3rd Season)
Mascot: Hawks
2018 Record: 15-28
2018 MD JUCO Finish: 14th Place
2018 DIII Region XX Finish: Did not qualify.
Twitter Handle: @CSMHawks
CLICK HERE to view the College of Southern Maryland Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the College of Southern Maryland 2019 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the College of Southern Maryland 2019 Baseball Roster

2019 PBR JUCO NATIONAL PRESEASON RANK: NR

Returning Players with 2018 Postseason Honors

None

Returning Starters: 4

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
Matt Fitch	OF	27	.279	.389	.295	13	17	1	0	0	4	9
Justin Hitt	OF	33	.221	.308	.324	14	15	2	1	1	12	7
Seth Morrison	UTL	27	.273	.355	.318	6	18	3	0	0	13	1
Matt Schnoor	C	27	.175	.389	.275	8	7	1	0	1	4	3

Returning Pitchers: 2

PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Nick Norris	LHP	9	2	2	0	17.0	31	26	21	12	19	11.12
Kenny Rickett	RHP	10	1	4	0	32.0	54	46	43	21	40	12.09

Key Losses

PLAYER	POS	GP	AVG	OBP	SLG	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB
CJ Hill	INF	41	.226	.373	.453	22	24	3	0	7	17	6
Gavin Moore	C	34	.237	.279	.268	8	23	3	0	0	4	5
Derek Taitano	INF	43	.314	.434	.397	24	38	4	0	2	26	7
PLAYER	POS	APP	W	L	S	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
Trevor Burch	P	9	3	5	0	41.1	41	36	30	23	23	6.53
Jamie Gomez	P	13	2	6	0	54.0	62	44	39	27	45	6.50

Derek Taitano (St. Mary's College of Maryland)

Top Newcomers

Dylan Bell P/3B St. Charles (MD)
Trevor Drummond INF/P McDonough (MD)
Peyton Myers C McDonough (MD)

Key Players for 2019

Dylan Bell (Fr.) P/3B St. Charles (MD)
Trevor Drummond (Fr.) INF/P McDonough (MD)
Matt Fitch (So.) OF Westlake (MD)
Justin Hitt (So.) OF Northern (IL)
Seth Morrison (So.) UTL McDonough (MD)
Peyton Myers (Fr.) C McDonough (MD)
Nick Norris (So.) LHP Leonardtown (MD)
Kenny Rickett (So.) RHP Leonardtown (MD)
Matt Schnoor (So.) C La Plata (MD)

2019 Committed Players

None at this time.

2019 Season Snapshot

Third year head coach Aaron Michael and the 2019 College of Southern Maryland Hawks enter the season with aspirations of qualifying for the end of year NJCAA DII Region XX Tournament. The Hawks last qualified for postseason play back in 2014 where they lost in the opening round game to CCBC Dundalk. In 2019; NJCAA DII Region XX adds two more teams into the mix (Chesapeake College and Montgomery College) for a total of eleven schools vying for one of the eight spots in the tournament. The change this year will place even more importance on Region XX DII games throughout the Maryland JUCO Conference schedule.

Southern Maryland's top two arms from a year ago have moved on in Trevor Burch and Jamie Gomez but they do return RHP Kenny Rickett who made 10 appearances and LHP Nick Norris who made 9 appearances in 2018. Both Rickett and Norris will be in line for more innings in 2019 while freshman two-way players Dylan Bell and Trevor Drummond look to add depth to the staff. At the plate, Matt Fitch (.279 AVG) and Seth Morrison (.273 AVG) will lead the way offensively with fellow returners Justin Hitt, Matt Schnoor, and freshman Bell, Drummond, and Peyton Myers figuring to see several opportunities early in the year to help solidify the lineup.

The Hawks will open their season with a tough three-game series at home against Monroe College (NY) before heading south to Myrtle Beach for their Spring Break trip. The opening series and early season games in South Carolina will be key for the younger players to gain experience, and for the coaching staff as they look to tweak things before the grind of critical NJCAA Region XX DII games begin when they return.