Loren Hibbs attempts to lead Charlotte to its third-straight NCAA appearance in 2009. |
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Charlotte Baseball Begins 2008 Fall Practice
Sept. 15, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - After back-to-back 40-plus win campaigns that resulted in two NCAA Regional Appearances and Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships, the Charlotte 49ers baseball team heads back to the practice field for team work in the fall semester this week.
With eight seniors lost to graduation and junior Zach Rosenbaum gone to the Major League Baseball draft, Charlotte looks to the remaining juniors and returning players to lead the team back to the top of the heap in 2009.
Fall team practice begins Monday at Tom and Lib Phillips Field at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium and continues through Thursday at home. Friday, practice begins at North Mecklenburg High School, as the playing surface undergoes a reseeding and grooming process.
Charlotte will spend days not at North Meck in the upper practice fields, behind the Wachovia Fieldhouse. Tentative scrimmage dates will be this Wednesday on the stadium field, with Friday and Sunday scrimmages scheduled for North Meck.
Sophomore second baseman Corey Shaylor is the team's leading hitter that returns to the lineup, fresh off his .366 campaign, earning him Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America status and A-10 Rookie of the Year honors. Leading slugger Rob Lyerly, who paced the Niners with 76 RBI and 26 doubles last season, comes off a fantastic summer in the Northwoods League, where he made the All-Star team and led the league with a .342 average and was second in RBI (48) and doubles (19).
Charlotte returns its leading starting pitcher in sophomore Joe Yermal, who was good enough for an 8-2 record and another Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America award winner. Charlotte will have other leadership on the mound with Redshirt junior Kelly McLain (7-0 in 2008).
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Lyerly and McLain were first-team All-Atlantic 10, while second team members included Yermal, Shaylor and junior third baseman Aaron Bray, who is a former A-10 Rookie of the Year.
The Niners finished 43-16 in 2008, winning 40-plus games in back-to-back seasons, a first for the program. Charlotte also set the school record with a .333 batting average. The 2009 season begins on the road at ACC foe Clemson, with a three-game weekend series that begins on Friday, February 20 at 4 p.m.
