Preview: 2015 TCC Baseball

TALLAHASSEE Fla. (January 30, 2015) – The Tallahassee Community College Eagles baseball team will kick off their 2015 season Friday and Saturday, January 30 and 31, at the First Pitch Classic , hosted by Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla. 

The Eagles will play four games as part of the Classic – two games each against Gordon (Ga.) State College and Darton (Ga.) State College. 

Tallahassee returns eight players, including four starters, from last year’s squad, as well as Chad Mabini, a member of the Eagles’ 2013 Panhandle Conference championship team who missed last season due to an injury. The 2014 Eagles captured the Panhandle Conference Wild Card berth and eventually won a pair of games at the NJCAA Gulf District/FCSAA State Tournament.  The returning players will provide experience and depth to the team as the season gets underway. 

Among those returning is outfielder D.J. McKnight who played in 51 games as a freshman.  McKnight brings with him a wealth of experience and an impressive .336 batting average in 2014. 

The Eagles also return Jonathan Burkett who received All-Tournament honors at the state tournament last season.  Burkett batted .301 in 42 games and also accounted for 26 runs in 2014.  After playing at second base as a freshman, he will be making the move to shortstop this season. 

Adding to the depth of this team are two transfers who will bring an added dynamic to the roster. Freshman Zach Featherstone transferred for North Carolina State University at the winter break and enrolled at TCC in January; Cody Fulton played his freshman season at Miami Dade College, where he helped the Sharks to the FCSAA State Championship and an appearance in the JUCO World Series title game. 

As the Eagles get set to embark on their 2015 campaign, the goals and the level of expectation has been set high.  

“Our ultimate goal every year is to win the conference first, and of course win the State of Florida,” said Tallahassee head coach Mike McLeod. “We have managed to win the Panhandle six times, which is an accomplishment in itself…the goal after that is to always win the State Tournament and get to the World Series.” 

To achieve these goals the road ahead for the Eagles will not be an easy one.  The Eagles will have to make it through the Panhandle Conference, which McLeod sees as a challenge that this team is ready to face.  

”It might be one of the toughest top to bottom conferences in the country year in and year out”, says McLeod. 

The Eagles will return for their home opener on February 6 when they take on Gordon State in the first of a two-game series.