#TCCBaseball Season Preview
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 27, 2017) – Tallahassee Community College's baseball team will open the 2017 campaign on Friday when it hosts Pasco-Hernando State College at Eagle Field.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
Both Tallahassee head coach Mike McLeod and Pasco-Hernando State skipper Steve Winterling were assistants at Florida State University in the 1980s under Mike Martin.
McLeod, now entering his 27th season as the Eagles' head coach, is just nine wins away from career victory No. 900.
Tallahassee finished the 2016 campaign with a record of 35-17, including a 9-11 record in Panhandle Conference, although it was not eliminated from postseason contention until the final out of the season's final game. Though the 26-man roster includes only seven players who were on the field for the final game at Northwest Florida State College last spring, there are some key pieces in place that give the Eagles a chance to make a run at the postseason.
Shortstop Deyvid Silva returns to anchor the Tallahassee defense. Joined by second baseman Josh Nothdorft and catcher Bret Maxwell, the Eagles' will be as solid as anyone up the middle.
Outfielder Myron Mebane is the only other returning everyday player. Mebane saw action in right field as a freshman and emerged as one of the team's top power threats.
Rounding out the returnees are a trio of pitchers – right-handers Brooks Buckler and Nick Marchese and lefty Octavio Marin.
When Buckler takes the mound, he'll do so as one of the top pitchers in Region 8 while Marchese's resume includes a no-hitter vs. Thomas University JV in February 2016.
Tallahassee opens the season with a five-game home stand. Following the weekend series with Pasco-Hernando State, the Eagles will host Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on January 1 and South Georgia State College on February 1.