Albany State gears up for 2015 baseball season

ALBANY — If January was a crazy month for you, then listen to how Albany State interim baseball coach Daniel Stockdale’s month went.

Stockdale was hired on Jan. 9 to replace Kenyan Conner, who resigned in December to join ASU football coach Mike White’s staff at Benedict.

Stockdale left his assistant baseball job at Savannah State, had a little more than three weeks to learn his new team and had to trim the roster from 40 to 28 players.

On top of that, Stockdale still hasn’t fully moved and is still living in a hotel.

Yet, when the Rams open their 2015 baseball season Tuesday afternoon against Brewton Parker College, none of that matters to the first-year coach.

“These guys are handling (the transition) well,” Stockdale said. “They needed a little organization and they’ve been able to get that corrected.”

Stockdale is a student of the game and he places heavy emphasis on fundamentals. He believes Albany State should be an automatic contender in the SIAC and with the fertile baseball grounds in Southwest Georgia that supply talented recruits, the Rams should be able to hang with other stout Division II programs such as Columbus State, Valdosta State and Georgia Southwestern.

The Rams showed glimpses of doing that in 2014. They finished the conference schedule unblemished, then fell into the loser’s bracket in the conference tournament on the first day and never recovered.

“They just didn’t finish well,” Stockdale said.

There is enough talent for the Rams to contend for the SIAC title again. Former Worth County standout Allen Fender is out, receiving a medical redshirt. But John Paul Barnard, who went undefeated during the regular-season last year, returns as well as a host of young pitchers.

Shortstop Allen Hardy and outfielders Reise McDaniel and Hector Carrasquillo return, adding depth to a young team.

Stockdale believes it will take some time for him and the team to get acclimated. However, when that happens, he believes the Rams could pick up from where they left off last season.

“Things are coming together,” said Ryan Latner, who started at second-base last year. “I think the biggest thing we’re trying to get over is change. People are scared of change. They don’t like it.”

Conner’s departure came at an inopportune time. However, ASU players have accepted Stockdale, who also coached Pinecrest Academy in metro Atlanta before landing at Savannah State, a Division I program that has had success against the state’s top universities.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Carrasquillo said. “Last year, we went 20-0 in the SIAC but finished third. That was good but we want to win the conference. That’s our goal.”