CLEVELAND, Miss. -- The No. 1 ranked Delta State University baseball team travels to the Sunshine State for three South Region games to begin the 2018 season. The Statesmen open up on Fri., Feb. 2 against Lynn University (RV) at 1:30 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla. Next is a date with No. 12 Nova Southeastern on Sat., Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. before closing the trip on Sun., Feb. 4 at Palm Beach Atlantic at 12 p.m.in Jupiter, Fla.
DSU posted a 45-13 overall record and went 25-8 in the GSC last season, and enter the 2018 campaign as the two-time defending Gulf South Conference champions. The Green-and-White also claimed the 2017 NCAA Division II South Region title and advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series.
76th Season: Delta State begins its 76th season of baseball and has an overall record of 1,970-952-11 all-time record entering 2018. The Statesmen are ranked seventh in NCAA Division II in wins with 302 (302-122-2) since 2000.
900: Statesmen skipper Mike Kinnison is in his 22nd season at the helm of the Statesmen, needing three wins to reach 900 victories. In his 21 seasons, Kinnison has guided the Statesmen to the 2004 NCAA Division II National title, six College World Series appearances (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2017), 13 NCAA South/South Central Regional appearances (1999-2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017), 11 GSC Western Division titles (1997-2005, 2007-2008), six NCAA South/South Central Regional championships and seven GSC titles.
Preseason Rankings: The Green-and-White will face 11 teams either ranked or received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll. Nova Southeastern (#12), Southern Indiana (#13), Quincy University (#16) and Southern Arkansas (#35) are currently ranked while Arkansas-Monticello, Henderson State, West Alabama, North Alabama, Valdosta State, Lee University and Lynn University received votes in the opening poll.
For Openers: The Statesmen are 16-5 under Head Coach Mike Kinnison and 52-24 all-time on opening day. The Green-and-White have recorded 11 shutouts while only being shutout twice in season openers. The only season opening shutout under Kinnison was an 11-0 win over Belhaven in 2003. Three opening day games have gone extra innings (1948, 1992, 2017) with the last dating back to the start of last season in a 9-7 win over Harding University (2.3.17).
Getting Offensive: The Green-and-White, who return all nine hitters in the lineup, led the GSC in 11 offensive categories including batting average (.314), at bats (1990), runs scored (448), hits (625), doubles (106), home runs (64), RBIs (406), total bases (941), slugging percentage (.473) and on base percentage (.403). Senior Zack Shannon paced the GSC in batting average (4th NCAA), RBIs (1st NCAA), RBIs per game (1.63), hits, home runs, total bases, slugging and on base percentage. The Cincinnati, Ohio., native also finished ninth nationally in home runs (19), third in total bases (162) and eighth in slugging percentage (.758).
Preseason All-GSC: The Green-and-White return a bevy of power and consistency at the plate along with First-Team All-GSC starting pitcher Seth Birdsong. Birdsong earned D2CCA and NCBWA All-South Region honors while posting a 10-2 record with a 3.01 ERA and 83 strikeouts. GSC Player of the Year Zack Shannon is one of four all-conference selections returning to the DSU lineup. Shannon finished the year batting .434 with 19 home runs and 88 RBIs. The first baseman garnered national acclaim, as he was named the D2CCA and ABCA South Region and National Player of the Year and was awarded the 2017 Tino Martinez Award. Brian Lane (DH), Clay Casey (OF) and Emil Ellis (2B) join Shannon and Birdsong on the Preseason All-GSC squad. Lane earned NCAA Division II South Region All-Tournament and NCBWA All-South Region laurels as a designated hitter, while batting .346 with 16 doubles and 37 RBIs. Casey, who was named ABCA, D2CCA and NCBWA All-South Region and Third-Team All-American as an outfielder, hit .333 with 14 doubles, 17 home runs and 64 RBIs. Ellis was selected to the GSC and NCAA South Division II South Region All-Tournament teams while hitting .328 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 31 RBIs.
GSC Preseason Coaches Poll: Delta State University has been named the unanimous baseball preseason GSC favorite for the 2018 season, as selected by the league's head coaches. West Alabama is second followed North Alabama, West Florida, and Valdosta State in the top five. Alabama Huntsville is sixth while Mississippi College and Union are seventh and eighth, while Montevallo is ninth in the poll. Lee, West Georgia, Auburn Montgomery, Shorter University, and Christian Brothers round out the poll.
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TRAVELING SHOES: The Statesmen will travel 2,750.2 miles over the first seven games and will ledger 7,105 round trip miles overall in 2018. The Green-and-White will log 2,120.2 miles on the Florida road swing on Feb. 2-4 at Lynn University in Ft. Boca Raton, Fla., Nova Southeastern in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and Palm Beach Atlantic in Jupiter, Fla. Delta State adds 410 miles for a trip to Arkadelphia, Ark., for three games against Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State and Nebraska-Kearney on Feb. 9-10. The final route of the seven-games adds 220 miles round trip to Arkansas-Monticello on Feb. 13.
FOR STARTERS: The Statesmen return all nine players in the batting lineup that includes all eight position players and four returning All-GSC and All-South Region selections. All-Americans Zack Shannon (Sr.,1B/P), and Clay Casey (Sr./OF) headline the list along with Emil Ellis (Sr., 2B), and Brian Lane (Sr., C/DH). Also returning to the lineup is lead off hitter Jason Popovich (Sr., CF), Nick Morgan (Sr., 3B), Juwan Burney (Jr., OF), and Josh Russell (Jr., C).
OFF THE BENCH: Players expected to be key contributors in 2018 include Jamell Newson (Sr., OF), Darek Sargent (So., SS/2B), Matthew Majeur (So., OF) and Bradley Sanford (R-Fr., C). Newcomers David Herrington (Jr., IF, Northwest Mississippi CC), Payton Lane (Jr., 1B, Mississippi Delta CC) and Ricky Silvestri (Jr., 1B/OF, Murray State College), who add depth and will push for playing time for the Diamond Statesmen.
REVAMPED PITCHING STAFF: Zack Shannon, who tossed 7.1 innings with a save and seven strikeouts, should see an increased role out of the bullpen. The Statesmen have 16 newcomers including 11 new arms. NJCAA Pitcher of the Year Seth Hougesen (Jr., LHP, Dyersburg State CC), Hayden Davey (Jr., LHP, Dodge City CC) and Dalton Minton (Jr., LHP, Northwest Miss. CC) highlight the newcomers.
BIRDSONG-WHITE TAKE OVER TOP ROLES: Seniors Seth Birdsong and Peyton White are the seasoned veterans of the Statesmen pitching staff entering 2018. Birdsong, the Brownsville, Tenn., native, earned First-Team All-GSC and D2CCA All-South Region First-Team honors in 2017. Birdsong also earned NCBWA All-South Region Second-Team. The 6-foot-five righty led the GSC in wins (13th NCAA) and ranked second in innings pitched, fifth in strikeouts and strikeouts looking (23). White was the top reliever out of the bullpen, going 4-2 with a 3.55 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 17 walks in 58.1 innings pitched.
OUT OF THE PEN: Jonathan Lindsey (Sr., LHP) and Andy Borries (Sr., LHP) and Zack Shannon, who tossed 7.1 innings with a save and seven strikeouts, join White coming out of the bull pen. Tyler Walton (Sr., LHP, University of Memphis), Melvin Frazier (Jr., LHP, Baton Rouge, La.) and Hunter Riggins (Fr., RHP, Hernando HS) join the ranks in the bullpen.
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING: The Statesmen belted 64 home runs to lead the GSC and rank 14th nationally in 2017. The Statesmen belted a GSC tournament single game record six home runs in the 19-17 comeback win over Valdosta State (5.8). The Statesmen registered double-digit hits 32 times in 2017, posting a season-high 21 hits against Christian Brothers (4.1.17). The Green-and-White collected 15-plus hits 11 times. Delta State plated double-digit run runs 16 times and scored eight or more runs 25 times in 2017.
AGAINST THE SUNSHINE STATE: The Statesmen are 66-51 all-time against schools from the state of Florida. Delta State posted a 6-1 record against the Sunshine State in 2017. Delta State is 32-22-1 all-time against schools from the Sunshine State Conference.
