It is time for baseball again at Averett University as the spring sports season approaches. The competition in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is as tough as it has always been for the Cougars this year.
Returning for his seventh season as head coach, Kenny Fleming brings back starters from his team last year as well as two transfer players that are complimented by a number of newcomers that round out the 44-player roster.
“We just got an older team this year that has put in a lot of work and super excited to see what they can do this year. I think they’re ready. I’m just excited to see them go out and compete this year,” Fleming said. “We got some youth on the mound this year that is really good, but with the defense, and offense that we have this year, I think we will be able to compete really well in the ODAC.”
Coming off of a record of 10 – 27 last season, the Cougars began this season by sweeping a three-game series against Brevard College avenging last year’s lost to the Tornadoes.
Nolan Mccabe, who has been with the Cougars since he was a freshman, now a graduate student outfielder from Midlothian, Virginia has stepped into the team captain role. Mccabe’s strong voice and influence is helping prepare the team for the season.
“(I’ve) seen a lot of good things. The offense looks really good. We are able to return a lot. The pitchers are looking good; the freshman pitchers look really good. They come in and they are falling in line pretty well. The same thing goes for the transfers that we got. The boys are working hard, and we will be ready to go,” Maccabe said.
One of the big things Fleming has done to prepare his team for this season is putting his team in realistic game situations in practices.
A freshman, and new to Coach Fleming’s system this year is Cade Sabin, a pitcher from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“First of all, it is exciting to be here. Our freshman class is super cool. It is cool to come in with. We have some older guys, some of the seniors who have done and been at this school for a while so they know how to do it and what to expect. It is pretty easy to come into this college scene here at Averett,” Sabin said.
As a first-year student, Sabin is learning how to balance both college academics and athletics.
“I definitely like it. I’d say me personally, I am good at staying ahead of stuff. Without that I’d be unsuccessful. Due to that I have been able to stay ahead of school and baseball.”
Sabin has high expectations for his first season with Averett. He has had experience playing at a high level, so is more comfortable with transitioning into college.
“Coming from the level of high school ball that I’ve played, I have pretty high expectations, and also just knowing that I’m gifted at what I do, and just to have confidence, because if I don’t have confidence, then I won’t be playing confident, and won’t be successful. No doubt the ODAC is elite competition.”
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