Sidelines – Spring 2015
Baseball
Pair Named Preseason All-Conference
Senior outfielders Aaron Mizell and Kody Adams were both preseason All-Conference selections prior to the start of the 2015 baseball season. Mizell was selected to the Sun Belt Conference Preseason All-Conference team and was also selected Preseason All-Conference by College Sports Madness (CSM). Adams was a Preseason All-Conference selection by CSM.
Mizell led the team in home runs (13) and runs batted in (RBI) (53). The senior was one of five Eagles to hit over .300 a year ago and tallied 13 doubles and 76 hits in 61 starts.
Adams hit over .300 a year ago and finished the season with a .301 batting average and 24 RBI. He stole 12 bases in 15 attempts and posted a .990 fielding percentage in center field.
Baseball Sweeps Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Southern baseball team swept a three-game weekend series from the nationally ranked Georgia Bulldogs at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles have won all three series since the two resumed playing in 2013.
Georgia Southern won all three games by just one run and rallied in the seventh inning to win games one and three. After game two was suspended due to rain and resumed on Sunday, March 1, Logan Baldwin singled up the middle of the defense in the second inning to drive in the only run of the game. Jason Richman tossed four scoreless innings to earn the win in the 1-0 victory.
Football
Former Eagle Named to Macon Sports Hall of Fame
Former Georgia Southern quarterback Joe Dupree was named to the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in March. Dupree joined a class of eight that were inducted into the Hall of Fame on May 7 at the Macon Centreplex.
Dupree was a three-year letterwinner (‘92-94) with the Eagles. He helped Georgia Southern to a Southern Conference Championship and the NCAA Playoffs in ‘93. In his Eagle career, Dupree rushed for 951 yards and 11 touchdowns and passed for 914 yards and seven touchdowns.
Men’s Basketball
Head Basketball Coach Honored
Georgia Southern men’s basketball Head Coach Mark Byington was presented with the Whack Hyder Georgia College Coach of the Year at the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Awards Banquet on March 24, at the Georgia International Convention Center.
“It’s an honor to receive an award named after legendary coach Hyder, and to be on a list of other former recipients such as my mentor Bobby Cremins and former Georgia Southern coach Frank Kerns,” said Coach Byington. “I feel that anytime a head coach is acknowledged, the credit belongs to his players and his staff. That certainly is the case with me receiving this award.”
Women’s Basketball
Drown Named Seventh Women’s Basketball Coach
Georgia Southern Athletics named 27-year head coaching veteran Kip Drown as the seventh head women’s basketball coach in program history on March 31.
Drown has served nearly 30 years as a head coach and holds a career record of 463-336 (.579) at Southwest Baptist, Georgia Southwestern, Grand Canyon and most recently Colorado State-Pueblo.
“After an extensive national search we felt Kip Drown has qualities we look for in a head coach, a proven record of success and a significant number of post season appearances,” Athletics Director Tom Kleinlein said. “We welcome The Drown Family to Eagle Nation.”
Drown worked in the state of Georgia from 1994-2001 when he served as the head coach at Georgia Southwestern. He led the Hurricanes to five NAIA Tournament appearances and posted five 20-win seasons during his seven-year coaching stint. His wife Gina hails from Dublin, Georgia, and their daughter Ashlee attended Georgia Southern University.
Golf
Golf Wins Sun Belt Championship and Finishes Third at Schenkel Invitational
The Georgia Southern men’s golf team won the Sun Belt Men’s Championship title in its first year in the conference. The Eagles were the only team to shoot under par for the tournament and won by 16 strokes. Senior Kim Koivu received medalist honors after he carded a total score of 207 for the tournament to tie for the fourth-lowest round in Sun Belt championship history. In the Schenkel Invitational, men’s golf posted a 278, the third-lowest score of the second round, to move into third and followed that with a third round total of 284 to hold onto third place.
The Eagles’ three-round total of 844 was their best at the Schenkel in school history and six strokes better than last season’s 850, which brought them their first Schenkel title in the 36-year history of the tournament.
Women’s Rifle
Rifle Receives SEARC Team Sportsmanship Award
The Georgia Southern women’s rifle team was honored with the Team Sportsmanship Award at the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference Championship banquet following the completion of the season.
The Eagles were recognized by the league’s coaches for their willingness to go above and beyond the call and for serving as an example of good sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is something Head Coach Tim Parks preaches to his squad every day.
“I hold the team to a high standard and always expect them to go above and beyond the call,” he said. “The girls always compete with humility and go out of their way to meet their opponents and help them in any way they can.”