BASEBALL
SPRING HILL COLLEGE
Mobile, Alabama
Spring Hill College is ranked once again in the top 20 Southern universities and colleges, according to the 2012 edition of U.S. News & World Reportâs âAmericaâs Best Colleges.â
Spring Hill is ranked 17th among the Southern colleges and universities offering a full range of undergraduate majors and masterâs programs. The U.S. News rankings are based on several quality measures including academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, peer assessment and graduation rate performance. Colleges and universities are listed in various categories depending on their size, location and other factors.
The college is ranked 10th among only 15 schools listed in the Southâs âGreat Schools, Great Pricesâ category, colleges that offer quality academic programs, affordable tuition and significant financial aid.
Spring Hill College is also listed in the regionâs âA-Plus Schools for B Studentsâ category, campuses
GENERAL FACTS
Institution: Spring Hill College
City/State/Zip: Mobile, AL 36608
Founded: 1830
Enrollment: 1,200
Nickname: Badgers
School Colors: Purple, white
Home Facility: Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center
Capacity: 1,600
Affiliation: NCAA Division II
Conference: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Division: West
President: Dr. Christopher Puto
Athletic Director: Jim Hall
Alma Mater: Grinnell College (1995)
Faculty Athletic Representative: Steve Almquist, Ph.D.
Athletic Department Phone: 251-380-3485
Athletic Department Fax: 251-460-2196
Sports Information Director: Jim Stennett
Alma Mater: Mississippi State (1990)
SID Phone: (251) 380-4468
SID Email: jstennett@shc.edu
Athletic Web Site: www.shcbadgers.com
Facebook: SHCBADGERS
Twitter: SHCBADGERS
Instagram: SHCBADGERS
where B students thrive in an engaged student body.
Forbes Magazine also ranks Spring Hill among its âAmericaâs Best Collegesâ with SHC ranked No. 32 in the nation among similar institutions.
Forbes also ranks Spring Hill among the âBest Colleges in the Southâ and among the top 25 percent of the âBest Private Collegesâ nationwide according to Forbes.
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Frank Sims
Alma Mater: Eastern Illinois, 1977
Record at school/years: 793-807-3 (30 seasons)
Career record/years: 829-817-3 (31 seasons)
Office Phone: (251) 380-3486
Assistant Coach: Andy McCall/5th season
Graduate Assistant Coach: Brooks Bobinger/2nd season
Athletic Trainer: Brian Gronewold, ATC
Office Phone: 251-380-3493
TEAM INFORMATION
Overall Record Last Year: 26-14
Conference Record/Finish: 16-0 SIAC No. of Players returning/lost/new: 15/16/15
HEAD COACH
FRANK SIMS
Frank Sims starts his 31st season at the helm of the Badgers and has compiled a 793-807-3 record over that time span. Over the 32 total years he has served as a collegiate skipper, he has accumulated a career record of 829-817-3. Sims is Spring Hillâs all-time winningest coach and his record includes 22 20-win seasons, six 30-win seasons, two 40-win seasons and four conference championships. Spring Hill has appeared in the NAIA Regional Tournament four times in his reign and Sims has been honored as a conference Coach of the Year on five occasions with the latest time being the 2014 Independent Collegiate Athletic Association (ICAA) honor in the Badgersâ first season in NCAA Division II.
ASSISTANT COACH
ANDY McCALL
Andy is in his second season as the assistant coach at Spring Hill after spending three years as a Graduate Assistant with the Badger program. As a player, he enjoyed a four-year career in the Badger outfield (2007-10) where he hit .335 during his career and still owns the schoolâs single season record for triples. During his senior season, he hit .353 with six triples and 44 RBI. McCall was a two-year starter with 81 career RBI.
McCall graduated from De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Mo., and in 2005 he helped lead De Smet Jesuit to the State Finals. At SHC, McCall works with the hitters and outfielders and plays a key role in recruiting while also overseeing the strength & conditioning program. He also served as an assistant coach with the Laramie (Wy.) Colts of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League during the summer of 2012. In the summer of 2013, McCall was chosen to be the head coach of the Socastee Sharks in the Beach Collegiate League located in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He led them to a league best 21-7 record to win the regular season BCBL title. McCall coached the Mobile Pirates of the Deep South Collegiate League during the summer of 2014.
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
BROOKS BOBINGER
Brooks Bobinger begins his second season as the Badgersâ graduate assistant coach after spending three seasons (2011, 2013-14) on the Badger infield. Bobinger tallied a .211 batting average with a .911 fielding percentage as a middle infielder and 3rd baseman. On the mound, he built a 2.42 ERA in nine games with three starts and 22.1 innings pitched. In his senior season, he represented SHC on the 2014 Musco Lighting-SSAC Champions of Character Team.
STUDENT ASSISTANT
TAYLOR EADS
PREVIEW 2016
As the Spring Hill College (SHC) baseball team prepares for the 2016 season, Badger head coach Frank Sims is excited to get the year underway. âWe already had a good lineup,â he says. âBut now weâve added junior outfielders Michael Druhan from Meridian (Miss.) Community College and Ulysses Fluellen from Pensacola (Fla.) State College who are both power hitters who also hit for average, so weâre just that much better.â
âThis might be the best hitting line up 1-through-9 that Iâve had in my time here at Spring Hill,â says Sims who enters his 31st year with the Badgers. âWe probably donât have the speed on the bases that weâve had in the past, but that means we will sit back and focus on our hitting.â Sims credit much of his teamâs development to his assistant coaches Andy McCall, Brooks Bobinger and Taylor Eads. âI canât stress enough how much the hard work and hours that those guys have put in have improved this team.â
Leading the Badger offensive attack will be senior catcher Alex Jones of Pensacola who led the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) in RBI (58) and doubles (19) while hitting .429 on the year. Fellow senior William Floros of University City, Mo., returns to first base where he hit .422 with five home runs as a junior. Senior Garrett Webb of Gainesville, Fla., steps in at second base while senior Matthew Spradlin from St. Louis, Mo., returns at third base where he committed just eight errors in 93 chances as a junior. The shortstop role will be filled again by junior Thomas Smith of Meridian.
Others who will see action on the infield include freshman Hunter Roig of Mandeville, La., at first base, sophomore Brandon Donoghue out of McGillToolen Catholic High School in Mobile on the middle infield and freshmen utility player Maverick Latour of Folsom, La. Reserve catchers include junior Ben Breymier of Indianapolis, Ind., along with freshmen Brennan Fontenot of Greenwell Springs, La., and Nicholas Chiasson of Mandeville. Senior first baseman Jacob Malkoff of Enterprise, Ala., is expected to serve as the Badger designated hitter after a junior campaign where he hit .333 primarily in a pinch hitterâs role.
Druhan, who hails from Mobile, will move into right field while Fluellen of Phenix City, Ala., will start in centerfield. Left field will be handled by a variety of players including Fontenot, junior Austyn Jacques of Cumming, sophomore Conner Harrison of St. Louis and freshman Gavin Crimmins of Cumming, Ga.
The Badger starting pitching staff is headlined by right-handers senior Wesley Parrish of Fairhope, Ala., and junior Johnathan Billings of Luling, La., while junior transfer Dylan Kiene of Baker High School in Mobile joins the line up from Alabama Southern Community College. Juniors Christian Bahlinger of Mandeville and Jordan Fontenelle of New Orleans, La., both return after seeing sophomore action in 2015. Senior Andrew Pierson of Coconut Creek, Fla., as well as freshmen Jonathan Williams from Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile and Austin Barrios of Madisonville, La., will all see action out of the bullpen this year. Moving into the closer role will be senior Hunter Nowak from Alpharetta, Ga. Other arms in the Badger arsenal are juniors William North of Belle Chasse, La., and Steven Saucier of Covington, La., as well as senior Andrew Daigle of Spanish Fort, Ala.
âOur strength is hitting this year,â says Sims. âOur defense is good, but not great. Itâs playing solid and consistent. If we throw strikes from the mound weâll have a very good season. We expect to be at the top of the conference again this year if we take care of business, but the first month of competition will tell the story of this year because we play very tough competition in the first few weeks.â The Badgers will face preseason No. 8 West Alabama, No. 30 UAH and No. 39 West Florida all within the first month of play. âWe have put together the strongest non-conference schedule possible. We like to challenge our team to play against tough competition. It will only help us down the road when we are postseason eligible in two years.â
2016 ROSTER
2015 RESULTS
Feb.
Feb.
Feb. 18
Feb.
Feb.
Mar. 1 *at Lane College Jackson, Tenn. Rain Out
Mar. 3 Mississippi College (DH)
Mar. 7 *Tuskegee University (DH)
Mar. 8 *Tuskegee University
Mar. 14 William Carey University (DH)
4-1; W, 11-5
10-5; W, 17-7
W, 14-4 (7)
W, 8-7; L, 2-3
Mar. 17 at Loyola University (La.) (DH) Westwego, La. W, 3-1; L, 5-6
Mar. 21 *Miles College (DH)
Mar. 22
*Miles College
W, 12-3; W, 12-2
W, 12-6
Mar. 25 University of North Alabama (DH) Home L, 4-15; L, 6-11
Mar. 28 *Kentucky State University (DH) Home W, 19-6; W, 12-1
Mar. 29 *Kentucky State University Home W, 7-4
Mar. 31 at Mississippi College (DH) Clinton, Miss. L, 4-5; W, 8-2
Apr. 3 *at LeMoyne-Owen College (DH) Memphis, Tenn. W, 11-4; W, 11-0
Apr. 4 *at LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis, Tenn. W, 20-4 (7)
Apr. 7 at University of North Alabama Florence, Ala. L, 2-12 (7)
Apr. 12 *at Stillman College (DH) Tuscaloosa, Ala. W, 6-3; W, 7-6
Apr. 14 Loyola University (La.) (DH) Home Rain Out
Apr. 18 *at Albany State University (DH) Albany, Ga. Rain Out
Apr. 19 *at Albany State University Albany, Ga. Rain Out
Apr. 20 at Nicholls State University Thibodeaux, La. L, 2-5
Apr. 21 at University of West Florida (DH) Pensacola, Fla. L, 1-2; L, 0-4
*-SSAC game (DH) - Doubleheader
2015 FINAL STATS
PB - Team (7), A Jones 5, R Moulder 2, Opp (11). Pickoffs - Team (6), B Hitt 2, J Fontenelle 1, A Jones 1, S Petrie 1, W Parrish 1, Opp (1). SBA/ATT - A Jones (29-40), J Howard (9-12), R Moulder (8-10), W Parrish (5-8), S Douglas (5-7), B Hitt (4-5), S Petrie (4-5), H Nowak (1-4), C Bahlinger (3-4), J Fontenelle (3-3), A Pierson (2-2), J Billings (1-1).
2016 SCHEDULE
Apr.
