saint leo baseball newsletter

7/31/2019 Saint Leo Baseball Newsletter

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Saint Leo University Baseball Newsletter3rd Annual Opening Night

With the Lions

e Lions baseball team woulld like to cor-ly invite you to the 3rd annual Openinght With the Lions in which we will welcome

mer Texas A&M Hall of Fame baseballch, Mark Johnson. Johnson will speakhe ball club as well as everyone else in

endance and share his story and manyeriences that came with over 41 years ofching experience.

e event will be held January 28, 2012 in theeenfelder-Denlinger Boardroom inside thedent Community Center. The Receptionbegin at 6:00pm with dinner beginning at

0pm. Tickets: $100

more information contact Head Baseballach Russ McNickle at (352)-588-8227 [email protected]

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Click here to donate to

Lions Baseball


2/9

New Hitting Complex Opened in January 201

The Lions opened a

state-of-the-art hittin

complex in the sprin

of 2011. The covered

facility includes two

72-foot and two 60-f

batting cages and a

spacious storage arBoth baseball and

softball teams use th

complex.



3/9

Lions Baseball squared off against St. PetersburgCollege this past weekend to mark the beginningof their fall season and the rst fall baseball game

with outside competition at Saint Leo in over 10years. The 10-inning game, which took place on

Friday, October 7th, featured a 10-2 win as the Li-ons started their year on a high note. What madefor an interesting twist, however, was the opposingSPC Titans, whose roster features freshman TreyMcNickle, son of Saint Leo Head Baseball Coach,Russ McNickle. Only nineteen, Trey began hispitching career during his senior year at Land OLakes High School when his coach converted himfrom a catcher to a side-armed pitcher. Surpris-ingly, before Friday, Trey had never played on ateam that his father coached, nor had he playedagainst him. I purposely stayed away, said RussMcNickle, I wanted him to choose to play; not forhim to feel like he had to.

As the son of a highly qualied baseball coach,

Trey has grown up learning about Americas favor-ite pastime his whole life, even occasionally par-ticipating in Saint Leo inter-squad baseball games.However, this was both an advantage and adisadvantage for him during Fridays game, where

he threw one inning against ve Saint Leo batters.After getting two quick outs, Trey hit one batterand allowed one single before ending a scorelessbottom half of the inning for the Lions. I thought Idid well for just starting out pitching, said Trey ofhis performance on the mound, plus we have 23freshmen and only four sophomores, so were stillgetting better as a team.

Before the game, Russ described his mood asnervously excited, saying Im nervous for [Trebecause I want him to be successful, but at thesame time I want my guys to win. When askedif he thought the day would ever come to play

against his own son, Russ said, Never, but Imexcited because hes on a team thats very wellcoached; this is a good opportunity for him to grand develop.

McNickle and the Lions will continue their fall capaign on Wednesday, October 19, when they hoHillsborough Community College at 6:00 p.m.

Saint Leo Softball Junior Katie Gwinn contribute

to this story.

For McNickle, Its a Family Affair



4/9

Lions to Host WinterShowcase Camp

Dec. 10

Click here for the PDF registration form


LIONS WINTER SHOWCASE CAMP

Saint Leo Baseball School, Inc., is proud to announce the Lions Winter Showcase Camp running

December 10, 2011. Open to 8th graders through seniors, the camp will provide instruction and

evaluation encompassing hitting, elding, throwing, base running, etc. The Lions baseball staff issecond to none, led by fourth-year head coach Russ McNickle as well as assistants Keith Strick-land and Lee Parks.

Cost for each camper is $75 and lunch is included for the day

Campers will receive group and one-on-one instruction from the Saint Leo Baseball staff in a funand exciting environment. Contact Coach Lee Parks at 352-588-8841 or email him at [email protected] for more information.

Interested parents may also print out the application linked below and fax it to (352) 588-8290.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. on December 10th with camp beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at3:00 p.m. (estimated). Checks should be made payable to Saint Leo Baseball School, Inc.


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6/9

Black Team WinsBlood Bowl SeriesIn a decisive game 5, the Black team pre-vailed as the winner of 2011 Blood BowlSeries after a pressure packed game.

Down a run going into the top of the 7th,the Black team, coached by Keith Strick-land and Sean Van Guilder, got a bloopsingle from senior Anthony Santa to startthe inning. After a few timely hits andsituational hitting the Black team took thelead going into the bottom of the 7th andRHP Dillon Vitale was able to shut downthe heart of the Gold teams order to winthe series 3 games to 2.

The losing team is required to donateblood on Nov. 28, but all members of theteam and staff are encouraged to do soas the Lions hope to set a new recordhigh for participants.

Game 1: 6-4 Gold

Game 2: 9-1 Black

Game 3 11-0 Black

Game 4: 3-1 Gold

Game 5: 3-2 Black

Lions in the Pros


Seth Fowler, RHP

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Class A Midwest League

Parent Club: L.A. Angels

SLU Career: 2008-2010


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Meet the Seniors

Dustin Brown, OF Anthony Santa, 1B Aaron Brandt, RHP

Myron Kirchner, OF Jamie Tutko, RHP Shaun Gough, LHP Zach Miller, INF



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Lions Sign 3 in Early Signing PeriodSAINT LEO, Fla. Saint Leo University baseball coach Russ McNickle is proud to welcome three

new student-athletes, all who signed early letters of intent and will be attending Saint Leo starting in

the 2012-13 school year.

This years early signing class consists of three highly accomplished and recognized student-athletes

both on and off the diamond. All three are Florida natives and have competed at the highest levels in

both high school and travel baseball as they look to bring their experience and winning expectations

to Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

Our coaching staff has done an outstanding job of identifying quality student athletes and quality

people to add to our baseball family said McNickle. These young men have proven they can com-

pete at a high level while maintaining a high level of academic success.

The November signing class consists of RHP Michael Dunnigan (Tarpon Springs, FL); SS Taylor

Perez (Winter Springs, FL); and RHP Christopher Williams (Tampa, FL).

Michael Dunnigan

6-3 | RHP

Tarpon Springs, Fla. | Tarpon Springs HS

Dunnigan was 8-3 last year in route to being voted

Second Team All-County and All Bay Area Honor-

able Mention. He posted and 8-4 overall record,

posted a 3.04 ERA and allowed only 12 walks in 61

innings. On the offensive side, he also hit .319 and

played a pivotal role in Tarpon Springs regional run

last season.

Coach McNickles Thoughts -

Michael is a fantastic addition to this signing class

and should have an impact right away on the mound.

His ability right now is off the chart and I think he

can develop into a dominant pitcher in the Sunshine

State Conference.


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Taylor Perez

5-11 | SS

Winter Springs, Fla. | Winter Springs HS

A four year varsity starter at 7A Winter Springs High

School, Perez hit .359 his junior year with a .484

slugging percentage. He led the team in doubles and

RBIs his junior year as well and was voted 2011 All

Seminole County Honorable Mention. Perez played

his travel ball with the Orlando Scorpions where he

was a three year starter.

Coach McNickles Thoughts

Taylor was a player we identied early during his

sophomore year as a kid we wanted to continue to fol-

low and recruit. His athleticism and ability to play the

shortstop position right away are a big reason we are

thrilled with Taylors commitment to become a Lion.

Chris Williams

6-2 | RHP

Tampa, Fla. | Steinbrenner HS

Williams, a 62 right-hander, was 7-2 overall with a

2.20 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 54 innings for the Stein-

brenner Warriors and he played his travel ball with the

Florida Hardballers.

Coach McNickles Thoughts

Chris is a kid who has the condence and athletic

ability to have success in the Sunshine State Confer-

ence. His maturity and ability to throw 3 pitches for

strikes will play a huge factor as he continues to de-

velop into what we feel will be a very special athlete.

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