BASEBALL
Rams making headway as legit
contenders in Division II baseball
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
The fruits of victory
typically produce sky-high
expectations. For teams
with national champi
onship aspirations, it comes
with the territory. Coming
off a history-making base
ball season in which it fell
two wins short of advanc
ing to the Division II
College World Series,
Winston-Salem State wants
more.
Entering postseason
play, the Rams were ranked
21st in the national polls
and fourth in the Atlantic
Region. Their non-confer
ence mark of 27-14 bol
stered their status as viable
regional contenders.
"This program has
reached a point where it's
now recognized as a legiti
mate (regional) contender
year in and year
out," said WSSU
Coach Kevin
Ritsche, whose
team recorded a
best-ever record of
42-15. "With the
showing we had
from this season,
we have the mind
set that we can win
against the very
best.
"Talent is vital for win
ning, but it will only take
you so far. It's more impor
tant to have a group of guys
who are committed to the
program and committed to
each other. That's the one
trait that all the top con
tending teams have."
Since baseball's return
to WSSU in 2010, Ritsche
has a winning percentage
of .661 (182-93) and the
Rams have won* five
straight CIAA Tournament
titles and made the same
number of trips to the
NCAA playoffs. At this
year's Atlantic R^gionals,
WSSU won its first two
games convincingly, but
lost in heart-breaking fash
ion to the region's top seeds
- 2-1 to Mercyhurst (No.l)
and 6-5 to second-seeded
Millersville.
"Each year, we've
taken baby steps and we're
coming closer to achieving
our goal," Ritsche said.
"We're in the ninth inning
against Mercyhurst and all
we needed was one hit to
score a run which might
have changed the way
things turned out."
Even though the Rams
lost six seniors, including
C1AA MVP Connor
Andrus, the roster is far
from depleted. The batting
order for next season fig
ures to be just as formida
ble as it was this spring.
Led by Atlantic All
Regional pick Gavin Culler
(.367 with 27 RBIs and 29
stolen bases), Winston
Salem State has four
returnees who finished the
season with batting aver
ages over .300. Alex Grubb
led the team in homers (7)
and Dylan Dombrowskas
had a team-high 40 RBIs.
Rams pitch
ing won't take a
back seat. Even
with the loss of
senior ace
Aaron Hatch
(8-2), there's
ample depth
with the return
of Sam Burton,
Jordan Carlton
and Tyler
icearce in the
Ritsche
<
starting rotation.
Eric Corlette (6-2) per
formed well in his dual
roles as starter and reliever.
Devin McLemore (5-2) and
Jordan Cummings (6-4)
pickea up three saves
apiece during the season
and firmly established
themselves as battled-test
ed veterans coming out of
the bullpen.
McLemore, a right
hander, showcased his
mound versatility in the
playoffs. Carlton was
unavailable for starting
duty because of arm prob
lems that required season
ending surgery. McLemore
turned in a solid outing for
5.2 innings, but had to
leave when he felt pain in
the elbow of his throwing
arm.
Cummings solidified
his reputation as the Rams'
designated closer with
three strong performances
in the postseason. Ritsche
called on Cummings to
squash potential rallies and
he responded as expected.
"Jordan Cummings is
our go-to guy," said
Ritsche. "During the course
of a game, we try to man
age pur pitchers so that in
those final innings, we can
hand the ball to him to fin
ish the game. We put him in
some very tight spots in the
regionals and he handled it
all very well. He loves and
lives for those situations.
That's a huge plus. That's
the kind of mentality you
want to have in your main
closer."
As the Rams continue
to build, they're getting
more looks from former
Division 1 players along an
increased number of upper
echelon players at the high
school and junior college,
level. "When you're devel
oping as we are, recruiting
tends to become a little eas
ier," said Ritsche. "It puts
us in the position where we
can be more selective. Your
program Jives or dies based
on the type of players you
bring in."
Here's a quick summa
ry regarding four of the
Rams top signees for this
year:
Jamison Nagle, a 6
feet-2, 225 pounds catcher,
will vie for playing time to
replace the departed
Andrus. At Surry
Community College, Nagle
was the top hitter at .333.
During the latter part of the
season, his role was
reduced to being a desig
nated hitter because of arm
problems caused by a torn
labrum. Nagle had surgery
in May and is expected to
be ready to go when drills
begin at the start of the next
school year.
The Rams signed t\5o
players who helped propel
their team - Catawba
Community College - to
this year's Junior College
World Series. Ivan Acuna is
a sure-handed shortstop
who bit .345 and drove in
31 runs. Right-hander
Justin Norton (7-2, 2.68
ERA) pitched 90.2 innings
with 64 strikeouts and 22
walks. Catawba's
Redhawks were ranked 9th
in the NJCAA Division II
national poll.
Marcus McKoy is a 6
foot-3, 205 pounds left
hander from Calvary
Baptist Day School in
Winston-Salem. This
spring, he threw a no-hitter
against the defending Class
1-A independent school
state champ Fayetteville
Freedom Christian
Academy. For the" iason,
McKoy, an All-State pick,
pitched 47 innings and had
75 strikeouts with an ERA
of 2.32.
"We'll continue to build
and keep things rolling,"
said Ritsche. "And we'll
tweak a few things here and
there. But for the most part,
nothing is broken, so
there's no need to fix any
thing."
I * . , . a . "P"? . v j, i ?
Photos by Craig T. Greenlee
WSSU recruit Marcus McKoy pitched a no-hitter
this past season at Calvary Baptist Day School in
Winston-Salem.
Jordan Cummings delivered as the Rams primary
closer in 2015.
Local athletes come out to support cancer survivor
Student athlete from Reagan,
cleared to return to the field
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE .
On Monday, May 18. Reagan student-athlete Savion
Littlejohn got the news he had been waiting to hear since
late last year: He is officially cancer free.
"It was just a minor setback." Savion said. "I knew I
would come back better than ever. I'm almost there."
Although he is cancer free, Savion's medical bills are
still extremely high. To help lighten the financial load.
Chase Vaden, a former teammate of Savion's, organized
the Pray For Sae 1-on-l tournament.
The tournament was held on Saturday. May 30, at
Reagan High School and featured both high school and
college players. Although he expected a big turn out in the
high school bracket, Vaden said he was surprised by the
number college athletes that came out to support the event.
"1 had a feeling we were going to struggle getting
teams in the college bracket," Vaden said. "But we ended
up having more teams in the college bracket than in the
high school bracket."
In the high school bracket, the team made up of
Reagan athletes defeated a talented team made up of ath
letes from East Forsyth for the championship. In the col
lege bracket, "The Ones" who were made up of players
from Guilford College, defeated "The Canes".
Savion. who plays linebacker for Reagan said, he was
pleased with how his team played even though they were
missing some key players 1
"We were missing a fpw players, but we still played
well," said Savion. "A few
of our players were at
camps."
Admission to the tourna
ment was $5. According to
Vaden. with T-shirt sales,
and money from conces
sions, the event raised over
$2,50Q.
"We will have a more
accurate amount at the after
party Wednesday," Vaden
said. "We didn't have a goal
going in, we just wanted to
help Savion as much as pos
sible."
Brandon Jackson of
Winston-Salem competed in
the college bracket and said
he enjoyed the event
because it was for. a good
cause still competitive at the
same time.
"I play in other flag I
leagues, and when 1 heard
about this, 1 had to come
out." Jackson said. "1 really
wanted to come out and
show my support for
Savion."
Although he didn't get a chance to play in the tourna
ment, his grandfather Charlie Garvin said that football is
Savion's heart and he is determined to make it back on the
field.
"He's been working with a personal trainer for two
weeks now." Garvin said. He is determined to run out on
the field with his team the first game of the season."
According to doctors by the time the season starts.
bavion will be around 8U percent. Oarvin believes tnat
after all his grandson has been through, there's no doubt
he will be back on the field in August.
"After beating cancer, getting back on the football field
should be easy," Garvin said. "1 can't wait to see him run
on the field that first game. It's going to be amazing.
"
Cancer survivor Savion Littlejohn helped coach his teammates to victory during
the tournament. He has no doubt in his mind he will be back on the field for the
first game of the season when the Raiders face the Glenn Bobcats.
WSSU awards intramural champions
at Carl H. Russell, Sr. Center
{ ? '
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE . .
. Derrick Smith and Dorothy Eaton from the Office of Business and Auxiliary Services
at Winston-Salem State University presented basketball champions ages 13 and up at the
Carl Russell Center with WSSU t-shirts and backpacks, as a part of a community service
to inspire future college students to attend a HBCU college or university "! thank God for
people like Derrick, who was coached by Brian Leak when he was a young basketball
player at the center. He encouraged the champions at the center to always give back to
your community. We are also thankful for the 150 young people who participated in the
league but our hats come off to WSSU. said Center supervisor Ben Piggott."