LaGrange sits atop the 2020 USA South coach's preseason poll as announced by the conference office. The Panthers enter the season as the three-time defending conference champion and with three straight NCAA regional appearances.
"It shows from the previous year how everybody views your program," said Coach David Kelton, who is starting his seventh season. "We have a lot of guys coming back that pitched a lot of meaningful innings and also had a lot of quality at-bats that helped us win a lot of games. We have a lot of experience on the field and we just have to put it together."
LC was 32-12 last season and took eventual Division III national runner-up Birmingham-Southern to a deciding fifth game in the regional. The Panthers became the first USA South team to win three straight conference tournament championships. Over the last four seasons, the Panthers rank among the top 15 winningest Division III programs with 132 wins.
The Panthers received seven of the 13 first place votes and 134 total points. Methodist was second with four first place votes and 131 points. Rounding out the top five were: Pfeiffer (118), Piedmont (111), and Huntingdon (105). Pfeiffer and Huntingdon each received a first place vote.
The Panthers return their top five hitters. Junior outfielder McKinley Erves is one of five returning players for 2020 who earned All-Conference honors, along with sophomore Joe Ruth, senior E.J. Churchich, senior Spencer Douches, and senior Richie Post. Erves led the team in hitting with a .385 average and scored a team-high 41 runs. Ruth was the only player to play in and start all 44 games as a freshman. He batted .360 with a team-leading 44 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Junior Jack Layrisson tied for the team lead with five home runs and added 31 RBIs. Sophomore infielder Cael Chatham batted .310 with 25 RBIs. Senior Trey Pearce was second on the team with 38 RBIs while batting .309.
Post was 7-1 in 12 starts and had a 4.65 ERA. He tied for the staff lead with 59 strikeouts in 60 innings. Gibson Bittner led the staff in wins with an 8-3 record and recorded two saves. Douches posted a 1.51 ERA and four saves in 20 appearances. He struck out 42 in 41-2/3 innings. Junior Tanner Chafin (3-2, 3.53 ERA) had team-highs of 23 appearances and five saves.
The Panthers open the season Feb. 8 with a doubleheader against Roanoke at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium starting at 2 p.m.
