Always playing with a chip on its shoulder, the SoCon isn’t afraid to mix it up with anybody, any-damn-where. The profile of the conference has gone up along with the win totals the last few years. So when the SEC and ACC heavies have the brass to actually schedule these guys, lets face it, they do so at their own peril.

2009 in a Paragraph:
The Southern Conference got some good publicity right off the bat with Elon taking a series at Auburn, Georgia Southern beating Georgia Tech and Western Carolina winning two at USC. The good fortune machine rolled on with College of Charleston and The Citadel joining those three in the top 80 of the RPI and all of them pulling some more RPI-building wins as the season went on. Although Elon and GSU ended up in the NCAA Tournament, there were arguments WCU and CofC to join them, but some key losses late cost them their shot. The Phoenix and Eagles didn’t make a lot of noise in their respective regionals, but that only left them chomping at the bit for more.

Conference RPI: 9

2009 Results:
1- Elon, 23-4
2- Georgia Southern, 20-8
3- The Citadel, 20-10
4- Western Carolina, 19-10
5- College of Charleston, 17-13
6- Appalachian State, 15-13
7- Davidson, 11-16
8- Furman, 10-20
9- Samford, 9-21
10- UNC Greensboro, 7-21
11- Wofford, 7-22

2010 in a Paragraph:
This will be a season of change for the SoCon. After seeing six teams hit .312 or better and the conference average top out at .309, don’t look for quite so much offense this season since there were losses at the dish all across the board in the Southern Conference. As a whole, it might not be quite as prolific of a conference as last season, especially since there are less of the marquee matchups vs. BCS conferences. But there is still a handful of NCAAs-worthy teams to give the selection committee pause for thought. Elon has the most returning and should defend its title well. Southern took some hits in the personnel department but has plenty of talent to make up for it. Off the grid, The Citadel can go far with its pitching and speed, while WCU and CofC could tail off a bit.

Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon has weapons like Eric Phillips back again for 2010.

Favorites: Elon, Georgia Southern

Contenders: College of Charleston, Appalachian State

Darkhorse: UNC Greensboro

Can’t-Miss Series of the Year: Georgia Southern at Elon, April 9-11

Best Non-Conference Series: Georgia Tech at/vs. Georgia Southern, Feb. 23-24 and Apr. 20-21.

Hot Coach: Mike Kennedy, Elon

Hot Seat Coach: None

The “You Gotta See” Player: SS Joey Bergman, College of Charleston

Three Non-Conference Series SoCon Opponents Better Take Seriously:
1- Elon at the Rice Invitational, Feb.26-28 (Rice, Nebraska, TA&M-CC)
2- Alabama at College of Charleston,, March 5-7
3- WCU at Keith LeClair Classic, Feb. 5-7. (East Carolina, Illinois, West Virginia)

Three Bold Predictions:
1- CofC will make the biggest jump in the standings this season.
2- Citadel pitcher Asher Wojciechowski will have a break out year and put his ‘09 stats (3-3, 4.39) to shame.
3- Though there are no coaches on the “hot seat” as many as three will be there next year at this time.

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- APPALACHIAN STATE (33-21, 15-13)
2009 RPI: 83
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 2

All Conference Candidates:
2B Wes Hobson (.380-9-60)
1B David Towarnicky (.328-4-35)
RHP Chris Patterson (4-2, 3.12)

The Good News:
The last few years have seen 33, 32 and 33 wins, the highest three-year win total in 22 years. Nice job coach Pollard. This year, he’ll bank on a lot of seniors throughout the lineup, including Hobson, an All American candidate, 1B Towarnicky and catcher Jerod Faggart (.286-8-30), who are all solid gap hitters and stellar defenders. Patterson had a breakout year in ‘09 and will team with Matt Andres (3-6, 6.19) for a pair of steady senior arms.

The Bad News:
The Mountaineers were certainly improved last season, but getting out to a 1-10 start in SoCon play was the main bugaboo. And that came against the top four teams in the conference. Win a couple more of those and this write-up may be completely different. A mere 255 of the 480 innings thrown last year have left campus, including Aubrey Edens and Josh Dowdy, the weekend aces that both went 6-3. The steady infield will need to find a new left side.

Schedule Note:
(Deep breath first) Just as daunting a task.
ASU will face a very similar task that cost them so dearly last year when going into SoCon action this spring. They’ll face contenders Georgia Southern, WCU and The Citadel in the first three weeks. Good thing the pre-conference slate is so marshmallow soft.

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- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (35-22, 17-13)
2009 RPI: 62
Starters Returning: 3
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
SS Joey Bergman (.452-15-57, 24SBs)
OF Cole Rakar (.317-12-46, 18SBs)
RHP David Peterson (7-3, 5.73)

The Good News:
Coach Monte Lee got 35 wins in his first season and should grow into his role more this year. He’s got two exciting players in Rakar and Bergman – who could be one of the biggest secret weapons in the country. Fellow senior Ryan Daniels (.363-10-64) is a vital power source. Some decent bullpenners come back, including saves leader LHP Owen Brittle (0-3, 5.47, 3svs). Watch for two players who missed the ‘09 season, RHP Russ Tomlinson (5-1, 5.29, 3svs) and 2B/3B Matt Leeds (.300) as both should make an impact. A pair of impact transfers come to the pitching staff in Spartanburg Methodist righties Heath Hembree and Josh Salay.

The Bad News:
It’s been since 2006 that the Cougars have been to the NCAAs, so it’s a 30+ win program that’s still in a rut. The 2009 version of the Cougars was also very senior-laden, so lots of new faces will have to play up, early-on. Losing ace Jesse Simpson leaves a big hole since he was the only big strikeout guy on the staff. Tom Schiller (4-2, 5.82) and Kevin Decker (3-1, 8.03) may step into starting roles, but have to cut down on the free passes. Allowing opponents to his a robust .301 ain’t so hot either.

Schedule Note:
Tide rolls in.
CofC will play 18 of its first 19 games at home, including a real litmus test weekend when SEC power Alabama comes to Patriots Point Field in the third weekend of the season. Yikes. In a strange twist, Charleston will also be able to play the top three teams from the SoCon last year (Elon, GaSouthern, The Citadel) all at home in 2010. They went 0-9 vs. those three last year.

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- DAVIDSON (18-31, 11-16)
2009 RPI: 200
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (25+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Mike Frongello (3-2, 4.47)
LHP Chris Lamb (1-4, 5.65)
1B Danny Weiss (.323-6-37)

The Good News:
Despite all the losses in the month of May, three were by extra innings and five were by a single run, so they were still competitive and playing with heart. Lots of serviceable arms come back including weekend starter Thomas Middour (2-8, 7.11) and midweek starter Chris Kennedy (1-3, 7.11), both senior lefties. The staff will be re-built around Frongello, a freakish submariner who nearly throws underhand. OF Drew Gadaire (.289-11-32) joins Weiss in a pair of potent bats.

The Bad News:
A 9-6 start quickly crumbled last season, tailspinning with a 1-10 month of May to end the season. Coach Cooke’s first job is finding some newfound confidence. The Wildcats were the worst-fielding team in the conference again at .951 last season, and also hit at a wispy .278. Three of the four .300+ hitters have moved on and Frongello is the only returning arm to post a sub-.5.00 ERA. The offense needs to be more patient in order to draw more than 192 walks.

Schedule Note:
More home series.
Davidson gets a bit of a break with five SoCon series at home and four on the road, which is good, because the ‘Cats went just 4-17 in true road games last season. Also, notice that there are a lot of winnable games early on could lead to a winning record going into April, including the opening weekend vs. Georgetown and the second weekend’s tournament with Presbyterian and Mt. Saint Mary’s.

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- ELON (41-18, 23-4)
2009 RPI: 24
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 3
Mid-Week Starters: 2
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 5

All Conference Candidates:
LHP Jimmy Reyes (8-0, 4.78, 101Ks)
RHP Ken Ferrer (8-1, 5.30)
RHP Thomas Girdwood (0-3, 5.33, 17svs)
RHP Daniel Britt (8-1, 5.86)
C Mike Melillo (.344-18-59)

The Good News:
Pitch. Pitch. Pitch… that’s all those Phoenix ever do! Actually, all tongue-in-cheek aside, unlike last year they’ll need to rely heavily on the mound crew this coming season. It looks like 436 of the 534 innings pitched from 2009 are back on the roster again, including all three weekend starters, Reyes, Ferrer and Britt, who combined to go 24-2 last season and each bring a different facet to the rotation. But the best arm may be Girdwood’s, after he saved 17 wins last season. He should become more of a lock-down pitcher this year. Those live arms will form a solid battery with Melillo, who will get better behind the dish. OF Justin Hilt (.288-16-55, 15SBs, a 41st round pick of the A’s) should reprise his leadoff role and SS Neil Pritchard (.276-10-42) will concentrate on his glovework. But both will still hit their share of bombs to carry on the long-ball tradition that last year’s team had.

The Bad News:
A lot of those home run trots will be missing this season, a full 86 yard calls moved on from the program after last season. In fact, five of the top six hitters flew the coop and will need to be replaced in leadership and example. Four of those five hit .336 or better… damn! That’s a lot of offense that has flown off the shelf. The arms staff returns nearly everyone, but it’s still a staff that had an ERA of 5.79. That must improve if the Phoenix are going to go beyond the Regionals.

Schedule Note:
Still love pickin’ off the big boys.
Nothing’s changed for Coach Mike Kennedy’s charges. Last year they pulled the wool over on Auburn, Wake Forest, N.C. State and East Carolina. This year, Elon is fishing for even bigger game, playing in the Rice Invitational against the Owls and Nebraska, and also have tests against Clemson, ECU, Wake, North Carolina and NC State again. Go get ‘em Phoenix.

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- FURMAN (24-31, 10-20)
2009 RPI: 161
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
DH Reese Wade (.315)
3B/1B Brian Harrison (.303-12-43)
RHP Nick Karow (1-1, 3.80, 4svs, .205OBA)
RHP Ian Parry (3-5, 4.87)

The Good News:
The Paladins see a whole slew of familiar pitchers back on the roster for 2010, including their ace reliever in Karow (ya’ gotta LOVE that opponents batting average) and two weekend starters in Ian Parry and lefty Barry Benton (2-6, 6.31). The bullpen is deep and will improve with a number of freshman growing into sophomore roles. A big recruiting class of 15 players comes in, 10 of which are J.C. types.

The Bad News:
From a school record 33 wins in ‘08 to a 10-20 SoCon mark in ‘09. Looks like this program hit an apex in ‘08 and came crashing down to Earth, including going from a .300 team average in ‘08 down to .278 last year. The defense was a solid .969 fielding, but with most of the infield gloves hitting the road, some rebuilding will be necessary. Lastly, and worst of all, the team ERA went from 5.47 in ‘08 up to 7.07 last season.

Schedule Note:
Carolinas on their minds.
The Paladins won’t leave the comfort of home very often in 2010. In fact, their first venture outside the state of South Carolina won’t be until March 24th when they take on Georgia at Foley Field. In all, only four games will they leave the Carolinas at all, that Georgia game and then the following weekend set at Samford.

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- GEORGIA SOUTHERN (42-17, 20-8)
2009 RPI: 37
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
3B A.J. Wirnsberger (.323-15-38)
LHP Jake Brown (6-3, 4.50)
RHP Matt Murray (6-3, 4.76)
DH Kyle Blackburn (.333-12-28)
2B Kevin Bowles (.289)
1B Eric Phillips (.333-4-45)

The Good News:
Strong program here. We’re now talkin’ about ten straight 30+ win seasons for Coach Rodney Hennon’s Eagles, including last year’s 42-win effort that saw them reach the NCAAs for the first time since 2002. Wow. That’s good stuff. Offensively, these guys are fence-bashers, cranking out a .327 average and 87HRs. With guys like Wirnsberger and Blackburn back, that should continue, though maybe not quite where last year’s team hit. Also watch for the emergence of OF Victor Roache, who was a 25th round pick of his home-state Detroit Tigers, but came to GSU instead. RHP Dexter Bobo (2-2, 6.55, 3svs) should improve his numbers after turning down the Pirates in the 44th round of the summer draft as well.

The Bad News:
When the Eagles lost, they lost bad, having given up double digits nine times in losses last season. The returning arms aren’t bad, but beyond Murray and Brown, no one had an ERA below 5.00, so incoming righties Ryan Sadler, a 39th round pick of the Twins, and Chris Beck must be counted on. You have to wonder about the power numbers though, with Ty Wright, Phillip Porter and Griffin Benedict taking their 38 combine home runs to pro ball.

Schedule Note:
Easy… but not RPI good.
The pre-SoCon slate is lilly soft, with their first three weekends coming at home against Tennessee Tech, Holy Cross and Marshall. And to boot, their bye week from conference play sees the Eagles host Alcorn State. Yuck. The good news is they will play Georgia Tech four times and Clemson and South Carolina once each in mid-week action. That will help.

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- UNC-GREENSBORO (20-29, 7-21)
2009 RPI: 196
Starters Returning: 4
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Warren Slack (4-0, 3.77, .251OBA)
RHP Matt Parish (3-1, 4.70, .259OBA)
OF Corey Overholtzer (.299, 14SBs)
OF Ed Jayjack (.343-4-21)

The Good News:
A whole slew of experienced players return to campus after Coach Gaski did so much mixing and matching of lineups last season. Three of the top four hitters return in Overholtzer, Jayjack and OF Drew Gehringer (.299), which should improve the .272 team average of last season. Likewise, six of the eight most-used hurlers come back as well, featuring Slack, Parish and weekend starter Greg Smith (4-8, 6.93) and reliever Blake Hassebrock (2-1, 5.32), whom Baseball America named the No. 2 prospect in the Cal Ripken League last summer. More facility upgrades dot the program as an all-new hitting facility is being constructed for later on this season.

The Bad News:
The Spartans have seen three of the last four seasons end up as losing affairs in Greensboro. Folks there don’t cotton to that too well as you’d imagine. Injuries ravaged the squad in ‘09 as only three players started every game. Pedro Leon was a real sparkplug on offense and will be missed. As will reliever Rob Gilliam, who pitched 65 innings and had four saves. The new replacements must help improve the .958 defense.

Schedule Note:
Scheduling like a BCS power.
The Spartans will spend most of the season at home, or near it. They’ll play 35 home games and then another four games in the local area at North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke and Wake Forest. Their only far flung ventures have them traveling in conference weekends at Georgia Southern, Samford and The Citadel. The other two SoCon road series will be at Appalachian State and at Western Carolina – both fairly close drives.

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- SAMFORD (17-35, 9-21)
2009 RPI: 177
Starters Returning: 9
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 4

All Conference Candidates:
2B Stephen Ballard (.350)
OF Wayne Miller (.339, 24SBs)
OF David Schultz (.335-10-57)

The Good News:
If the offense has anything to do with it, expect there to be some improvement on the 17 win-season of 2009. There are familiar faces all around the field and five of the nine returnees on offense hit .332 or better, including Ballard, Miller, Schultz and also seniors in OF Bo Smith (.333-6-27) and 3B Mason Meredeth (.332-9-41). C Brad Moss (.245, only 5Es) did a credible job behind the dish as a frosh and should blossom in 2010. Soph-to-be Kyle Putkonen (4-3, 8.44) could also reach stud status in this, his second year.

The Bad News:
From 35 wins in 2008 to just 17 last year, that’s a big dip in quality there Bulldog fans. But given coach Casey Dunn’s recent successful track record, it shouldn’t last. But I’m not sure it’ll be this season as a lot of pitching needs to be replaced, including two weekend starters and relief ace Kyle Nichols. Beyond Putkonen, the only other pitcher returning that won more than one game is RHP Andrew Jones (3-6, 8.13). Opponents hit .331 off of SU last season and that was with an experienced staff.

Schedule Note:
Rough, rough roads.
Not sure if any other team in the Southern Conference will have a tougher road slate than the Bulldogs will, having to travel to contenders CofC, Georgia Southern and Elon, which will be the final weekend of the regular season. The non-conference slate won’t be a cake walk either, with weekenders vs. Kennesaw State and Minnesota.

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- THE CITADEL (37-22, 20-10)
2009 RPI: 79
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 1
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 3

All Conference Candidates:
RHP Asher Wojciechowski (3-3, 4.39, pitched for Team USA last summer)
3B Dave Greene (.376-4-36)
OF Nick Orvin (.355, 18SBs)
C Bryan Altman (.368, 10SBs)
RHP Drew Mahaffey (2-3, 3.60, 7svs)
LHP Matt Talley (8-1, 3.43)

The Good News:
Coach Fred Jordan is becoming an institution on campus, winning his 300th SoCon game last year, more than any coach in conference history. The Dogs had a knack of jumping on opponents early, outscoring them by 49 runs in the 1st and 2nd inning of games. More dash and less mash to this year’s order, coming off a season where they hit .333. Look for Orvin to be a menacing baserunner. Wojo, Talley and Mahaffey are solid arms to build around and look for righties TJ Clarkson (3-2, 3.92) and Ray Copenhaver (2-3, 3.60) to take on bigger roles as the Citadel reloads on the mound.

The Bad News:
It’s been since 2002 that the Dogs have been to the NCAAs. Last year, they beat league-leaders Elon and Georgia Southern five out of seven times, but still saw those two advance to the Big Dance instead. Lost a lot of pop off last year’s team, including Richard Jones and Chris McGuines who combined for 32HRs. Leading hitter Sonny Meade is also gone. A handful of arms need to be replaced meaning that RHP Matt Reifsnider must revert to ‘08 form when he went 4-3 and 4.93 with nine saves.

Schedule Note:
Aloha.
Usually The Citadel doesn’t venture far from home in pre-conference play, but this year the Dogs have a weekend visit to Hawaii in early March. Nice. They also get the short straw in SoCon play, having to travel to Elon, CofC and Georgia Southern. What did Coach Jordan do to deserve this? Ouch.

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- WESTERN CAROLINA (35-22, 19-10)
2009 RPI: 57
Starters Returning: 5
Weekend Starters: 0
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 5

All Conference Candidates:
2B/OF Ross Heffley (.391-4-51)
RHP Daniel Ottone (3-3, 3.86, 8svs)
RHP Jason Sullivan (1-0, 2.42)
1B Matt Johns (.323-6-37)

The Good News:
Coach Bobby Moranda had a great second season in Cullowhee, leading his Catamounts to 35 wins and nearly an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Having Ross Heffley back as an All American candidate is a comfort, as is having a senior backstop in Stephen Nataro (.287-13-39), who is a superb power source as well after leading the team in home runs. Trevor Collias (.293-8-36) is a blue streak (30SBs) that will set the table at the leadoff spot again. If he and Heffley play up to potential, this offense could be scary again after hitting .332 last season.

The Bad News:
Okay, now that we got the offense out of the way, I’m sorry but we must address the large amount of missing pitching. All three weekend starters are gone, as is the versatile Garrett Ozar, who threw for 72 innings in many different roles. Team captain Daniel Ottone and reliever Jason Sullivan are joined by RHP Brandon Johnson (3-0, 4.66) and mid-week starter Kyle Stewart (4-1, 4.85) as the only effective arms still around. The defense played at a sour .956 pace.

Schedule Note:
Ready for a big finish.
Not that we’re saying anyone in the SoCon is a pushover or anything, but check out WCU’s month of May. The Catamounts will have second-division dwellers UNCG, Furman, Samford and Davidson. That should ensure a good handful of wins to pad a possible post-season push.

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- WOFFORD (17-32, 7-22)
2009 RPI: 218
Starters Returning: 6
Weekend Starters: 2
Mid-Week Starters: 1
Key Relievers (20+inns.): 6

All Conference Candidates:
RHP John Cornely (3-3, 7.61)
OF Kyle Behrendt (.344-6-39)
OF Konstantine Diamaduros (.299-7-50)
OF James Foster (.287)

The Good News:
There’s a wealth of experience up and down the batting order and in the field, particularly the outfield and the middle of the order with Behrendt and Diamaduros. Cornely had a dominant summer in the Coastal Plains League and Drew Sheridan 1-2, 8.15) did the same in the Hawaiian Collegiate League. Hopefully that translates to this spring. The return of pitchers Pete Noordsy (1-2, 6.20) and Tom Dolinak (2-3, 8.67), who both had to sit out the 2009 season, will help big. The Terriers had flashes of greatness defensively, turning 51 double plays on the season.

The Bad News:
The Terriers seem a little overwhelmed in SoCon play the last few years, even the season they made the NCAA tournament, they went just 8-19. Last year’s pitching staff had an ERA of 8.49, 276th in the country. Yikes. The staff lost saves specialist Michael Gilmartin (27th round pick of the A’s) and weekend starter Scott Summers and will have to rely on youth. WC was also second-to-last in the SoCon in team defense at .952.

Schedule Note:
Toughest stretch of baseball in the country?
Considering their last place standing, the Terriers 13-game stretch that sees them play three vs. Georgia Southern, one vs. Presbyterian, four at New Mexico State, two at Vanderbilt and three vs. The Citadel could be as arduous as it comes. The seven game roadie at NMSU and Vandy will come in the span of six days too. Adding to all this misery is the fact that Wofford will also spend the next three weekends after that on the road with three-gamers at Western Carolina, at College of Charleston and at UNC-Greensboro.