Winthrop’s baseball team began preparing for the 2019 season with the start of fall practice on Sept. 27. After going 25-31 last season, the Eagles are looking to have a bounce back year. Senior outfielders Hunter Lipscomb and Matthew Mulkey are eager for the upcoming season and the start of fall baseball activities.
“I am most excited to watch the team grow over the fall,” Lipscomb said. “You get here from summer where many of us have been playing all over the country and we get to see our new additions to the team. The best part about it is watching the team come together and learn and teach together. The best part of it all is the journey.”
Mulkey said that he is excited “to see the new members of the team get out there and compete” as well as to “help them learn how Division I college baseball works.” Mulkey also said that he is looking to improve his strength and mobility, saying “these two [improvements] will help my game in all aspects, including power availability.”
Fall baseball activities feature more than just practice. The team will host two exhibition games (one played this past Saturday, Oct. 6 and the other on Saturday, Oct. 20), the annual MLB Scout Day on Thursday, Oct. 11 and the once a year Eagle World Series from Friday, Nov. 2 through Sunday, Nov. 4.
Head coach Tom Riginos announced that he too is “excited to get fall ball started.” He said that one of his main goals is to teach the team the speed and intensity at which he wants them to play and practice throughout the season. “We will also work extremely hard on our baseball fundamentals and also the installation of our playbook,” Riginos said.
The Eagles are also thrilled to have a new pitching coach this season. Austin Hill served as a volunteer assistant coach last season but was recently promoted to the pitching coach position. “Through working with Austin over the past year, I was able to witness his incredible work ethic, loyalty to our baseball program, and gifted knowledge of the game,” Riginos said. “I am looking forward to the future of Winthrop Baseball with Austin on my staff.
Winthrop’s pitchers also expressed enthusiasm about Hill. “Coach Hill deserves this job more than anyone else out there. He’s had some really great experience and brings a young mind with bright ideas for our pitching staff,” Thad Harris, a red shirt junior, said. “He knows what it takes to be great and we hope to feed off his ideas to get better each day.”
“He was around all of the guys last year, so he knows what we are all capable of. One aspect that Coach Hill has helped me to improve is my changeup and establishing and executing quality pitches,” Jason Crumley, a junior, said.
Before joining the Winthrop staff, Hill played at the collegiate level for UNC Pembroke. Hill served as assistant baseball coach at USC Lancaster during the 2017 season. Hill replaces Clint Chrysler, who spent eight years with the Winthrop baseball team. Chrysler was hired this past summer by North Carolina State University to be the pitching coach.
