Coaches' Blog Archive

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 10/12/2011

Fall World Series: Game 2

WOW!!!!...what a contest Game 2 was! Like Game 1, Game 2 went into extra innings and came down to the last at bat.

With Matt Myers (Team Yates) and Mason Holliday (Team Warner) on the mound, Team Yates again jumped out on top with an RBI single in the top of the 1st. Team Warner answered back with their own run in the bottom of the 1st on an RBI single by Christian Maciel.

Team Yates came up with another run in the 4th on an RBI single by Mike Jankowski to go up 2-1. But things stayed pretty quiet with great starting and relief pitching on both sides, until the bottom of the 7th. With two outs and the game tying run on 3B (Chris Beasley), Seth Bailey came up with a single to put the game into extra innings. Team Warner actually had the bases loaded with a chance to win, but Kevin Martin got Sam Garrison to fly out to end the threat.

Nick Moore got a big strikeout to end the top of the 8th inning and set up an exciting bottom of the 8th. After Martin got a pop up to start the inning, Storm Bailey bunted for a hit and stole 2B. A strikeout and 2 walks loaded the bases with two outs and put Brandon Cobb at the plate. After a pitching change, Cobb singled to center field to end the game at 3-2 and tie up the series 1-1.

Today's game will put Josh Engler (Team Yates) on the mound against

Sam Garrison (Team Warner). After two extra inning games, I'm excited to see what today's game holds.

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 10/11/2011

Fall World Series: Game 1

Monday was the start of our annual Fall World Series. Managers of the two teams are senior Chad Yates and junior Luke Warner. Both mangers sent quality starters to the mound for Game One in Blake McKnight (Team Yates) and Clint Horn (Team Warner).

Team Yates jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a lead-off triple by Wes Clay, followed up by run scoring singles by Jacob Garrison and Chad Yates. But that is all Team Yates got off Horn. He settled in after the first inning and retired 13 batters in a row before he was replaced in the 6th inning.

Team Warner played strong defense after the first inning and started chipping away on the scoreboard. They came up with a run scoring single by Kenji Corbisiero after a Mike Headlee double in the 4th inning. They picked up another run in the 5th inning on a RBI ground out by Storm Bailey that scored Seth Bailey.

The score stayed tied (2-2) through extra innings into the 8th because of some great relief pitching by Koby Gaddis (Team Yates) and Sam Garrison (Team Warner).

In the bottom of the 8th, Mike Jankowski reached second base after a ground ball and an overthrow at first base. Relief pitcher Nick Moore then got the next two outs and looked like Team Warner was going to get out of it and send it into the 9th. But Cody Johnson blooped a single over Mike Headlee's (2B) head that scored Jankowski from second base for the game winner and a 3-2 victory.

Game Two will start Tuesday at 3:30 with Team Yates sending Matt Myers to the mound. Team Warner will counter with Mason Holliday going to the hill. Results will be posted tomorrow.

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 10/10/2011

2011 Alumni Baseball Game

A good group of baseball alumni showed up Friday for the 2011 Alumni Baseball Game. Decades that were represented were the 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's, and even 4 players from last year's graduating class. Most of the alumni looked like they had never left the field as they represented themselves very well at the plate, on defense, and especially on the mound.

We appreciate our alumni here at EU and really love to see them come back and be part of the program.

Blogger: Brenton Illum, Head football coach
Date: 10/10/2011

Homecoming / Graceland game

We won an exciting game in front of an energetic homecoming crowd this past Saturday. The 27-21 win over Graceland was the first homecoming win for Evangel in four years.

Our players of the week for this game are as follows:

Offense - Kingjack Washington, running back

Defense - Preston Henry, defensive end

Special Teams - Drew O'Cain (kicker) and Sam Guillaume (linebacker)

Big hit award - Sam Guillaume, linebacker

Scout Offense - Jordan Pierce, offensive line

Scout Defense - Ja'Tavious Miller, linebacker

Blogger: Dawn Neal, Assistant women's basketball
Date: 10/6/2011

Off to a great start

Aug. 27 the team went to the Leadership Ranch in Republic Missouri to work together on a low ropes course that strengthens a groups ability to communicate and work together in tough situations. We had a great time and it was very enlightening to us as coaches to see how these young ladies already have a commitment to one another. I guess playing all summer in the Pro-Am league has helped them to get to know one another on a cohesive level. I am so looking forward to working with this group of girls this season. We have 7 new players and 7 returning players. Several of the new players are Springfield and Area standout athletes: Emily Akins from Parkview HS, Ciara Eastwood - Fair Grove, Jordan Graham - Kickapoo, and Amanda Landolt-Kickapoo. Torie Grayson from Plano Texas, and 2 JUCO players: Sierra McSpadden and Jaimee Sheilds form Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. These new players will help our team to be successful on many levels. We are looking forward to great things from our returning players: Kara Blankenship a 3 time HAAC 2nd team member, Jayme Chapman, Jessica Rumfelt Jessica Pickett, Kristin Link, Jessica Fransen, and Kasey Painter. We will continue to work hard to put the best defensive/offensive team together each game. They are all learning to do what it takes to be committed to something that is bigger than themselves and that is TEAM

The team was able to be involved in 2 Community Service opportunities this fall. We went into the Weller community to help paint some houses all day on Sat. Sept. 7, 2011 and we helped to teach basketball skills to some local elementary age girls on Sept. 22, 2011 for a couple of hours. It is important that we all give back to our communities and this was our way of doing that this year. Check out the Evangel University Women's Basketball Facebook page for pictures.

We had a tough, but productive preseason. Our conditioning is beginning to allow us to practice hard each day. We look forward to a successful inseason in October to be ready for a tough Non-conference schedule in November. Conference play begins on December 1, 2011. I hope you all will come watch us play or listen the games on the radio/internet. Check out the website for steps to listen online :www.evangel.edu

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 10/5/2011

Final Fall Scrimmage

We finished up our fall season yesterday with a game against North Arkansas College. There was a lot of improvement from our first scrimmage last week, especially at the plate.

The team scored 18 runs and banged out 24 hits in 15 innings of play. Big days were put in by Nathan Jones (3 for 5 with 4 RBI), Christain Maciel (4 for 8 with 4 RBI, 2 2B,and a HR), Jake Garrison (4 for 6 with 2 2B), Cody Johnson (4 for 5 with 3 runs scored), and Storm Bailey (3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 4 SB).

Pitching was solid again giving up 8 runs (7 earned) with 10 k's and only 1 BB in 15 innings of work. Matt Myers and Clint Horn both led the way giving up only 1 earned run each in 4 innings of work.

Defense was better with only 3 errors on the day with 66 chances. Nathan Ervin and Jacob Garrison both made outstanding defensive plays during the day.

After the alumni game this Friday, the team will finish up the fall with the Fall World Series. Teams will be chosen and we will play the best 3 out of 5. Check back for updates on these games next week.

Blogger: Brenton Illum, Head football coach
Date: 10/3/2011

Players of the week - Benedictine

We suffered a tough loss last Saturday against one of the best teams in the NAIA, but there were a lot of good lessons learned as we try to build our team to their level.

Our players of the week this week are:

Offense - Caleb Walker, Wide Receiver

Defense - Taber Cheo, Linebacker

Special Teams - Sam Guillaume, Linebacker

Big Hit Award - Sam Guillaume, Linebacker

Scout Offense - Kory Woods, Offensive Line

Scout Defense - Dakotah McPherson, Defensive Line

Blogger: Steve Jenkins, Men's Basketball Coach
Date: 9/29/2011

Basketball Crusaders Working To Repeat

The 2011-12 version of Evangel Crusader basketball has already started practices to defend their HAAC title. There are several new faces that have joined the squad, so we have quite a bit to learn before our first scrimmage on October 15. We have some big shoes to fill with the loss of 5 very good seniors. But we have had a good recruiting class and we are expecting to make a run at capturing another HAAC title. Several of our returning players have had very productive off-seasons and will be ready to show our new players just how we do things. I think the conference race is wide open at this point, especially with the loss of Lindenwood and Jewell from the HAAC. But some team will win the league and it might as well be us. Our guys are working hard. We know we have a lot to learn about our team, but I am confident we will be in the thick of the league race.

Blogger: Debbie De Almeida, Women's Tennis Coach
Date: 9/29/2011

Fall 2011

Hello everyone!

It has been a long time! I hope you are doing well! We have had a busy start of the school year! Tennis is a unique sport in which we have two separate seasons. The Fall (Team Preseason) is actually an Individual season where players can advance to Nationals and play in the ITA Small College Championships in Mobile, Alabama. In the Spring, only teams advance.

This Fall we have 7 players. Our only Senior, Maria Martinez is picking up right where she left off last year and is a strong competitor in the HAAC. Last season she was undefeated and if all goes well and she continues to play the way she is, that will be true of her this year! Claire Hoover is returning this year and is a great asset to the team! We are glad to have Kelly Bush back this season! She missed out almost the entire year last year due to a torn ACL! She is back and adjusting her game and she will be a great asset in the Spring for us! We have a few newcomers this year! Amy Grossklag was red-shirted last Spring so it is good to have her playing at the #1 seed this season. Lyvia Gomes, a junior college transfer student from Brazil will be adding strength to the middle of our lineup. We also have Phine Mulumba, originally from the Congo and Kailey Roland from Lamar, Missouri and these girls are working on their skills and becoming better players at the collegiate level!

This Fall we played 3 tournaments.

The first one was in Marshall, Missouri hosted by Missouri Valley on September 9-10th. It was a good tournament to know what we need to work on in competition for the rest of the Fall. The highlight was with Amy Grossklag and Maria Martinez both winning their draws (#1 and #2 respectively) and also reaching the doubles finals. They fell short in the end, but given that this was the first time they played a doubles match together, it was a great learning ground for us to build from.

The second tournament was a week later and was hosted by Bethany College. September 16-17 we went to Salina, Kansas and our skills improved immensely from the first tournament in Marshall! We like to go to this tournament because the majority of the schools there are NCAA-II. We had a stronger showing at this one and against stronger players. Most of our players were able to advance either through the tournament or consolation round of their brackets. Here are some of the results:

In Flight A, Amy Grossklag came up short in the semi-finals to a NCAA-II player who ended up losing in the finals.

In Flight B, Lyvia Gomes went to the finals of the consolation bracket of Flight B and fell short in the end. In the same flight, Maria Martinez advanced to the tournament bracket finals (in Flight B) of the event going 3-1. Maria played exclusively against NCAA-II players winning matches against competition from Newman, Washburn and Fort Hays State before falling to a Washburn player in the finals.

In Flight D, - Hoover won against Hesston College then lost to Bethany College after a great 1st set comeback being down 4-1 to win the set!

In Flight E, Mulumba made it to the finals of the consolation bracket.

In Flight F, Kailey Roland won the consolation final!

The strongest showing that weekend was with our #1 doubles team of Maria Martinez and Amy Grossklag. They advanced to the finals of Flight A. They lost to a duo from Emporia State 8-5 in the finals. Maria and Amy played some strong NCAA-II teams getting to the finals and this was a great finish for them!

The last tournament, the most important of the Fall just happened last weekend in Wichita, Kansas and was hosted by Bethel College. The ITA Central West Regional Championships had schools represented from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Our #1 doubles team, Amy Grossklag and Maria Martinez won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central-West Regional Championship !!! They will be one of 8 NAIA teams represented at the ITA National Championships Oct. 13-16. We are VERY proud of them!

After a first round bye, Grossklag and Martinez breezed through their second round match 8-0 over a Bethel (Kan.) duo, and then won 8-4 over the doubles team from Tabor (Kan.). The two won their semifinal match against another pair from Bethel and defeated Graceland's doubles team 8-3 for the championship.

In the singles tournament, Amy advanced to the regional semifinals. Maria, won two rounds after an opening round bye advancing to the quarterfinals. Lastly, Lyvia Gomes also advanced two rounds on the bracket. Three of Evangel's seven players in the tournament advanced to the round of 16 and two were in the quarterfinals.

I will keep you posted when we return from Nationals in a few weeks! If you are a tennis player and are looking to play collegiate tennis, I want to talk to you! Email me at dealmeidad@evangel.edu and get the ball rolling. We are looking for players now to join us for next season!

Have a great day! Go Lady Crusaders!!!

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 9/29/2011

1st Fall Baseball Scrimmage

As you would expect, our first fall scrimmage included lots of ups and downs. Labette CC came to EU Field for a 14 inning scrimmage and the Crusaders jumped on them early with 5 runs in the first two innings.

Strong pitching performances by Blake McKnight, Clint Horn, and Josh Engler kept the Labette bats silent as the entire pitching staff only game up 6 earned runs in 14 innings.

Hitters who had good days were Sam Garrison (4 for 5), Jake Garrison (3 for 4 w/ 5 RBI), and Nathan Ervin (2 for 3 w. 2 RBI). The Crusaders were also 8 for 8 on stolen base attempts with Sam Garrison leading the charge with 3 himself.

After all was said and done, the Crusaders crossed the plate 14 times with Labette scoring 8. While the defense was shaky at times (5 errors), and the pitching and hitting could have been better in some spots, I feel like the team is in a very good place with a lot of room for improvement.

The Crusaders will be in action again at 1:00 this coming Tuesday (Oct. 4), which will be their last scrimmage of the fall. Come on out and see the 2011-12 version of the Evangel baseball team.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 9/27/2011

Fall Season Update

Our fall season continued with scrimmage game against SBU on Friday September 23. SBU is a D-2 school from Bolivar, MO about 30 miles north of Springfield. The scrimmage lasted 12 innings and our main 3 pitchers of Hasty-Boring-Tolle was able to get 4 innings of work each. Our offense continued to shine with outstanding at-bats and we were able to get all of our 22 players in the scrimmage for playing time.

On Saturday September 24, we participated in the annual Missouri State University fall festival day. These were regular 7 inning games and not scrimmages against Crowder College (JUCO0 and our MSU friends from here in town.

Our first game of the day was against a very good Crowder College team and program. Coach "V" at Crowder does a great job and always has an outstanding ball club. The Lady Roughriders jumped out on us 2-0 in the first inning but our club locked in and locked down and didn't allow another Crowder runner to score. Our offense once again stood out for us with senior catcher Kasey Spencer and junior outfielder Courtney Orange leading the way for us. We scored in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings to take a 5-2 lead that held up for the final score. Once again our pitching staff of Hasty-Boring-Tolle took control after the first inning and held Crowder hitters scoreless the rest of the way. All 3 pitchers stood out for us and complimented one another's performance very well; we were very pleased with their 7-inning tag team work.

Our excellent pitching performance carried over into our next game with MSU. Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Hasty started the game working 3 innings giving up no runs on 3 hits, no walks striking out 3. Hasty relieved by junior transfer Leznie Boring who worked her 2 innings of prescheduled work giving up no runs on no hits with no walks while striking out 3 MSU hitters. Sophomore Katelyn Tolle closed it out for us with her 2 innings of work giving up no runs on one hit, no walks with 1 K. All 3 pitchers (aka The Law Firm of Hasty-Boring-Tolle) were simply outstanding on the day for us. As we tell our team, we go as a team as our pitching staff goes...that fuels the offense and defense for sure. Our law firm had an outstanding day giving 2 runs in 14 innings of work against a very good JUCO team and a D-1 program with a lot of championship tradition.

I was very proud of my team for the way they handled this day and this entire week. In four days, we faced two D-1 programs, a D-2 program and a strong JUCO team. It was a good week for us and showed us what kind of team we can expect to have for the spring. Our expectations will be high for the 2012 season; to expect anything less is to under achieve.

We have 2 more weeks of our fall season remaining. We are still in process of selecting any walk-on players to add to our spring roster. We have 5 players in the mix working hard to secure one of those spots. Our selection process will take place after our last scrimmage day of October 7. Adios till next time!

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 9/22/2011

Arkansas Game Results & Highlights

One of the highlights of our fall-ball softball season is being able to play a single 7-inning game against the Razorbacks of Arkansas. This is an opportunity for our team to play against a division one opponent that is an up and coming team in the SEC. Coach Mike Larabee and his terrific staff of Coy Adkins and Sue Carpenter are not only good friends but outstanding coaches and in process of building a winner at UA. I know that Coach Larabee and his staff will get it done at UA much like he did at Wright State. And we appreciate the opportunity they provide me and my team to come over and play during the fall season.

The opportunity for our program to play against an up coming SEC opponent is an opportunity for us in many ways but mainly to mature in many areas and phases of the game. The competitive emotions you experience in a game like this one cannot be replicated in practice or anywhere else. Our team must learn to work through the constant situations and challenges we're put in for 7 innings. From the pitching circle to our at-bats to the defensive situations we faced, it's an learning experience and opportunity you cannot find anywhere else to measure your team and make them better for the spring...and I certainly feel we gain that from this game.

Even though our pitching staff had some rough moments at times, we also saw some really good things they did and provided us. Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Hasty put in 2 innings of very good work facing 9 Arkansas batters giving up 2 unearned runs on no hits, one walk and one K. Sophomore pitcher Kately Tolle also had 2 outstanding innings facing 8 hitters giving up no runs on 2 hits with no walks and 3 K's. New junior transfer pitcher Lenzie Boring started the game for EU going 3 innings...in 2 of her 3 innings, she was 1 pitch away with 2 outs from getting out of the inning with no damage done. But a mistake pitch in inning 1 and again in the third saw the Arkansas hitters capitalize with the long ball for a 5-0 lead at the end of 3 innings. "....against good hitters at any level, you cannot make mistakes and get away with it...they will capitalize on your mistakes. Lenzie could've easily been out of both innings in her 3 innings of work with a 0-0 game. She is and will be an outstanding pitcher for us in the spring."

The EU defense also had opportunities to help our pitching staff get out of situations but extended the inning giving Arkansas more than 3 outs. And we know when you give any team more than 3 outs at any given time, then good teams capitalize and they certainly did. But in the end our defensive unit will be a very solid group for us and will not put our pitchers in these situations very often. I think both our inner and outer defense and know we will be solid defenders.

I think the biggest area and opportunity we had to grow from is with our at-bats. We sent 24 hitters to plate over 7 innings with 6 reaching base scoring once. We did score our lone run in the 3rd inning making it a 3-1 game with more opportunities to push runs across in the 5th but couldn't capitalize. Our achilles heel was taking too many pitches and not taking advantage of hitter counts we had to work with. We are a very good offensive team but against these type of pitchers you cannot allow them to get back in the count without trying to put a good swing on it. We had many hitter's counts throughout the game but just took too many pitches. Arkansas has some good young arms in the circle and we showed good discipline with our A-B's, but we didn't help ourselves looking at 2-0 and 3-1 hitter counts. In the end the experience we gain and learn from games like this will help our ball club for the spring.

The only 2 regular 7-inning games we play during the fall is against Arkansas and Missouri State University. The MSU game is slated for Saturday September 24 and will be our next 7-inning game. That game recap and blog will happen on Monday September 26. Adios till then.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 9/22/2011

Fall Season Update

Our fall-ball season is underway and we've had 2 scrimmages and one game to this point. The 2 scrimmages were against Independence College and Allen County College. Both early scrimmages were good days for us as both our offense and pitching led the way. No scores are recorded on these scrimmage days but we do track certain things we are trying to accomplish. In our first scrimmage with Independence our offense plated 50 plus batters with 24 reaching base. Some individual highlights for us against Independence were new players Courtney Orange (junior outfielder from Millstadt, Illinois) and Lauren Bunch (junior outfielder-catcher from LaPorte, Texas). Courtney is our new lead-off with speed and ability to hit for high average....she was a redshirt transfer last year with 2 years eligibility. Lauren Bunch is a junior college transfer with 2 years eligibility who can play anywhere on the field. Bunch is a strong-arm defender who will settle in leftfield for us as well as see time behind the plate. She has speed with ability to hit the long ball where she went deep against Independence with our first home run of the fall season. Other highlights against Indy was in the circle where our pitching staff stood out. Our returning pitchers of Kaitlyn Hasty (senior DeSoto, Missouri) and sophomore Katelyn Tolle (sophomore from Bevier, Missouri) led the way. Hasty had 4 innings of work facing 18 batters with one walk, 3 hits, no earned runs and 3 K's while Tolle put in 4 innings of work facing 13 batters with no walks, no runs, no hits and 6 K's. New juco transfer pitcher Lenzie Boring (Humboldt, Kansas) also had a 4 inning day facing 15 batters with one walk, no runs, one hit and 5 K's.

Our next scrimmage day was against Allen County Community College. Against Allen CC, our offense was slow to start but came on as we sent 50 plus batters to the plate again with 22 reaching base. Once again junior outfielder Courtney Orange stood out for us along with returners catcher Kasey Spencer (senior from Liberty, MO) and outfielder Kari Tall-Domings (junior from Sacramento, CA). Our pitching staff had another very good day in the circle for us as our main 3 (Kaitlyn Hasty, Katelyn Tolle, Lenzie Boring) all put in 3 innings of work each. Hasty faced 11 batters with one walk, no runs, one hit and 3 K's; Tolle faced 10 hitters with no walks, no runs, 2 hits, one HBP, and 4 K's; Boring, who was pitching against her former juco team, faced 10 batters, no runs, no walks, no hits and struck out 4. Other pitchers seeing time in the circle for us sophomore Shelby Hoffman (Apple Valley, CA) and freshman Jasmine Godwin (Moberly, MO). Hoffman pitched 2 innings facing 9 hitters giving up no runs on 1 hit, 2 walks, and 1 K. Godwin put in 2 innings of work facing 10 hitters giving up 1 run on 4 hits with no walks and 2 K's.

The EU defense also had 3 double plays on the scrimmage day.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 9/7/2011

Hillcrest Children's Home

For the second consecutive year, EU softball team traveled to the Hillcrest Children's Home (HCH) for a weekend mission and service trip. HCH is a home for both orphaned and troubled kids. Our team spent the Labor Day weekend with the children at HCH where we participated in a variety of weekend events serving and ministering to the kids. The mission included performing a softball clinic showing the kids how to throw and catch, playing a wiffle ball game, leading them in recreational activities and games, leading them in a devotional, and just hanging out with the kids all weekend. The most important objective for this mission is to give them our attention, our time, our love, encouragement and friendship. The time we spend with these children is priceless...from talking about their outlook on life and their future, we trust and pray we made a difference. In the end, we are blessed as well as these kids touch us and create a special place in our hearts. GO HCH!

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 8/10/2011

Another School Year Approaching

Almost time for another school year. Always exciting when it's time for the return of our students and softball team. The new player's who will be joining us are pumped and ready to go. It will be good to see and welcome everyone.

We have much planned for the start of a new school year. The team will be going to a local Springfield Cardinals baseball game and then we will also return to the Hillcrest Children's Home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is a Missions trip for our team and player's and something we look forward to every year. I will have a future blog after our trip happens.

Our fall season will be very active with many scrimmage games and two main games and dates against division one opponents. On Wednesday September 21 we travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a single 7-inning game against the Razorbacks of Arkansas. They have a brand new softball stadium that is one of the best if not the best in the nation...we look forward to playing in that stadium and against an SEC team. On Saturday September 24, we play in the annual Missouri State University tournament. We always look forward to playing against our division one friends from across town at MSU. That day will be held at the Killian Sports Complex where MSU also plays in a stadium facility that is a first class venue. Come out and see us on these two special dates if you can. Till next time, adios!

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 8/1/2011

Senior Appreciation: Andy Pfeifer

Our final submission in our senior appreciation blogs will be Andy Pfeifer. After being named HS Pitcher of the Year in Springfield in 2007, Andy decided to come to Evangel to become part of our program.

Andy immediately earned a spot in our starting rotation as a freshman. As most freshmen do, Andy had an up and down season, but you could definitely see we had something here in Andy.

Andy's sophomore year was more consistent he finished 2nd, among starters on the team, with a 5.57 ERA. He also finished 2nd on the team with 61 K's in 63 innings.

Improvements continued Andy's junior year. He was inserted into the #1 spot in our rotation and did a great job. He improved his ERA to 5.32, won 6 games, and struck out 61 again in 64 innings.

Andy was the leader of our pitching staff his senior year and again had solid numbers. His ERA improved again to 5.02. He again had good K numbers with 42 in 50 innings.

Our entire senior class was made up of hard working players and great people off the field. Andy was no different. Off the field Andy was very humble, willing to give a helping hand to anyone who asked. On the mound, he was very intense and extremely focused on the task at hand. Thank you for your commitment and time you gave to our program Andy. It will not be soon forgotten.

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 8/1/2011

Senior Appreciation: Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson came to our program from Coffeyville CC after finishing his freshman year. Before that, he attended Willard HS. Zach's impact on our program was immediate.

Zach hammered 6 HR's and had .340 BA his sophomore year. He led the conference with 49 RBI and was named 2nd team all-HAAC DH.

Zach's junior year was even better. Zach again led the conference in RBI's with 55. He repeated his .340 BA and ended up with 8 HR's. He also gained all-HAAC honors, but this time at 1B.

As with everyone, Zach's stats went down in 2011 with the new bat regulations. But Zach still had a great year hitting .329 with 4 HR's. Zach led the team with 24 RBI and 71 total bases. He again was given all-HAAC honors at 1B.

While being a good player on the field is important, Zach will be remembered as much for being a great person off the field. You could always count of Zach to be very level headed and give words of encouragement to anyone who needed it.

Not having Zach Johnson's name in the line-up every day will leave a big hole to fill. He was definitely a game-changing player. Thanks for a your dedication to our program Zach.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 7/27/2011

Inspirational

Recently, it was inspiring to hear several success stories on what it means to be an "overcomer." Story after story shared was about famous people or companies who experienced much failure before finding success...

* In 1927 Lucille Ball was told by an instructor at her drama school to "find another profession...acting will not work for you."

* Universal studios dismissed Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds in 1959 claiming neither one had talent and both talked too slow for the motion picture industry.

* Decca Recording Company executives told the BEATLES their way, their style, their look, their sound was out and would not catch on and to look elsewhere...and they did!

* For seven years a young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 different corporations where all turned him down. The Haloid Company finally took a chance and Chester's new idea and product caught on...the Haloid company then changed its name to XEROX.

* For several years a well-known magazine lost money but stayed the course until its concept caught on....that magazine became known as Sports Illustrated.

* For several years a man cooked chicken in a road side cafe believing his chicken was the best there was...he stayed with it until he was in his 50's and finally the man and his chicken became known as Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

* Two of the most well-known NFL coaches, Chuck Noll and Tom Landry, had several losing seasons before finding success and eventually won Super Bowl Titles...Noll won 4 with the Steelers and Landry won 2 with the Cowboys.

Success isn't measured by the position you reach in life; it's measured by the obstacles you overcome.

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 7/22/2011

New Wave: Signings/Commitments

We are excited to announce the addition of the following student/athletes into the EU baseball program. Here is the list...

- Jacob Bankston (UTL): Victory Valley Christian/Oak Hills, CA

- Brandon Cobb (OF): Nixa/Nixa, MO

- Kenji Corbisiero (P/UTL): West Los Angeles College/Los Angeles, CA

- Nathan Ervin (C): Webb City/Webb City, MO

- Michael Jankowski (INF): Horseheads/Horseheads, NY

- Cody Johnson (INF): Lincoln College/Fort Wayne, IN

- Daniel Lombardi (P): Delaware Valley/Milford, PA

These players are going to be great additions to our program and we are very excited to be getting them.

Blogger: Jerry Breaux, Head Softball Coach
Date: 7/19/2011

Recruiting and Hot Summer Days

Recruiting keeps us busy and hopping during the hot summer days....and it's hot everywhere! And Springfield has their share of the heat for sure. Our recruiting travel has been very hectic this year as Coach "C" and I shared the duties. One weekend she is out on the trail and another weekend I am traveling. Our prospective list is long and full of talent. You never know where that next great EU player will come from. We keep our options open and our nose to the grind. We have 2 more weeks of recruiting and dealing with the hot summer heat. Then we will get ready for school and our 2011-12 team to report. We're excited as always about our incoming team and ready to get another year started. All for now, stay cool till next time...adios!

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 7/13/2011

Senior Appreciation: Dan Julian

Dan Julian came to our program after a successful high school career at Glendale HS in Springfield, MO. Dan didn't waste much time we he stepped on the Evangel campus in making the same impact on our program.

Dan was a four year starter for us. As a freshman and sophomore, he played 3B and then moved into his more natural position, 2B, his junior and senior years.

Dan's best year came as a junior when he hit .337 while driving in 16 and scoring 14 runs in 35 games.

I will always remember Dan as being the guy that I wanted at the plate with a runner on 2B with 2 outs. He was pretty close to being automatic in that situation. He always seemed to come through in that situation.

Dan, thank you for your great attitude you brought to the field every day. You could always count on Dan to be ready to go. He loved the game and you could see it in the way he worked everyday. Thank you for all you did for our program.

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 6/24/2011

Senior Appreciation: Chad Culpepper

Chad Culpepper came to our program after a very successful high career at Harrisonville HS. Chad immediately stepped right into our starting rotation as a freshman and made a huge impact.

As a freshman, Chad ranked 41st in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, finishing with a 9.62 average.

Chad's sophomore year was even better. He finished 28th in the nation with a 10.42 strikeout per 9 innings average. He also finished 38th in the nation in total strikeouts with 83 and was 43rd in the country with a .230 opponent batting average against.

Even though Chad's junior and senior years did not come with the same production as his first two years at EU, he was always competing hard and looking for was to improve and help the team be more successful.

Chad really cared about the program a lot and wanted to see us be successful more than receiving any individual awards.

I will always remember Chad as one of the hardest working and most dedicated players I have had the opportunity to coach. He would do anything and try anything to get better and would spend countless hours on his craft. Chad will never look back on his career and say "I wish I would have given more effort" because I don't know if he could have. Thank you Chad for all you did for our program.

Blogger: Brenton Illum, Head Football Coach
Date: 6/20/2011

This is why I love summer...

...in a word: Relationships! Whether it's hanging out and playing games with the coaching staff, or grilling out with the players who are here for the summer, or having lunch with alumni, supporters, and coaches in the Springfield area, or time spent on the phone getting to know our incoming players...the summer is about strengthening the bond we have with so many people. Football is a game of individual effort and discipline, but it is a TEAM game and there are MANY people who contribute to this TEAM.

I believe we will have a much more talented group of football players here this fall than we did last year but how we perform in our games is completely dependent on how well we come together as a TEAM and fill our individual roles. It is my belief that when games come down to the wire, the TEAM that has invested the most in having meaningful relationships with each other is the team that will find a way to succeed.

The college football experience at Evangel obviously involves the players and the coaches, but the administration, the faculty, the staff, the alumni, the marching band, the loyal Springfield fans, supporters, advertisers and the student body ALL have a share in our TEAM's development.

This note is to thank you all for sharing in this experience and to let you know how much I appreciate the relationship that you have with Evangel Football. Every time that I get to spend time with the people who are connected to our football family, i a reminded that Evangel is truly a special place, unlike any other that I have been around, and there is no limit to how great this place can become.

Enjoy the summer! Don't forget to use this time to strengthen your relationships so that we can be a greater TEAM and a greater version of Evangel than we have ever been!

-Coach Illum

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 6/16/2011

Senior Appreciation: Chad Correa

Chad came to Evangel as a sophomore transfer from Colby Community College. As a left handed pitcher, Chad was in our starting rotation his sophomore and junior years.

As a sophomore, Chad went 4-3, had 8 starts, and had a 6.65 ERA. As a junior, Chad went 2-5, had 8 starts, and had a 7.43 ERA. Most of Chad's runs in those starts would come in a couple rough starts. Besides those few starts, Chad always seemed to keep us in games and give us a chance to win.

Chad's senior year was a little different than the first two years with us. He got off to a bit of a slow start and then took on the role of a reliever. But Chad had an opportunity for one last start vs. Lindenwood in our final season series. Chad held Lindenwood scoreless for 4 innings and only gave up 2 hits before the rains came. I would loved to have seen the skies stay clear and had Chad finish that game because he was in the zone.

Chad, I really appreciate the work ethic and attitude you brought every day to the field. Although the way you went about things might be describe as "unusual" at times, you were definitely an original and were always fun to be around. Thank you for a great three years in our program and I wish you the best of luck. God bless.

Blogger: Lance Quessenberry, Head Baseball Coach
Date: 6/9/2011

Senior Appreciation: Dale Bean

I came up with the idea of honoring our 2011 seniors on our blog. Just saying they played baseball at Evangel just doesn't really tell the whole story. With that being said, the first 2011 senior I recognize will be Dale Bean.

Dale had a long and sometimes difficult stay here at EU. Dale came into our program in 2007 and was red-shirted with the idea that he needed to develop a little more before he could help us. Dale worked very hard had opportunities to start games the next 3 years but never really found his way into the rotation.

We really thought Dale had a chance to help us out a lot his senior, but the news came at the end of his junior year that he needed the dreaded "Tommy John" surgery. Since recovery from the surgery is a year at least, Dale would miss his senior year. This was obviously news that was disappointing and hard to take.

Dale could have decided to move on and not be part of the team this year, but he didn't. Dale stayed with the team. He helped out in any way possible; be that hitting fungos, catching in on drills, or many many other things. To say Dale was a great teammate would be a huge understatement. He was willing to give a helping hand wherever needed and you never knew he was down about his own situation. Dale was awarded with the "Crusader Award" at our banquet, honoring the player who shows outstanding characteristics on and off the field.

Dale...even though things did not turn out the way you wanted on the field, I am proud to have gotten the opportunity to coach you and am so happy you were a part of our program. Best of luck in the future and God bless.