l~CRUSHEDin a.-o final series The Bison baseball team experienced highs and lows during the 2003 season. The Bisons, led by head coach Shane Fullerton, established a preseason goal of earning a spot in the Gulf South Conference playoffs for the second straight season. A sweep of Delta State in the Bisons' final conference series would have ensured a trip to the postseason fOF- the Bisons. Instead, the team saw its season end early after failing to winboth games in a doubleheader against the top-ranked Statesmen April 26. The Bisons finished the season 34-20 overall and 16-16 in the GSC. "We were a good team that played well, but not well enough to get where we wanted to be/' Fullerton said. "I wanted [the players] to leave feeling successful but still wanting more." The Bisons began with a strong first half of the season, but injuries and a lack of depth prevented the hardballers from matching that success in the second half of the season. Despite not reaching the playoffs, Fullerton said the Bisons completed a successful season. The team ranked as high as 24th in the Division II National Baseball Poll, the highest a Bison baseball team has ever ranked. With four of the team's five seniors on the pitching staff, the Bisons stacked the diamond withunderclassmen. "[The underclassmen] had to step up a lot:' junior third baseman Morgan Trotter said. "The biggest thing was the underclassmen stepping into roles to help the senior pitchers." Fullerton said the accomplishments of the younger players helped produce success. "Offensively, [sophomore] Justin Cone, first baseman, was a guy who stayed pretty consistent. He did a great job in what could have been a frustrating year:' Fullerton said. "Morgan Trotter had a good offensive year. We expect him to have a good senior year." On the mound, senior pitcher Matt Walter finished the season with a record of 7-3 and a 3.01 ERA. Walter finished his career as Harding's all– time leader in victories with 34. Juruor pitcher Mark Connett led with a 2.97 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched. Juruor hurler Justin Goodrich led the Bisons with 78 strikeouts. At the plate, Cone led the Bisons with a .340 batting average, 44 runs scored, 14 home runs, 55 RBI and a .667 slugging percentage. At the end of the season, Cone moved into second place on Harding's all-time career home run list with 25. Trotter became Harding's aU-time RBI leader with 125 runs batted in. Although the Bisons missed the post-season in 2003, Fullerton said the players maintained the three characteristics he tried to instill in his players - claSSiness, hard work and being fundamentaUy sound. -Matt Price baseball II 241
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