Coming into the 2025 season for the Augusta University baseball team, there is a lot to be excited and it really feels like the University is buying into what head coach Chris Howell is selling.
Of course that starts with an all-new look and feel to Jaguar Field.
Back in July of 2024, the school announced a project to build stands behind home plate at “Jaguar Field” that will seat 420 people.
That was not long after it was released that the program would receive a brand new scoreboard from Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED.
Also new is the fact that the batting cages are now covered and the outfield wall is now padded just like a Major League Baseball field.
So, there’s a lot to be excited about and it’s a completely different place than it was just a season ago.
“It’s been a complete 360 degrees in one calendar of changes,” said Coach Howell. “These guys left in May and came back to a totally different stadium with resources. They are excited and appreciate the institution’s investment into the program. It changes the game day atmosphere and feels more like college baseball.”
That’ll make a huge difference in home field advantage just by filling the bleachers and that’s not even mentioning a team that was 17-10 at “Jaguar Field” last season.
Speaking of new things, for the most part this lineup will look a lot different than last season but this team will rely on pitching more than it has been able to in recent seasons as they have quite the stable of southpaws.
Two of those left-handers being Blythe Keisler and Garrett Wright, who will start off in the weekend rotation and were labeled as players to watch for by their head coach.
“We need to focus more on our pitching and playing good defense. It is important to have quality starts and set the tone early. Our bullpen arms need to step up and close/finish out ball games,” said Howell, who’s in his ninth year at the helm of the program.
As far as leadership goes, there are only nine seniors on this team, which is good for the future of the program.
Those guys who are suiting up for the Jaguars for their “last ride” are J. Ben Haynes, Grayson Hopkins, Mike Morrison, Jagger Iovinelli, Hunter Potzner, Zach Kwiatkowski, Josh Green, Jude King and Samuel Davis.
Some other players they will seek for leadership and experience are Parker Ingram and Nolan Turner.
Ingram was second on the team in home runs in 2024 with 13 long balls. On top of that, he posted a .294 batting average and a 1.020 OPS.
Turner started in 19 games last season and will take over at shortstop, filling in the shoes of Kyle Lodise, who entered the transfer portal after the 2024 campaign and went to Georgia Tech.
Getting into a groove early in the season is a big part of what the Jaguars want to do, but they want to be able to stay hot until the end of the season, which they were unable to do last year.
What are the keys to doing that? Coach Howell believes they need to be better in every facet of the game.
“We need to play complimentary baseball with good pitching/hitting/defense. It’s important to come together as a TEAM and work everyday towards our goals.”
They will opened up on Jan. 31 at Saint Leo University for a four-game set against the traditional baseball school, who will be filling holes as well in their first year under head coach Josh Keim.
After that, they will return home for NINE straight games, starting on Feb. 4 against Erskine at 3 p.m.
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