Daytona State College Falcon baseball kicked off its 13th
season Feb. 1 under Coach Tim Touma, seeking to earn another national academic
award and make a return trip to the state tournament.
During February’s non-conference games, the Falcons are 5 and 5 in competition leading up to conference play starting March 5,when the
team takes on Lake Sumpter State College at home starting at 3 p.m. Touma will
be counting on his freshman players, particularly shortstop Lucas Johnston and
second baseman Matt Saliba, who have matured as players since arriving at Daytona
State.
“Normally, young freshmen will make a lot of mistakes up the
middle, but I’m really happy about how well Lucas and Matt have done during
fall practice, and I’m looking forward to having them together for as long as
we can have them,” Touma said.
Also one to watch is Edgewater native Nathan Bond, a
sophomore who will join the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats when he
graduates this spring. Bond was an All-Conference outfielder his freshman year
and is expected to bring an offensive punch to the plate this season. Starting
right fielder Jimmy Faul also returns as the leading homerun hitter of all
Mid-Florida Conference returning batters.
On the mound, starter Brad Emery returns along with Clayton
Payne anchoring the bullpen.
Touma said he is impressed with the dedication and energy of
this year’s squad. “This is a very fun group of guys to be around because of
their willingness to be coached and to improve,” he said. “I’m also very proud
of the way they have performed academically.”
The team, which fields 16 freshmen on a 25-man roster,
posted a 3.6 cumulative GPA this past fall, marking 25 consecutive semesters it
has earned a 3.0 or higher team GPA. The
Falcons are seven-time winners of the NJCAA National Academic Team of the Year
award.
And that, Touma noted, is his biggest goal as a coach and
mentor. “Everything we do here, whether on the field or in the classroom, is
about making sure our student athletes have a great chance to succeed when they
graduate.”
For more information, visit
Falcon Baseball on the web.