From the Ground Up: Stillman Grows into SIAC's Top Program

                                                                             

 

 

 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – It’s 1:40 p.m., and Stillman sophomore Jack Hazelrig is working on his bunting. Practice doesn’t start for more than a half hour. And never mind that he’s hitting .345 with 32 runs scores, 16 runs batted in and is perfect in seven stolen base attempts.

Hazelrig is just working away. Alone. At least until more of his teammates begin to trickle in – still long before head coach Donnie Crawford arrives and practice is scheduled to begin.

“Even though this is a team sport, you have to work on your game individually,” said Crawford, in his fourth year at Stillman. “It takes extra time before and after practice to get better. Most of the guys are doing it and it makes them better players.”

It’s those values that lie at the center of the Stillman baseball revival. The Tigers went from black college baseball laughingstock, to Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference afterthought, to a team no one in the league can beat.

Heading into a three-game series with Albany State this weekend, Stillman has not lost an SIAC game – in a long time. The Tigers – defending SIAC champs – are 9-0 this season, which has run their streak of consecutive conference wins to 32 games overall and 28 in regular-season play.

“It’s going to come to an end eventually. But to win 32 (straight) games – in any conference, at any level, in any sport – is pretty rewarding, especially being the new kids on the block starting with nothing and working our way up,” Crawford said.

What makes this run more amazing is how Stillman has done it. Crawford, along with his staff and players, has done a solid job turning the baseball field into one of the top facilities in the conference. Aside from the aesthetics, the Tigers have put together a mini-baseball academy to hone players’ fundamentals.

The extra work the team has put in building the facility, and more importantly using it, has paid off. It has been even more crucial this season, as the Tigers have fought through a rash of injuries that has robbed the team of seven players who were on roster for Opening Day.

“We’ve had to move people around and play new positions they wouldn’t have had to play,” Crawford said. “We don’t have 30-40 guys like (Division II stalwarts) West Alabama, Montevallo and Tampa.

“It’s just one of those years. Every time you turn around, someone is hurt.”

Stillman also had to adjust from its shortcomings of last season. In 2007, the Tigers scored nearly 400 runs but did it without much pop as they swatted only 14 home runs. This season, newcomer Graham Wright already has eight and the team has belted 17 round trippers.

“Last year, we had a good core. We just didn’t have a lot of power. That comes with having a strong 3-4-5,” Hazelrig said. “It’s just a testament to Coach bringing in what he knows we need to win.”

That run support has helped offset some pitching woes. Chase Wilson – who tossed a no-hitter against Spring Hill College earlier this season – has six wins and is the only pitcher still in uniform with an earned run average under 5.00. The team’s ERA is nearly three runs higher this year, yet Stillman is still 15-15 on the season, partially due to a staggering non-conference schedule that included Division I Mississippi Valley State and Tampa, which has won the last two Division II crowns.

“We just play the game. We don’t worry about what everyone else does,” Crawford said. “If we play our game and do what we know we can do, we’ll be ok.”

Ok has been enough to dominate the SIAC for the two seasons. But Crawford is building a team he hopes can soon contend for a national title.

For now, though, it’s all about keeping the streak going in conference play.

“It’s always in the back of my mind. We just have to take it one team at a time,” Hazelrig said of the streak. “I made a statement to the team that I want to go out undefeated, and I still have two more years.”

Crawford said he might find out more about his team when – and if – it actually does drop another league contest.

“When it stops, you just start another one. The mark of a good team is how you respond after you lose it,” Crawford said.

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