JSU baseball and Softball have first pitch luncheon

By Kevin Brant
Success on the athletic field can come about in several ways. One way is through excelling in the classroom. Another way is by winning games. Success also comes by making it to a conference championship or further in the post season. This vision was just one of several things talked about at the first pitch luncheon held on Feb. 7 at the stadium club of Burgess-Snow Field at JSU.
At this luncheon, head baseball coach JSU spoke about his expectations for the upcoming baseball season. Also speaking at this event was JSU softball coach Janna McGinnis.
JSU President Dr. William A Meehan opened the event by recognizing County Commissioner Rudy Abbott who attended at this event. “Rudy thank you for what you do for baseball,” Meehan said. “Thank you for the most unselfish act I have ever witnessed here in my years of being with JSU. I have never known anyone who has ever given up their naming rights in order to honor someone else.”
Warren Koegel, the Athletic Director for JSU then stepped up to the microphone to say a few words. “I played football but I am more of a baseball person,” Koegel said. “This year is going to be an exciting year for baseball and softball and I love both sports very much.”
Janna McGinnis the head coach of the JSU softball team spoke on the successes of her team in the past and shared a secret that makes her program successful. “Good assistant coaches make your program successful,” McGinnis said.
Her team is not just successful on the field but also in the classroom. The team average grade point average was 3.3 in the fall semester. McGinnis will depend on the leadership of six seniors who are on the team to help lead them to wins.
McGinnis then shared her goals for this season. “We have simple goals this year,” McGinnis said. “We want to win the OVC Championship then win regionals and then the super-regionals and get to the college world series.”
The JSU softball team is picked to win the OVC Championship this year. This is the fourth consecutive year this team has picked to win the OVC championship in the preseason.
Next up to the microphone was Jim Case the head baseball coach for JSU. He started by speaking about JSU players but made an announcement regarding former JSU baseball player Todd Cunningham. “Todd Cunningham got invited to participate in spring training for the Atlanta Braves,” Case said. “This is one step closer for Cunningham to make it to the big leagues.”
Case then shared his thoughts for the upcoming season. “We hope to play for another championship,” Case said. “JSU Baseball should be about winning championships.”
Case then shared two principles that he instated for his team this school year in order to be successful. “Two principles we have as a team this year are as follows: one is to study hard and go to class. The other one is to practice hard and play hard,” Case said.
Because of these principles, there has been success in the classroom for the baseball team. “In the fall semester we as a team had a 3.13 GPA in the fall semester,” Case said. “Out of 33 on our roster, seven of them had a 4.0 GPA.”
The JSU baseball team is picked to win second in the OVC conference this year in preseason rankings. After both coaches spoke, a short video was played highlighting things from both the baseball and softball teams.