Claflin Baseball Host the University of North Georgia for 2021 Opening Series

Claflin Baseball Host the University of North Georgia for 2021 Opening Series

Morris Wright

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Panthers to Play an All Peach Belt Conference Schedule

Orangeburg, SC– The Claflin University baseball team will open its 2021 campaign this week as they host the University of North Georgia in a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) series.  The Panthers will host the Nighthawks in a three-game series, starting with a double-header on Thursday (Feb. 4) at 1 pm, followed by the series finale on Friday (Feb. 5) at 12.
 
Claflin will play an all PBC schedule this season consisting of 33 games against the 11 league members.
 
All Claflin home games will be played at Historic Mirmow Field in Orangeburg, SC, and will be contested with no fans in attendance.
 
Claflin, which made its debut in the PBC last season, posted a 4-16 overall record and was 0-11 against league competition in 2020 before play was halted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The four victories came against non-conference opponents with the Panthers claiming a 2-1 series win over Virginia State University followed by victories over Lincoln University (Pa.) and Clark Atlanta University.
 
This season, Claflin will entertain six conference teams in Orangeburg for a total of 18 games. Last season, the Panthers posted a 4-7 mark at Historic Mirmow Field. Over the last three seasons, Claflin has compiled a 33-31 win-loss record at home with its best campaign at 17-8 coming in 2019.
 
Other home series include Georgia College (Feb. 19-20), UNC Pembroke (Feb. 26-27), Georgia Southwestern State University (Mar. 12-13), Columbus State University (Mar. 26-27), and USC Aiken (Apr. 2-3).
 
The Panthers road slate will consist of five three-game series versus Lander University (Feb. 13-14), Francis Marion University (Mar. 5-6), Young Harris College (Mar. 19-20), Flagler College (Apr. 9-10), and Augusta University Apr. (16-17).
 
"Playing an all Peach Belt Conference schedule is going to be exciting and challenging for us," Claflin Head Coach James Randall said. "We don't have any mid-week games, so our pitching staff should be well-rested for each weekend series.
 
"As for our team this season, we will have a lot of new faces. I think we're going to be a much-improved team from last year, especially on defense. We have a lot of arms in the pitching department, so we should be solid there. Offensively, the key will be getting our timing down at the plate and putting the ball in play."
 
Randall will field a team with only two returning starting position players in third basemen Gerardric Dobbs, and centerfielder Steve Joyner. Last year, Dobbs batted .315 with 17 hits and two home runs, while Joyner produced a .345 average at the plate in 13 games and contributed 17 hits.
 
During the short season, the Claflin offense managed 10 home runs, scored 71 runs with 19 doubles, and pounded out 136 hits.
 
On the mound, Randall welcomes back two productive pitchers in Makai Holloway and Dermus Strozier, II.
 
Holloway led the staff in strikeouts with 18 and worked 35 innings. His best outing of the season came in a 3-0 loss to Francis Marion, where the southpaw went the distance, yielding six hits, struck out six batters with two walks.
 
Strozier collected two of the team's four wins last season in relief appearances.
 
Randall will look to several newcomers, all transfers, to make an immediate impact. The group consist of Keyon Smith (Virginia State University), Da'Avion Sumpter (USC-Sumter), Christian Carr (Harper College), Daniel Powell Coastal Alabama) and Mackenze Gay (Spartanburg Methodist).
 
For up-to-date information on Claflin baseball visit the baseball page at athletics.claflin.edu.
 
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