Maryland JUCO Team Preview: Allegany College of Maryland Trojans
February 23, 2021
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JUCO programs across the state of Maryland are eager to get back on the field after their season's were cut short by Covid-19 in 2020. As the calendar quickly turns and teams begin to ramp up for their season's to begin in early March, we begin our coverage of the Maryland JUCO Conference with a preseason preview of all fourteen schools. In each preview, we will take a look back at the shortened 2020 season, examine key players that return and those that have moved on or left the program, look at new faces, and finally take a sneak peak at whats ahead for the 2021 season. Today we continue our preseason previews with a look at the Allegany College of Maryland Trojans.
Allegany COllege of Maryland 2021 SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach: Mike Carter (2nd Season)
Mascot: Trojans
2020 Record: 7-7
2020 MD JUCO Finish: N/A
2020 DII Region XX Finish: N/A
Twitter Handle: @ACMSports
CLICK HERE to view the Allegany College of Maryland Baseball Website
CLICK HERE to view the Allegany College of Maryland 2021 Baseball Schedule
CLICK HERE to view the Allegany College of Maryland 2021 Baseball Roster
Returning Starters: 12
PLAYER | POS | GP | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB |
Jason Altuve | SS | 5 | .143 | .294 | 143 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Brendan Brady | SS | 14 | .415 | .479 | .512 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Andrew Butts | 3B/OF | 8 | .095 | .296 | .143 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Robert Fernandez | C | 9 | .208 | .345 | .250 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Matthew Gonzalez | 3B | 8 | .148 | .207 | .333 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Eli Lashley | OF | 10 | .368 | .586 | .421 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Wyatt Lepley | 1B | 12 | .349 | .378 | .395 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
Garrett Pullium | 1B/OF | 11 | .360 | .448 | .600 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Gavin Rush | SS/OF | 13 | .160 | .400 | .200 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
Gage Shaffer | 1B/OF | 11 | .405 | .488 | .865 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 1 |
JT Stevenson | OF | 9 | .324 | .343 | .324 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Noah Zimmerman | 2B | 10 | .400 | .429 | .567 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
Returning Pitchers: 4
PLAYER | POS | APP | W | L | S | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA |
Wyatt Lepley | RHP | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 |
Garrett Pullium | LHP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17.1 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 4.67 |
Gage Shaffer | RHP | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 |
Noah Zimmerman | RHP | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Key Losses
PLAYER | POS | GP | AVG | OBP | SLG | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB |
Casey White | INF | 12 | .341 | .400 | .409 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 |
PLAYER | POS | APP | W | L | S | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | ERA |
None Listed |
Top Newcomers
Nick Berryman RHP/C Keswick Christian School (FL)
John Dhima RHP Urbana (MD)
Thomas Fogle RHP Walkersville (MD)
Brandon Gomez RHP Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy (NY)
Ethan Huffman RHP Viera (FL)
Trent King Surrey Christina School (BC)
J.R. Luttrell LHP Hedgesville (WV)
Justin Wobb C Harrison (GA)
Committed Players on Current Roster
None at this time.
2021 Season Snapshot
Former Allegany alum Mike Carter's first season as skipper was short-lived as Covid-19 ended everyone's year prematurely. The Trojans were .500 through the first fourteen games with a very young squad, returning just one piece of the starting lineup in 2019 (JT Stevenson) and three arms on the mound. While fourteen games didn't offer much more in the way of experience in 2020, the extra time has afforded Carter the opportunity to add another solid incoming freshmen class to mix with the twelve returning starters and four returning arms in year two.
Stevenson, Gage Shaffer, Garrett Pullium, Noah Zimmerman, Eli Lashley, Wyatt Lepley, and Brendan Brady headline a strong core group of returners from last year's everyday lineup. All of which were off to a great start at the plate, each hitting over .324 in that fourteen game span. Fellow returners Gavin Rush, Jason Altuve, Andrew Butts, Robert Fernandez, and Matthew Gonzalez along with freshmen Nick Berryman and Justin Wobb round out what looks to be a fun offense to watch with plenty of fire-power.
On the bump, Carter has assembled a stable of arms to provide depth behind the one-two punch of Pullium and Shaffer. Look for Lepley and Zimmerman to both get opportunities again this season in addition to key freshmen John Dhima, Thomas Fogle, Brandon Gomez, Ethan Huffman, J.R. Luttrell, and Berryman.
Carter is no stranger to understanding how to navigate the long JUCO season and prepare his teams for post-season play. In nine seasons prior to Allegany, Carter took CCBC Essex to six straight NJCAA Region XX DII Final Four's (2013-2018), winning it all in 2016 and further advancing to the NJCAA DII World Series in 2018 for the school's first appearance back in Enid, Oklahoma after 26 years. The Trojans open up Maryland JUCO Conference play Saturday, March 6th at home against CCBC Catonsville before traveling the next weekend to Harford CC and finish the opening month with eight NJCAA Region XX DII games in total. Expect this team to grow as the season progresses and don't be surprised if come tournament time they make a splash.