A new era for Furman baseball

It will be an odd sight in Furman's dugout Friday when the Paladins host Dayton in the 2017 season opener. For the first time since 1993, Ron Smith won't be there guiding the Paladins.
After 23 seasons and 580 career wins as head coach, Smith resigned last June.
A month later, Brett Harker was selected as Furman's new head coach. Ever since Harker's promotion, there's been an excitement level within the program that goes beyond what's typically experienced after a new coaching hire.
Perhaps the most exciting offseason news came when Harker announced that Leo Mazzone had joined the program as a special advisor.
From 1990-2005, Mazzone helped the Atlanta Braves win 14 division titles as the pitching coach. With the Braves, he coached Baseball Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. Mazzone, who wrapped up his major league career as pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles in 2006-07, was named the No. 1 assistant coach of all-time by ESPN.com.

Harker added pitching coach Kaleb Davis and volunteer assistant Geoff Kimmel this offseason, while retaining Taylor Harbin, who joined Smith's staff prior to the 2016 season.
Improvements to Latham Stadium continued this offseason with the addition of a 13x38-foot video scoreboard, which was previously used by the Greenville Drive. It was also announced that approximately 880 new chair-back seats will be installed in March. They will replace the current 250 seats and cover nearly all of the stadium's concrete stands.
There's plenty of reason for excitement between the lines this year as well. Furman returns 13 pitchers with collegiate experience, headlined by reigning Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year Will Gaddis. Gaddis, who's scheduled to start Friday's opener, went 10-3 with a 3.45 ERA and had 92 strikeouts and 20 walks in 101 2/3 innings last season.
Sophomore left-hander Grant Schuermann, who missed all of the 2016 season following shoulder surgery, is scheduled to start Saturday's game. Senior Matthew Quarles, a Greenwood native, is slated to start Sunday's series finale.
The Paladins return 11 position players with experience, including eight who started at least 28 games last season. Five of those players hit at least .308 last year led by 2016 SoCon Freshman of the Year Jabari Richards. Despite missing a month of action, Richards led Furman in batting (.343), home runs (10), triples (3) and stolen bases (10).
Gaddis and Richards were each named to this year's preseason All-SoCon first team, while sophomore third baseman/pitcher Jake Crawford made the second team. Crawford hit .308 with a homer and 31 RBIs last season, and posted a 1.47 ERA with five saves over his final 10 pitching outings.
Furman returns three key players who suffered season-ending injuries in 2016: senior catcher Cameron Whitehead (.340, 4 HR, 20 RBI), senior outfielder Carter Grote (.318/6/28) and junior first baseman Brandon Elmy (.328/1/21).
Following the loss of Elmy last season, Deon Sanders was pressed into duty at first base and shined at his new position. In addition to solid defense, Sanders provided some mammoth home runs and tied for second on the team with six homers in 109 at-bats.
Unfortunately the Paladins will be without Sanders this season. Sanders, a running back on the football team, tore knee ligaments last August forcing him out of the 2016 football season as well.
Furman was a consensus fourth-place pick in the SoCon preseason poll and picked up one first-place vote in the media poll.
First pitch for Friday's game is 4 p.m., while games Saturday and Sunday are each scheduled for 1 p.m.