The Chattanooga State Tigers baseball program readies itself to begin yet another spring season. This one will mark the 14^th one under Head Coach Greg Dennis ( 483-217 at Chattanooga State ).

Assistant Coach Joe Wingate, who is now in his 9^th year along-side Dennis, was recently elected to the Hamilton County School Board and the staff added a new member in Justin Parrish, who comes to the Tigers from far-away Oregon.

Coach Dennis said, “We were extremely excited for Joe, his family and the Hamilton County School System. He has done a marvelous job helping our program grow and I am sure he will do the same thing there. Justin is a super addition to our staff and has already made an enormous impact through, not just on the field instruction, but also, off the field recruiting.”

The team has gone through the usual rigorous fall season and challenging off season that is a trademark of the Dennis-led Tigers program. While he always relishes speaking of the successes by his players and program on the field, Dennis is also quick to point out the successes off of the field too. “We had a really, really good fall semester in the classroom this fall as our guys achieved a 3.36 team GPA and had 4 players make 4.0’s. We had 15 guys on Dean’s List and 18 total guys over a 3.0 GPA. This doesn’t happen easily and it is a testimony to the on-going commitment here at Chattanooga State towards our students as well as our student-athletes. We have had outstanding success’ both in the classroom and on the field and this year’s guys have worked hard to continue that trend.”

Coach Dennis said, "The Tigers are comprised of a nice blend of new and returning players. Sophomore presence is felt both on the mound and out in the field. 2^nd Team All TCCAA Pitcher Hugo Casilla ( 8-3, 3.67 ERA, 79 K’s ) leads the staff, while Cale Thornton ( 7-1, 3.22 ERA ) and Andy Rivera ( 5-4, 4.97 ERA, 64 K’s ) are also returning. These three guys started virtually all of the conference games last year and are looking to garner big innings this year. Zack Wilcox ( 4-2, 4.94 ERA ) also returns and is hoping to increase his role from last year of middle relief and occasional spot-starting. Freshmen additions include: Joe Dalmolin ( All State from Alvin, Texas ), Cole Grosvenor ( Tr. NW Florida State ), Ryan Margolis ( HS-Miami, FL ), Scheldon Paulk ( Red Shirt last year ), Alex Watkins ( HS-Marietta, GA, and Cristobal Arenas ( HS-Miami, FL ). “Coach Wingate is working with a solid group this year and we expect big things out of this group as a whole. Casilla, Thornton, Rivera, Wilcox and Paulk should give us a solid core of guys that have had some experience and Dalmolin, Grosvenor, and Watkins have looks exceptionally well at times” says Dennis of his pitching staff.

"From a position standpoint the Tigers return two guys from a very solid group last year. They lose Brandon Melendez ( Honorable Mention NJCAA All American ), Danny Sirven ( Runner Up for TCCAA Player of the Year ), Hunter Parker ( 2^nd Team All-Conference OF ) and Nate Schmal ( 2-year starter in OF ) from last year’s squad.

“Obviously, losing those guys is big and there are big shoes to fill in all 4 of those guys and the production they gave us on a regular basis last spring. We like the guys we have brought in and the options that they are bringing in to our program this spring.

”Conner Morro and Nico Lares are both starters that will return this year and be counted on to give stability in a new lineup. Morro hit .301 last year while holding down the Shortstop position. Meanwhile, Lares hit a robust .348 last year and had 43 RBI’s and 16 extra base hits for the Tigers. Lares is battling at 1B against two potentially good hitters in Matt Carscadden ( Fr. Canada ) and Troy Weatherly ( Tr. NW Florida State ). At second base, the battle is between Jared Ruan ( Fr. Clinton HS ), Ethan Cummins ( Tr. St. Louis University ), and Tyler Maskill ( Fr. Hendersonville TN ). While Morro looks to hold down shortstop, at 3B Ryan Ricer ( Tr. Marshall Univ. ) and Logan Haga ( Fr. Ringgold, GA ) are battling for playing time. In the outfield newcomer Brian Frias ( Tr. St. Thomas Univ. ), Brody Thomasson ( Tr. Motlow State ) and Brent Richey ( Fr. Knoxville, TN ) have shown to have a leg-up on the competition. Behind the plate Nick Fahler ( So. Chattanooga, TN ) is leading the charge with Brady Duncan ( Fr. Knoxville, TN ) and Lares also looking to share time.

“Overall, we like the group that we have and certainly like the effort they have put into becoming a solid JUCO team. Collegiate Baseball Magazine Pre-Season ranked us 16^th in the nation and I don’t know if we are deserving of that but I do know that these guys are excited and determined right now to continue to achieve for this program at a high level. We are hopeful that we will keep our eyes forward and ready ourselves for the challenges that are in front of us and show a determination that is reflective of the previous players and coaches that have served this college.”

The Tigers open their spring season on Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. with a single 9-inning game against Georgia Highland College at Lake Point Complex in Emerson, Ga. Their first home game is on Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. against West Georgia Tech.

Date		Opponent		Status
2/03/2017 3:00 PM EST		at Georgia Highlands College		-
2/04/2017 2:00 PM EST		at Georgia Highlands College		-
2/04/2017 5:00 PM EST		at Georgia Highlands College		-
2/08/2017 1:00 PM EST		vs. West Georgia Technical College		-
2/08/2017 3:30 PM EST		vs. West Georgia Technical College		-
2/11/2017 1:15 PM EST		at West Georgia Technical College		-
2/11/2017 3:45 PM EST		at West Georgia Technical College		-
2/14/2017 1:00 PM EST		at Covenant College JV		-
2/14/2017 3:00 PM EST		at Covenant College JV		-
2/16/2017 1:00 PM EST		at Shorter College JV		-
2/16/2017 3:00 PM EST		at Shorter College JV		-
2/20/2017 1:00 PM EST		vs. Piedmont College JV		-
2/20/2017 3:00 PM EST		vs. Piedmont College JV		-
2/25/2017 12:00 PM EST		vs. Cleveland State Community College		-
2/25/2017 2:00 PM EST		vs. Cleveland State Community College		-
2/27/2017 3:00 PM EST		vs. Covenant College JV		-
2/27/2017 5:00 PM EST		vs. Covenant College JV		-
3/01/2017 1:00 PM EST		at Bryan College JV		-
3/01/2017 3:00 PM EST		at Bryan College JV		-
3/03/2017 2:00 PM CST		at Motlow State Community College		-
3/04/2017 12:00 PM CST		at Motlow State Community College		-
3/04/2017 2:00 PM CST		at Motlow State Community College		-
3/08/2017 1:00 PM EST		vs. Bryan College JV		-
3/08/2017 3:00 PM EST		vs. Bryan College JV		-
3/10/2017 2:00 PM EST		vs. Roane State Community College		-
3/11/2017 12:00 PM EST		vs. Roane State Community College		-
3/11/2017 2:00 PM EST		vs. Roane State Community College		-
3/12/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Marian University		-
3/15/2017 1:00 PM EDT		at Piedmont College JV		-
3/15/2017 3:00 PM EDT		at Piedmont College JV		-
3/17/2017 2:00 PM EDT		at Cleveland State Community College		-
3/18/2017 12:00 PM EDT		at Cleveland State Community College		-
3/18/2017 2:00 PM EDT		at Cleveland State Community College		-
3/24/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Jackson State Community College		-
3/25/2017 12:00 PM EDT		vs. Jackson State Community College		-
3/25/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Jackson State Community College		-
3/26/2017 12:00 PM EDT		vs. Lakeland Community College		-
3/29/2017 3:00 PM EDT		vs. Covenant College JV		-
3/29/2017 5:00 PM EDT		vs. Covenant College JV		-
3/31/2017 1:00 PM CDT		at Southwest Tennessee Community College		-
4/01/2017 12:00 PM CDT		at Southwest Tennessee Community College		-
4/01/2017 2:00 PM CDT		at Southwest Tennessee Community College		-
4/07/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Columbia State Community College		-
4/08/2017 12:00 PM EDT		vs. Columbia State Community College		-
4/08/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Columbia State Community College		-
4/11/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Hiwassee College		-
4/13/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Dyersburg State Community College		-
4/14/2017 12:00 PM EDT		vs. Dyersburg State Community College		-
4/14/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Dyersburg State Community College		-
4/17/2017 12:00 PM CDT		vs. Southern Union State Community College (neutral)		-
4/17/2017 2:00 PM CDT		vs. Southern Union State Community College (neutral)		-
4/21/2017 2:00 PM CDT		at Volunteer State Community College		-
4/22/2017 12:00 PM CDT		at Volunteer State Community College		-
4/22/2017 3:00 PM CDT		at Volunteer State Community College		-
4/25/2017 2:00 PM EDT		at Hiwassee College		-
4/27/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Walters State Community College		-
4/28/2017 12:00 PM EDT		vs. Walters State Community College		-
4/28/2017 2:00 PM EDT		vs. Walters State Community College		-
Conference event Regional event