by Trey Fowler

CLEVELAND, GA (TMCSports)- The Southern States Athletic Conference Baseball Banquet was held on Wednesday (4/25) night in Columbus, Georgia on the eve of the 2012 SSAC Conference Tournament and several Bears were recognized as being among the best in the SSAC, which is regarded by many as the best NAIA baseball conference in the entire country.

Leading the Bears in All-Conference accolades was senior Chuck Ghysels.  Ghysels, a University of Maryland Transfer, was regarded by many coaches and scouts as one of the top pitchers in the country and his statistical numbers back up that claim.  Ghysels currently leads the nation in strikeouts and ranks in the top 10 in several other statistical categories.  Along with fellow seniors Chase Nunnally and Kyle York, Ghysels helped lead a Truett-McConnell College pitching staff which currently ranks as the nations' best .  For his efforts, Ghysels garnered both Second Team All Conference honors as well as being named to the SSAC Rawlings Gold Glove team as a pitcher.

Joining Ghysels in attaining post-season awards was senior center-fielder Nick Fryman.  The Acworth, GA native lead the Bears offensively at the plate and his leadership did not stop there as he was the leading vote getter among outfielders in Gold Glove voting which garnered him the coveted spot of Gold Glove center-fielder. 

In addition freshmen Sam Eure, Weston Tate, and Chris Stevens were all named to the SSAC All-Freshman team while junior catcher Buck Harris was awarded the teams' Champions of Character Award for his exemplary performance both on and off the field.

by Trey Fowler

CLEVELAND, GA (TMCSports)-The Bears returned to action on Monday (4/23) as they traveled on the road to Waleska, GA to take on Reinhardt University.  Taking the ball on a windy afternoon for the Bears was Chase Nunnally who would be toeing the rubber for the final time in his TMC career. 

The motto for this Bears team the last several weeks has been to "finish strong" and Nunnally did just that throwing a complete game allowing only three earned runs on the night.  Unfortunately the Bears offense wasn't able to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and fell by a final score of 4-2.  Coach Fowler had this to say about Nunnally's performance.  "I've encouraged these guys to finish strong and Chase did just that tonight.  He has been a tremendous asset to our program and his contributions will be missed greatly.  Chase has been through some injuries here at TMC but has continued to work hard and persevere.  I am glad to see he could end his career on a positive note with another very impressive performance."

Leading the way offensively for the Bears on the night were Sam Eure and Brett Clifton who each had two hits while Nick Fryman and Ross Roberts each added an RBI. 

The Bears will close out the regular season on Tuesday (4/24) as they travel to Toccoa Falls for a single nine inning game beginning at 3 p.m.

by Trey Fowler

CLEVELAND, GA (TMCSports)- The Truett-McConnell College Baseball Team closed SSAC Conference play over the weekend as they traveled to Mobile, AL to take on Spring Hill College. 

In game one the Bears sent Chuck Ghysels to the mound and the senior turned in another impressive performance as he worked six innings, allowing only a single earned run, while striking out nine.  Game one remained tied into extra innings where the Badgers of Spring Hill beat out an infield hit with two outs to edge the Bears 4-3.

Kyle York started for the Bears in game two and turned in a dominating performance throwing a complete game on only 93 pitches while allowing only a single run.  The offense got all the support they would need in game two in the second inning as they scored three times thanks to RBIs from Ross Roberts, Nick Fryman, and Johnathon Wilson en route to the 3-1 win.

The Bears looked to ride the momentum from the game two win into a series win as they took the field for game three on Saturday.  Unfortunately for the Bears it was not to be as the Badgers struck for four runs in the third inning to take a lead they would not relinquish as they went on to win the game by a 7-2 final score.  The Badgers won despite an impressive performance at the plate from junior Brett Clifton who went 4-4 with a double.

The Bears will close out their season on Monday (4/23) and Tuesday (4/24) as they travel to Reinhardt and Toccoa Falls respectively.  Monday's (4/23) game begins at 5 p.m. with Tuesday's (4/24) season finale starting at 3 p.m.

by Trey Fowler

CLEVELAND,GA (TMCSports)- Dominant starting performances by seniors Chuck Ghysels and Kyle York on senior day were not enough as the Bears were swept in a DH by the visiting Rams of the University of Mobile by final scores of 1-0 and 2-0. 

Ghysels started game one on the mound for the Bears and much as he has done all year silenced the opposition's bats.  Ghysels, who ranks top 10 in the nation statistically in ERA, strikeouts, and strikeouts per nine innings, was impressive yet again as he worked a complete game allowing only three hits, zero earned runs, and striking out 11.  The game marked the sixth time in eleven starts that Ghysels has struck out 10 or more batters this season.  Unfortunately for Ghysels and the Bears the offense was held to just one hit and lack of execution on a sacrifice bunt in the 3rd inning allowed the Rams lone unearned run to stand up in the 1-0 defeat.

In game two the Bears turned to two more senior hurlers as York and Chase Nunnally combined to work seven more innings without allowing an earned run while striking out six.  Freshman Weston Tate and Sophomore Kirby Alls would continue the solid pitching on the day working the final two innings without allowing a run.  The visiting Rams managed to score single unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings en route to the 2-0 victory.  Leading the offense in game two was Buck Harris and Ryan Farmer who each added two hits.

The Bears will return to action on Tuesday as they travel to Waleska, GA for a single game with Reinhardt College beginning at 6 p.m..