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HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman baseball program will be well represented at the FHU Athletics Hall of Fame induction on Friday, Sept. 10.

Chuck Box and Patrick O'Sullivan will join 64 others in the hall of fame and will be the first inductees from the baseball program since 2002.  Box enters as a coach while O'Sullivan enters as a player.

The two will be officially inducted on Sept. 10 following the Hall of Fame Dinner, which begins at 6:00 PM.  Tickets to the dinner and induction are $10 and may be reserved in advance by contacting the FHU athletics office.

Box worked as an assistant baseball coach under Roy Sharp from 1989-1990 and again from 1992-1993 before succeeding Sharp as the head coach for the 1994 season.  By his third year at the helm, the Lions had become a contender in the TranSouth Conference.  In 1996, FHU won a school-record 36 games and qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in school history.  The following season would prove to be even more successful as the Lions went 44-10, winning the TranSouth Conference regular season championship and reaching as high as No. 7 in the NAIA national coaches poll.  Box followed with a 37-win season in 1998, finishing off a three-year combined record of 117-48.

Following the 1998 season, Box left Freed-Hardeman to take the head coaching job at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College.  In his four seasons there, he compiled a record of 148-57 and was ranked No. 1 nationally in 2000.  Box returned to Freed-Hardeman in 2003 and led the Lions for two more seasons, winning 29 games both years.  He took a brief spell from the coaching ranks when he became the department's Director of Athletic Advancement in 2005 and remained in that role until returning to coaching in 2007 at Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss., where he led the Patriots to three consecutive state championships from 2007-2009.

In his 15 years of coaching, Box has accumulated an overall record of 473-244 and has garnered nine coach of the year awards.   He has coached 67 all-conference selections, nine All-Americans and has had 11 players who went on to play professional baseball.

O'Sullivan was recruited to Freed-Hardeman University out of Orchard Park, Ill., and wasted no time in becoming one of the best hitters to ever put on a Lion uniform.  During his freshman season, O'Sullivan hit .339 with a then-school record eight home runs.  His numbers only got better from there as he went on to set several school records during his three seasons at FHU.  At the time of his induction in 2010, he still holds the records for single season batting average, on-base percentage, doubles and extra base hits and the career records for batting average, home runs and slugging percentage.   He was a two-time all-conference and all-region selection and was named an NAIA All-American in 1998 as well as the Tennessee Small College Player of the Year.

O'Sullivan transferred to Austin Peay State University for his senior season, where he hit .370 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs.  In June 1999, O'Sullivan was drafted in the thirty-fourth round by the New York Mets.  He has also been under contract with the Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres.  For the better part of his career, he has played south of the border in the Mexican League. In his six years in Mexico, O'Sullivan has played for the cities of Reynosa, San Luis Potosi, Monclova, Veracruz, Tijuana, and Navajoa.  In 2004, he hit a career-best 37 homers in 143 games. O'Sullivan hit at least 21 home runs each year from 2004 to 2008. In his 12 year career in professional baseball, he has hit over 200 home runs while posting a .320 career batting average.

"Patrick was certainly one of the most talented players to play at Freed-Hardeman, a real game changer," said Box, who recruited and coached O'Sullivan while at FHU.  "However, what really separated Patrick was his passion for the game, the studious way he approached his craft, and his unmatched competitiveness.  He was a pleasure to work with and he elevated our program to a different level."

Box photo courtesy Chuck Box/Jackson Prep
O'Sullivan photo courtesy Rockford Riverhawks