With 32 wins last season, the Lions had another run at a successful year that included wins over topped-ranked opponents. Entering the 2009 season Lion head coach Patrick McCarthy, starting his fifth season at the helm of the program, has brought in more players and more improvements to the baseball program on and off the field. With construction on a $250,000 clubhouse expected to be completed in late spring, the Lions are excited about their new home near Carnes Field. FHU has also introduced a junior varsity program to help build a successful varsity program and get the Lions on a level playing field with a fully-funded scholarship program.
In 2008 the Lions saw their highest draft pick ever taken in the MLB draft as Josh Hester was selected in the 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and began play with the Batavia Muckdogs over the summer. "I am proud of Josh's accomplishments and he deserves a shot in professional ball," said McCarthy. "Josh has made us proud and we look forward to seeing more good things from him."
2008 also brought the Lions their second-highest ranking in the NAIA polls in over 10 years as they checked in at No. 24 in the poll released on Apr. 9. "We are excited to get into the national picture," said McCarthy. "It is good for our guys to get the recognition they deserve. Now we need to stick together this year and finish even stronger." The Lions finished tied for third place in the TranSouth Conference Tournament held in May at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn.
Once again the Lions look to build on their success and regional rankings from last year. With a 22 new faces on this years club the Lions are working their way through finding starters last fall. "The first thing I want to do is put together a group of guys who can compete for a national championship. If we can win in our conference, then we can win a national championship," said McCarthy. This will be the first season McCarthy's team is made up of his entire recruiting classes.
The Lions had an impressive 2007 season. With a win over No. 5 Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., McCarthy and the Lions knew they had a club that could get to the post season. Into week seven of league play, the Lions sat idle in the fourth place spot until a sweep came in Batesville, Ark., over Lyon College. The Scots, then ranked No. 10 in the NAIA, fell out of the polls as FHU earned a spot at No. 23 following one of the biggest conference sweeps in FHU's history. With those wins, the Lions moved into sole possession of second place with three conference weekends remaining. Despite two key injuries to the pitching staff the Lions earned a win over seventh ranked Trevecca Nazarene and finished 2007 in third place with one of the best winning percentages in conference play in history at 17-10 (.630).
In four seasons, McCarthy has posted an overall record of 125-92 (.576) and has led the Freed-Hardeman University baseball program to third, fourth sixth place finishes in one of the toughest conferences in the country. In each of the last four seasons, three out of seven TranSouth teams were ranked in the NAIA's top 25 while two other teams received votes in the national poll. No other conference in the country had more than two teams in the NAIA top 25 national poll. For the second time in history of the conference, four teams in the TranSouth made it to the six-team Region XI tournament in Lebanon, Tenn. In four short years at the helm McCarthy's Lions have been on the brink of breaking into the Region XI Tournament, a feat that has not been accomplished in nine years since Freed-Hardeman University made their only appearance in post season history in 1997.
McCarthy and his staff have changed the direction of the Freed-Hardeman baseball program. From five consecutive last place finishes from 2000-2004 to the top third of the conference in 2007, it is clear the program is out of the cellar. "One of the hardest things to overcome is changing a losing culture," said McCarthy. "When a program has lost for five years in a row, everything has to be changed and it does not happen over night."
The most important aspect of the game in McCarthy's mind is defense. "Our emphasis on recruiting has been to find defensive-minded players," he said. "We must get guys in here that have a passion for defensive work." It is clear that pitching and defense are once again the focus for the Lions this year. "We are not satisfied with being good, we want to be great," McCarthy said.
McCarthy played at Freed-Hardeman as a catcher from 1998-99. In 1998, he played for then-head coach Chuck Box, handling an FHU pitching staff that set the school record for strikeouts (301) while aiding his team to 37 wins. Before coming to FHU, he played two seasons at North Florida Community College. As a freshman, McCarthy played for head coach Gregg Fraddy. During his second season at North Florida, McCarthy played for Lee Kyurkendall, who is now the head coach at Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss. McCarthy received his bachelor's degree in history at Freed-Hardeman University in 1999. In 2002 he received his master's degree in social science at Mississippi College. He is married to the former Katie Beth McKenzie of Henderson, Tenn. They have two sons: five-year-old Miller and two-year-old Andre.
J. D. Flowers is entering his first season as an assistant coach of the Lion baseball team after serving three years as the graduate assistant coach.
In 2006 Flowers coached first base and assisted with the work of the infielders. On top of his coaching duties, he also assisted with the upkeep of the baseball field as well as the soccer and softball fields. In 2007 Flowers took over full-time duty with the infielders. During the 2007 campaign, the Lions' infield fielding percentage improved by seven points, with the returning infielders raising their fielding percentage by an average of 33 points. In 2008 Flowers helped the Lions lead the conference in chances per game (34.92), putouts per game (23.31), and assists per game (9.77).This season, Flowers will continue working full-time with the infielders and coaching first base for the varsity team. Along with his varsity duties, he will also be the head coach of the junior varsity program.
Flowers joined the coaching staff after playing for the Lions from 2002-2005. For his career he hit .365 with 44 doubles, 94 RBIs, 10 homeruns, and 59 stolen bases while playing at six different positions. He ranks in the top 10 in 10 categories of career records including batting average, runs scored, doubles, triples, stolen bases, hits, at-bats, games played, walks, and slugging percentage. He also holds the single season record for at-bats (203) and is second on the all-time single season hits list (82). As a sophomore in 2003, Flowers earned team MVP honors while hitting .388, with 10 doubles, 3 homeruns, a slugging percentage of .592, and a .471 on-base percentage. During his senior season in 2005, he earned second team All-TranSouth honors when he hit .404 with 18 doubles, 3 homeruns, 44 RBIs, 27 stolen bases, and an on-base percentage of .483.
While playing for the Lions, Flowers helped a team that had finished in last place of the TranSouth Conference for five years in a row climb to a fourth place finish his senior year. Along with that fourth place finish in 2005, the Lions finished above .500 (8-7) in the conference for the first time since 1999, and earned its first postseason win since the same year. Flowers earned his degree in Physical Education as well as an add-on endorsement in Special Education from FHU in 2005. He earned a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from FHU in 2008.
