Pay no attention to FSCC's record
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
May 13, 2004
Faulkner State (Ala.) Community College head coach Wayne Larker sounds a little like Professor Marvel at the end of "The Wizard of Oz."
But unlike the fictional displaced Kansan who became the wizard in the Emerald City, Larker isn't telling people to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. He is trying to keep people from looking at his team's record 25-29-2.
Faulkner State's season began with a 9-5 win over Okaloosa Walton (Fla.) Community College on Feb. 13, but the Golden Suns quickly lost steam, losing eight straight games and tying one before picking up a second win in the back end of a doubleheader against Wallace State (Ala.) Community College on Feb. 28.
The Golden Suns didn't have their first winning streak of the season until the second week of March, winning four games from March 7-10. The streak pushed the team's record to 7-13-1.
Faulkner State suffered losing streaks of five games, with a tie during that stretch, and four games this season.
The Golden Suns have 23 freshmen on their 35-man roster.
Faulkner State's youth movement is reminiscent of MCC's roster last year. The Eagles had 16 freshmen on their 25-man roster when they beat the Golden Suns to win the super regional last year.
After taking their lumps for most of the 2004 season, the Golden Suns started to change their fortunes with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
On April 16, Faulkner State notched a 3-2 win over Central Alabama, the team the Golden Suns defeated Monday to win the Region XXII championship.
Central Alabama snatched the second game of the teams three-game series 2-1, and the Golden Suns were blown out 10-1 in the third game of the series.
Faulkner State followed its two losses to Central Alabama winning its next five games, but lost its final two contests of the regular season.
The Golden Suns followed the two losses with a 2-1 victory over Wallace State in the Region XXII play-in game last Thursday, and they won in a rematch against Central Alabama last Friday in the first game of the regional tournament.
Faulkner State went on to win its next two games, both by scores of 5-4, to take the region title and earn a berth into the super regional.
The Golden Suns will look to their small contingent of sophomores to lead the team to a berth into the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
Sophomore outfielders Michael Orso, Julian Brown and Jason Wilkes, along with second baseman Trey Stewart will be expected to help guide the young team through the weekend series. Wilkes was recently inserted into the lineup in center field, and he clubbed a three-run homer to help Faulkner State defeat Central Alabama in the Region XXII championship game.
Faulkner State will also rely on a simple formula given to them by Larker, defining what it takes to win on the diamond.
