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William Gardner enters his second season as Head Coach of the UMES baseball program. The Hawks finished 10-45 (5-13 MEAC) in his first season at the helm. UMES lost 12 players from last season, five to graduation, including Dustin Longchamps and Eric Gaines who both signed to play for the New York State League's Utica Brewmasters. Also gone is Joel Gonzalez, an All-MEAC Second Team member, who exhausted his eligibility after the 2007 campaign. Gonzalez was mentioned on the Brooks Wallace Awards Watch List for majority of the season. Gaines and Gonzalez were a major part of the Hawk offense as they combined for a batting average of .323, with 121 hits, 70 runs, 19 doubles, 48 RBIs, 57 walks, 27 stolen bases, a .403 slugging percentage, and a .425 on-base percentage. Longchamps had a stellar senior season on the mound in which he finished as the team leader in wins (4), games started (16), innings pitched (112), strikeouts (101), and lowest opponent's batting average (.253). Longchamps, a MEAC All-Tournament Team Selection, helped guide the Hawks to an upset of the second seeded Florida A&M Rattlers in eight innings of work. Prior to taking his current post at UMES, Gardner served as the assistant coach at Delaware State University (DSU), where under his tutelage the Hornets tallied 37 wins in two seasons. In 2005, DSU finished third in the MEAC with a 19-27 overall record. The Hornets ended the 2006 campaign with an 18-37-2 mark, falling to UMES in the MEAC Tournament. Before his arrival at DSU, Gardner spent three years as Athletic Director and Associate Head Baseball Coach at Anne Arundel Community College. His Pioneer squad went 62-65 from 2001-2003. Gardner began his coaching career at Bowie State University where he served as the Head Baseball Coach and Compliance Coordinator from 1998-2001. Gardner compiled a 51-70 record in three seasons there with his most successful campaign coming in 2001 when the team finished 26-22 overall. Coach Gardner also spent three summers coaching in the Clark-Griffith Collegiate Summer League with the Maryland Battlecats and the Takoma Park Thunderbolts. Some notable names that played under Gardner are current Major League Baseball players, first baseman Mark Texeira of the Atlanta Braves and closer Jonathon Papelbon from the Boston Red Sox. Gardner comes to UMES with other baseball knowledge as well, working brief stints in the front offices of the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles minor league organizations in addition to serving as Director of Operations for Maryland Baseball LLP, Inc. and as an instructor at numerous camps and clinics throughout the region. A 1993 graduate of Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., Gardner received two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Administration and Physical Education. He currently resides in Dover, Del. with his wife of ten years, Andrea, and their three children, nine-year old Drew, five-year old Cole, and one-year old daughter, Kendall. |
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