Percy AbellThe 2009 season is the 12th year for head coach Percy Abell at the helm of the Hornet baseball program.
Abell has led the Hornets to seven-straight 20-plus win seasons, topped by the 2008 team that went 32-13. That win total of 32 also eclipsed the Lynchburg College single season record for wins in a season. In 2004, the Hornets were awarded as statistical national champions in the categories of batting average, slugging percentage and runs per game.
During his tenure at LC, the Hornets have been ranked as high as No. 17 and No. 20 in the ABCA Coaches National poll, along with receiving votes numerous times. He has coached five All-Americans along with one Academic All-American. He has also mentored 13 All-Region performers and one South Region Player of the Year. Abell has led the Hornets to seven ODAC Tournaments, reaching the championship game once, while guiding LC to the NCAA South Regional in 2008. He has a career mark of 239-189, posting a 109-79 mark in conference. Six former players now have jobs coaching collegiate baseball around the country as assistants or head coaches.
A 1999 inductee into the Lynchburg College Sports Hall of Fame, Abell is a 1987 graduate of LC as well as an all-ODAC selection in 1984 and 1987. He was team captain and team MVP twice each, and was named all-region in 1987 when he hit .466 with 13 doubles, 29 runs, and 21 RBI. Abell started all 113 games he played in and ranks second in all-time career batting average at .393. He also served as an assistant with the Hornets from 1988-89.
Abell was head coach at William Campbell High School in Naruna, Virginia, from 1991-97. He led his 1996 William Campbell team to a 20-4 record and a berth in the Virginia High School League state playoffs. Abell was named Region III Coach of the Year in 1996, District Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996, and Area Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996.
Abell is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia, and a 1983 graduate of Western Albemarle High School. He and his wife Amy, a 1997 Lynchburg College graduate, have two children, Shawn and Kelsey.
Dennis KnightThis is Dennis Knight’s sixth year working with the Hornets baseball team, serving as the pitching coach. Knight spent three years as an assistant baseball coach at rival Hampden-Sydney College, working with the pitchers and catchers.
Knight spent 13 years as the head baseball coach for Heritage High School and he was a camp director for the Lynchburg Hillcats baseball camp. From 1998-2000, he also served as an associate scout to the Cincinnati Reds, where he assisted the head scout in evaluating baseball players. He played one season of professional baseball for the Single A team of the Texas Rangers, and was drafted in the 21st round as a pitcher.
Knight earned his bachelor’s degree in social sciences from James Madison University in 1985. He was the team’s Most Valuable Player twice, earned All-Conference honors as a third baseman for two years and participated in the 1983 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Knight and his wife, Annette reside in Rustburg, VA. They have two sons, Joseph and Jacob.
Corey PalugaPaluga returns for his third year as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the Hornets after spending four years behind the plate for LC. He served as a backup in his freshman and sophomore seasons, but emerged as a part-time starter as an upperclassman. Known as a strong defensive catcher, Paluga only committed two errors in his career and threw out forty-three percent of attempted base stealers during that time. He graduated in the spring of 2006 with a degree in mathematics and is pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership. Paluga will continue to work with the catchers, outfielders, and hitters.
Corey can be reached via email at paluga@lynchburg.edu.
For more information about Lynchburg College Baseball, please contact head coach Percy Abell at (434) 544-8496 or by email at abell@lynchburg.edu.
