Baseball looking to carry momentum into 2014 season

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College Baseball team is set to begin its 2014 campaign this weekend with four games over three days at Centre College. The Yellow Jackets will take on Calvin College on Friday and Saturday and complete the weekend with a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday against host Centre.

DC will play a double header on Saturday against the two schools.

The Yellow Jackets embark on the 2014 season with high hopes of returning to the HCAC Tournament after a 20-16 (13-11 HCAC) season.

Derek Woodley returns at the helm for the Purple and Gold for his seventh season. Woodley has helped guide the Yellow Jackets to improvements in the win column in five of his six seasons, and is third on the all-time wins list at Defiance College.

The Yellow Jackets 20 wins in 2013 were the third most in the programs history and eight of the 12 primary starters from that squad return for Woodley this season.

As the ace on the staff, senior Darin Waterman (Celina, Ohio / Celina) will take the hill for the Purple and Gold as its No. 1 starter. The Second-Team All-HCAC selection put together a 4-3 record in 2013 over 11 starts and 61 innings of work. He struck out 64 hitters and held opponents to a .269 batting average.

The second in line in the Defiance rotation is freshman Dave Blanch (Alliston, Ontario / Banting Memorial).  The native of Canada pitched and played shortstop during his high school career, which included his squad winning the 2012 championship and being the team's MVP in 2010. 

Junior Aaron Grasing (Carmel, Calif. / Carmel) takes over the third starter spot for the Jackets, after transferring from Monterey Peninsula College in California.  During Grasing's time there, he helped the Lobos to the 2013 Coast Pacific Conference Championship.

Blanch and Grasing will replace the starting roles of Jake Taylor and Ryan McLaughin, who combined for an 8-7 record in 19 starts in 2013. The duo threw 126 of 301 innings played last season.

The bullpen for the Yellow Jackets will be young in 2014, as Aaron Patterson and Alex Schomaeker have graduated, leaving 40 appearances, 80 innings pitched and a combined era under four to be replaced.

Second-year pitcher Chris Douglas (Wixom, Mich. / Walled Lake Western) will be the first man out of the bullpen for Woodley. The six-foot six-inch pitcher made three relief appearances in 2013 for a total of four innings.

The next man out of the pen is freshman Nick Ewalt (Galloway, Ohio / West Jefferson). The lefty lettered three seasons at West Jefferson and earned All-League and All-District honors during his high school career.

Another first-year Yellow Jacket in freshman Aaron Paprocki (Sylvania, Ohio / Northview) looks to be a main contributor out of the bullpen as well. Paprocki comes to DC after lettering two seasons at Sylvania Northwiew.

In the field, the Yellow Jackets return eight of the 10 starters that saw major playing time and at bats in 2013.

Returning at first base this season is veteran Patrick Masopust (Royal Oak, Mich. / Shrine Catholic). The senior started 25 contests in 2013 with 30 appearances overall and notched a .333 batting average, .466 on-base percentage and drove in 14 runs.

On his days away from the mound, Waterman will rotate in at designated hitter and first base with Masopust. At the plate, Waterman accounted for a .309 average to go along with team highs in runs (29) doubles (13) home runs (3) and runs batted in (33).

In his first season with the Purple and Gold Ryan Kohlhofer (Walbridge, Ohio / Lake) earned Honorable Mention All-HCAC after 34 appearances and 32 starts at second base. The freshman posted a .281 batting average with 16 runs scored and 13 runs batted in.

Freshman Dave Blanch, will be backing up Kohlhofer at second when he is not on the mound. 

On the other side of second base is another Honorable Mention All-HCAC player in junior Chris Donese (Kettering, Ohio / Fairmount). Donese started all 36 games last season and accounted for a .297 average at the dish, scoring 24 runs, grabbing 18 RBI's and nine stolen bases.

Junior Joel Musser (Center Line, Mich. / Center Line) will man the third base corner of the diamond for DC's 2014 campaign. Musser got the start in all 36 contests last season and notched a .220 average at the plate to go along with 17 runs, 13 runs batted in and 16 walks.

Freshman Zack Reed (Midland, Mich. / Bullock Creek) will be the main backup at third behind Musser. Reed earned All-Conference, All-District, All-Area and All-Region teams during his senior season at Bullock Creek High.

Behind the plate will be sophomore Gary Levengood (Beverly Hills, Fla. / Lecanto). As a freshman, Levengood made 28 starts and 30 overall appearances in 2013. Along with being solid behind the plate (.989 fielding percentage), Levengood racked up a .283 batting average with 14 runs scored and seven runs batted in.

The backup catcher for the Jackets will be senior Brandon Riley (Springboro, Ohio / Springboro). Riley appeared in 11 contests last season with eight starts and accounted for a .222 average at the plate.

Senior Aaron Helland (Defiance, Ohio / Defiance) returns for his final season with the Purple and Gold as the leader in the outfield. The Honorable-Mention All-HCAC and HCAC All-Tournament selection started all 35 games he played in last season. The Defiance, Ohio native posted a .271 batting average, was second on the team in runs scored with 27, notched 16 RBI's and was third for DC in total bases with 41.

Joining Helland is sophomore Ben Weber (Troy, Ohio / Lehman Catholic). In his first year with DC, Weber appeared in 23 games with 13 starts and put together a solid mark at the plate. Weber hit .341 with a .432 slugging percentage, scored six runs and drove in eight.

Rounding out the starters in the outfield is freshman Quinten Harrington (Sandusky, Ohio / Perkins). In his senior season at Perkins High, Harrington was voted Conference Player of the Year and was selected First-Team All-Conference and First Team All-District.

Also getting playing time in the outfield will be junior Matt Staels (Harrison Township, Mich. / L'Anse Creuse) and Zach Reed. Staels made 20 appearances in 2013 with two starts, batting .231 and scoring seven runs.

The Yellow Jackets are set to begin the season Friday, February 28, at 3:00 p.m. against Calvin. Following the opening weekend, the Yellow Jackets will spend a week in Florida over Spring Break, playing seven games in five days. Defiance is set to get conference play underway on March 21 with a three-game series at Earlham.