Baseball Preview: Yellow Jackets look to impress and surprise
Coming off a 10-26 overall record last season and 4-14 mark in conference play, the Yellow Jackets were voted to finish at the bottom of the conference this season. The Yellow Jackets will look to defy the odds and turn some heads this year.
The Yellow Jackets will begin the 2023 campaign with three games this weekend. The Yellow Jackets will play a doubleheader against Muskingum on Saturday at Xavier University and a single game against Kalamazoo on Sunday at Defiance High School.
After head coach Derek Woodley departed at the end of January, assistant coach Ben Babcock will serve as the interim head coach for this season. This will be Ben's second season at DC. Joining Ben on the coaching staff is former player Nate Kaffenbarger, who is now a graduate assistant coach.
"We have a great group of guys that want to be coached and love to compete. We understand that we are going to face some challenges with Derek leaving but we are ready to face those challenges head on. I'm really excited to have our top three arms back in Nies, Thombs, and Hammerstein, as well as some key pieces offensively. We have really started to find our groove in practice and I'm confident that preparation will translate to the field this year", said interim head coach Ben Babcock.
Five Yellow Jackets were named in the preseason poll as players to watch. Those five are Trent Murdock, Hunter Bostater, Alex Morr, Cohen Nies, and Sam Thombs.
All five are key returners for the Yellow Jackets this season. Murdock started 35 games last year, belted three home runs and drove in 24 runs. Bostater started 34 games, drew 17 walks, hit two home runs and finished with 22 RBIs. Morr played in 33 games, drew 21 walks, stole six bases, and had 24 hits. Nies and Thombs are both key returning pitchers for the Yellow Jackets. Nies will be in his sixth year this season. He finished 2022 with a 4-4 record, pitched 59.2 innings, struck out 66 batters, and was named Second Team All-HCAC. Thombs was named All-HCAC Honorable Mention last season and finished the year with one save, a 3-5 record, 56 innings, and 47 strikeouts.
Defiance brings a haul of pitching back for this year. Joining Nies and Thombs are Jeremy Russo, Tyler Sickmiller, Damarius Taylor, Jeffrey Varga, Logan Kunkel, and Johnny Hammerstein.
Russo saw limited time on the mound, but ended with 3.2 innings and three strikeouts. Sickmiller returns after pitching 9.1 innings and finishing with an 0-3 record. Taylor made one appearance last year and struck out one in one inning. Varga appeared in 11 games and pitched 14 total innings. Kunkel made seven appearances and finished with a 1-2 record in 6.2 innings while striking out six. Hammerstein struck out 48 batters in 46.2 innings, made a total of 14 appearances and started five games.
Joining Murdock, Bostater, and Morr in hitting are Josh Vischer, Austin Horning, Dylan King, Jacob Hild, and Mitchell Roever.
Vischer batted .239 in 21 games and recorded 16 hits. Horning batted .273 in 16 games, drove in five runs and had two stolen bases. Hild played in 23 games, drove in 15 runs and hit three doubles. King also appeared in 23 games and hit his first collegiate home run last season and finished the year 11 hits and 11 walks. Roever had 14 hits in 25 games, stole three bases and drew six walks.
The 2023 squad consists of 11 freshmen, 11 sophomores, four juniors, and six seniors.
The Yellow Jackets will play their first home game this Sunday, February 26, at Defiance High School against Kalamazoo at 1 p.m. Their first game at Craig A. Rutter Field is currently scheduled for March 25 against Rose-Hulman.
The conference rules have changed this year. Each team will play 22 conference games instead of 18. The 10 teams have been divided into two divisions. The North division consists of Anderson, Bluffton, Defiance, Earlham, and Manchester. The South division is Franklin, Hanover, Mount St. Joseph, Rose-Hulman, and Transylvania. Teams will play a three game series against others that are in their division and doubleheaders against the other divisional teams.