BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College baseball team will look to win the 2010 Ohio Athletic Conference title and earn a spot in the NCAA Division III National Tournament in the final season in the illustrious 42-year career of Bob Fisher '63.
The Yellow Jackets open the season this Sunday, March 7 in Winter Haven, Florida when they play Misericordia (Pa.) University in the first game of their annual spring break trip. B-W will play 10 games in six days in Winter Haven at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational at the complex that formerly housed Major League baseball's Cleveland Indians.
Fisher, who announced to his team in February that this is his final season in the third base coaching box for the Yellow Jackets, has compiled an outstanding 688-618 career mark and returns as the active career leader in wins in the OAC. In addition, his final edition of the Jackets' return 17 lettermen, including five starting position players and three starting pitchers, from a squad that finished 19-19 overall and seventh in the Ohio Athletic Conference at 8-8.
"Our goals as a team are to win the OAC regular season and OAC Tournament titles and adavnce to the NCAA Division III National Tournament," said senior right-handed pitcher and team captain Justin Novak (Strongsville). "We want to be successful as a team and we want to send Coach Fisher out in a positive way."
This season, Fisher will rely on an experienced infield and a deep pitching staff to hopefully lead the Yellow Jackets to their first OAC Tournament berth since the 2003 campaign.
The B-W infield will feature three returning senior starters in third baseman Scott Nealon (Avon Lake), shortstop Jim Martin (Euclid) and second baseman Matt Rollins (Walbridge/ Milbury Lake) as well as returning sophomore middle infielder Anthony Longhitano (Cuyahoga Falls). The Jacket outfield will be led junior Ben Stoper (Medina/Senior).
Nealon alternated between second base and designated hitter last spring and batted .360 with 11 doubles, one homerun, 27 runs batted-in and a .505 slugging percentage. He alternated at 2B with Rollins, but look for him to move to third base this season. Also look for sophomore Phil Van Ryzin (Massillon/ Washington) and freshman Jay Yost (Bascom/ Hopewell-Loudon) to also see some action at the 'hot corner.'
Rollins was second on the squad in batting with a .367 batting average with three doubles, two triples and 14 RBI. Look for Longhitano and senior Ed Michalski (Cranberrt Township, Pa./ Seneca Valley) to also see some playing time at 2B. Martin split time at shortstop with Longhitano last spring, and that very well could happen again this spring. Martin batted .295 with two homers, six stolen bases and drove in 16 runs.Longhitano played in 18 games and started nine and hit .278 with a double and six ribbies en route to being named the Most Outstanding Freshman.
At first base, look for senior Brian Boveington (Stow/ Stow-Munroe Falls), senior Chris Nealon (Avon Lake)and junior Joe Wickens (Wooster/ Senior) to be the leading candidates to replace three-time All-OAC player Riley Kreisher '09. Both Boveington and Chris Nealon can play 1B and are utilized as relief pitchers. A season ago, Boveington started 10 games as the DH and hit .325 with three doubles and eight RBI in 40 at-bats. Chris Nealon started 13 times in the outfield or at DH and hit .381 with two doubles, a triple and eight RBI in 42 at-bats. Wickens had one hit in six at-bats in limited duty on the varsity and primarily played on the junior varsity squad.
In the outfield, Stoper is the lone returning fulltime starter with the graduation of Academic All-American centerfielder Cody Kidd '09 and three-year starter Mike Brisky '09 in RF. Stoper started 28 contests a season ago and hit .299 with four doubles, three triples, two homers and 18 RBI with seven steals in seven attempts. Look for seniors Sam Wasylysyn (North Ridgeville) and Ted Cowling (Streetsboro) to battle for playing time and for freshman Nolan Neuschafer (Elyria/ Senior) to take over for Kidd in CF. A season ago,Wasylysyn played in 21 games and started 10 and hit .225 with three doubles, five RBI and two steals.Cowling played in 20 games, including 14 starts, and hit .316 with three doubles, a triple, eight RBI and a steal. Chris Nealon could also see some time in the OF along with freshmen Brendan Toughey (East Amherst, N.Y./ St. Josephs Collegiate Institute) and Dan Mackey (Independence).
Behind the plate, Fisher will split time between transfer John Ulanski (Bay Village) and senior Matt Bush (Grafton/ Midview) with sophomores Jordan Barnett (Willard) and Anthony D'Attoma (Akron/ Copley)serving as backups. Bush started 17 games last season and hit .222 with a homer and seven RBI. Barnett saw action in six varsity contests and started two and recorded an RBI.
On the mound, B-W's pitching staff will be anchored by seniors Justin Novak (Strongsville) and Scott Luthman (Celina). The duo will be joined in the starting rotation by sophomore Josh Scott (Strongsville), sophomore Bill Bostelman (Marion/ Harding) and freshman Brett Gaj (Kent Roosevelt).
Novak, the OAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month for March, posted a 3-2 record with a 5.02 earned run average in 43.0 innings pitched last season. Luthman also was 3-2 with a 5.02 ERA in 43 innings of work with 25 strikeouts. Scott had a 2-0 mark with one save and a 7.36 ERA with 16 whiffs in 22 innings pitched.Bostelman made three varsity appearances, including one start, and had an 0-1 mark and 6.75 ERA in eight innings.
The relief corps will be led by veterans in Boveington, Chris Nealon and sophomore Jon Connelly (Brook Park/ Middleburg Heights Midpark). The trio will be joined in Florida by a talented group of newcomers, and by veterans in sophomores Colin Wright (Lorain/ Admiral King) and Chris Terlop (Strongsville) who both will not travel south due to pre-season injuries.
Boveington posted an 0-1 record with two saves and a solid 1.59 ERA in seven appearances that covered five and two-third innings. Chris Nealon tossed seven and two-thirds innings and had an 0-1 record with a 5.87 ERA. Two seasons ago, he had a 0-0 slate in seven appearances and a 3.86 ERA. Connelly made eight appearances, covering nine and two-third innings a year ago and was 0-0 with a 3.72 ERA. The return of Wrightand Terlop also will help. Wright led the relief corps with three saves last season and was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings of work. Terlop, who missed all of his senior year of high school and most of last year after 'Tommy John' surgery, was 0-0 in two-thirds of an inning.
In addition, look for freshmen David Redovian (Fairlawn/ Copley), Pat Havens (Twinsburg), Jon Tenley (Wadsworth) and sophomores Dom DePompei (Ottawa Hills) and Josh Stobinski (Ottawa Hills) all to see plenty of action between the varsity and J.V. games and hope to make their marks.
The Yellow Jackets home and northern opener is on Tuesday, March 23 versus Walsh University at 4:00 p.m. at Heritage Field in Berea. B-W's OAC opening doubleheader is on Saturday, April 3 at Marietta College at 1:00 p.m.
FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd by phone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at nminerd@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
