BEREA, Ohio - The No. 3 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University baseball team, led by fourteenth-year head coach Brian Harrison, is set for another record season in 2024.
Coach Harrison returns one All-Region 7 player, two All-Ohio Athletic Conference players, six Academic All-OAC players, and 16 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with a 39-12 record and a 15-3 record in conference play last season. The Yellow Jackets come off a Regional Championship, Super Regional Championship, and a National Semifinals appearance in the program's third trip to the Division III World Series.
The focal point of the Yellow Jackets' 2024 squad is its pitching staff led by two All-OAC selections in senior right-handed pitcher Garrett Miller (McMurry, Pa.) and junior Dylan Snyder (Stow/Archbishop Hoban). Miller, also a 2023 All-Region 7 selection, appeared in 22 games and made seven starts last season on his way to a program-best 11-0 record with a team-high 86.2 innings pitched. He is also the team's returning leader in strikeouts with a career best 77 last season and was second on the team with a 3.84 ERA. Snyder, an Academic All-OAC selection, comes off a 2023 campaign in which he finished with a perfect 2-0 record in 16 appearances and seven starts. He finished with a 4.17 ERA, which was third on the team, and struck out 35 batters in 54 innings pitched.
BW's bullpen is anchored by a trio of senior veterans in Aidan Bennett (Naples, Fla/Barron Collier), All-OAC selection Gordon Seger (Rome/Grand Valley), and Academic All-OAC honoree Matt Sabin (Mentor), but also returns junior Academic All-OAC right-hander Kade Swisher (Berea/Berea-Midpark) and sophomore right-hander Tyler Walker (Fairlawn Copley) who threw 32 innings and 27 innings last year, respectively.
Senior Mark Mohnickey Jr. (North Ridgeville/St. Edward) leads the Brown and Gold behind the plate after hitting .233 with 17 hits, 15 RBI, and five home runs in his 32 games and 24 starts last season. Defensively, Mohnickey threw out five baserunners and is the returning leader in putouts with 143. Junior Eric Coode (Painesville/Mentor) could also see some time behind the dish after appearing in three games in 2023.
On the infield, senior Nick Clark (Willowick/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) and sophomore Matt Terzola (Uniontown/Archbishop Hoban) will see most of the action for BW. Clark started all 51 games at third base for the Brown and Gold last season hitting .399 with 61 hits, 48 RBI, and four home runs. He is also the team's returning steals leader going 6-7 on stolen base chances. Defensively, he recorded 95 assists and 35 putouts at the hot corner. Terzola made 37 starts at second base in his freshman season where he tallied 92 assists and 71 putouts on 166 total chances. He also finished with a batting average of .295, tallying 16 RBI on 36 hits while also stealing five bags on the offensive side.
The outfield will be patrolled by junior Joey Marousek (North Royalton), junior Brandon Gelpi (Monroeville, Pa./Central Catholic), and sophomore Dennis Ritlinger-Nirider (Grove City). Marousek made 20 starts in 2023 and finished with a .246 batting average with 15 hits and 15 RBI while recording 26 putouts on the defensive side. Gelpi and Ritlinger-Nirider each made 20 appearances in the outfield for the Yellow Jackets last season and both finished with a perfect fielding percentage. Sophomore Trent Bucy (Eastlake/Eastlake North) could also make some contributions in the BW outfield this season.
BW opens the 2024 campaign this Saturday, February 10 as they host a non-conference game against Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) College at 12:30 p.m. on Fisher Field.
