Returning from its annual spring break trip, The College of Wooster baseball team has taken an early step to defending its North Coast Athletic Conference Championship.
After finishing 7-7 in Port Charlotte, Fla., the team has brought its record to 12-9 and gone 6-2 in conference play to take over first place in the NCAC.
Over the spring break competition, Tyler Fugate ’11 garnered NCAC Pitcher of the Week when he totaled 8.1 scoreless innings and eight strikeouts against Kenyon College and Rhodes College, respectively.
Heading into the season, Head Coach Tim Pettorini knew that an inexperience stemming from a young infield would be supported by the best pitching rotation in the nation.
“Those three guys [Justin McDowell ’11, Matt Barnes ’11 and Fugate] could be No. 1 pitchers for a lot of teams, and probably be an upgrade for a lot of teams,” he remarked. “It means we have a chance in every game, no matter how many young guys we’re playing.”
Pettorini has been accurate in his prediction, as McDowell, Barnes and Fugate have amassed an 8-1 record through the first 12 games.
However, the pitching staff has not been the only strength of the team. After splitting victories in a double header against Ohio Wesleyan University,
Wooster’s offense exploded against Hiram College. Leading 9-2 after the fifth inning, the Scots’ bats unleashed eight runs in the sixth inning alone.
Leading the offense that day were Zach Mathie ’14, finishing 5-for-6 with three runs driven in, Zach Vesco ë12, hitting 3-for-6 with 4 RBI, and Craig Day ë14, who hit 3-for-6 and 3 RBI.
“We’re going to play some young guys in there. We think they have some genuine talent,” Pettorini said before the season began.
The first-years’ performance so far this season supports the coach’s prediction, as Day leads the team in home runs and Mathie is second on the squad with 26 hits.
Although the first-years have been instrumental at the plate, the most efficient hitter has been Greg Van Horn ’11. A transfer from Princeton University, Van Horn was voted Baseball America’s preseason NCAA Div. III Player of the Year. He holds a .417 batting average with 21 hits and a blistering .569 slugging percentage through 21 games.
The team was ranked 17th in D3Baseball.com’s preseason poll but has fallen out of the top 25 rankings following its 7-7 spring break trip. This comes as no surprise to Pettorini, however, who knew his young team would take time to grow into their potential.
“I think [the first-years] will improve everyday, and hopefully [with] the veteran guys leading the way, these guys will figure it out,” Pettorini said. “How quickly they figure it out will determine how quickly we go from being very good to really, really good.”
The baseball team has the most wins out of any NCAA Div. III team since 2000 and firmly holds the record for most NCAC championships at 13. The squad will continue its quest to return to the NCAA National Championship game as it resumes conference play at home this Saturday in a double-header against Oberlin College.