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| Heidelberg was the last Mideast Region team to make the D-III World Series but exited after two days with a 0-2 record. d3photography.com photo by Steve Frommell |
by Shawn Spence
for D3baseball.com
It’s not “back to normal”, but it looks like there will be baseball in the Mideast region in 2021. No southern trips, very few out-of-conference games. But there’s baseball on the docket, and that alone is a small victory. It is nearly impossible to say with the few games played last year what 2021 might be like. The improvement of players from their first year to third in college can be enormous. Practically every program has seen the effect of real world events on their roster and the young men on it.
The Mideast has become a region where almost every conference has at least one team capable of being the best in the region in a given year. But still just one Mideast school has ever won a national championship. Over the last decade, it seems a different school has topped the heap almost every year. Now, with the four-team regionals and super regional format, it’s even tough to tell which one is the best as regional teams get bracketed apart from each other.
This year could have more of a 1990s Mideast feel to it (only without bats that could be used to launch satellites into space), in that we probably won’t know anything about how the top programs in each conference stack up relative to each other until the NCAA postseason. There’s no Marietta vs. Wooster, or Heidelberg vs. Adrian or Denison vs. LaRoche. We will all just have to wait and hope to see that in May and June.
New Faces
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| La Roche is expecting that the return of Chase Rowe to the head coaching spot will also return the Redhawks to their winning ways. La Roche athletics photo |
Chase Rowe, La Roche: The only head coaching change in the Mideast Region is hardly a new face. It’s Chase Rowe and he’s back at LaRoche after what turned out to be a sabbatical in the Detroit Tigers organization. Rowe is simply one of the most accomplished coaches in the region, and was D3baseball.com and the ABCA’s Mideast Region coach of the year in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, LaRoche won 43 games and were one of the last four teams standing in the Division III Baseball Championships (“the D3 World Series”). "The opportunity to check the box and become a professional baseball coach is an opportunity that I am extremely grateful for and will cherish forever,” Rowe said in a press release. “La Roche University is home to me and my family, we are excited to get back to work and to continue the great tradition that our coaching staff and players worked so hard to build." Sean Lubin stood in for Rowe in 2020, and is still on the bench at LaRoche as an assistant coach. Lubin has been on staff at LaRoche since he graduated from the school in 2015.
Conference Previews
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference: It was not looking to be a good 2020 in the AMCC, with only one team, Mount Aloysius, finishing with a winning record. La Roche and Penn State-Behrend want to show their starts to last season were flukes and return to the form that has seen them be regionally and nationally competitive in recent years. But Mounties are also coming off a 12-6 second-place finish in the conference in 2019, tying with Penn State-Altoona. The AMCC is typically very competitive in the middle of the conference, but they would like to ratchet up the competition for the top spot.
La Roche (1-7) still must be considered the team to dethrone despite their disastrous few games in 2020. In 2019, the Redhawks were four games clear in the AMCC standings, swept the conference tournament, and bowed out in what can only be described as a brutal regional draw against Denison and Adrian. The rebuild from 2020 begins with Austin Hoffman (.366, 16 2B). Jay Novak (.303) and Tristan Tinney (.306) are also returning starters from 2019. It will be to the Red Hawks Benefit to have the architect of their past success back at the helm. Penn State-Behrend (4-7) will have Josh Wagner (.335, 23 2B, 51 RBI) who was the conference’s RBI leader in 2019 and Thomas Zbezinski (7-2, 61.1IP) tied for the lead among returning pitchers from 2019 in wins.
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| Mount Aloysius will need to find more depth in their batting lineup and pitching rotation to knock off La Roche this season. Mount Aloysius athletics photo |
Penn State-Altoona (1-8) is another program that followed a noteworthy 2019 with a 2020 even more to forget than 2020 was overall. Hunter Breon (.344) will lead the effort to rebound, while Catcher Cumming (.317, 6 HR) is not only one of the league’s best home run threats, he’s also clearly a first-team all-American when it comes to baseball names. Mount Aloysius' (5-2) Michael McCourt (7-2, 67.2IP, 3.59 ERA) is arguably the league’s best returning pitcher. Jeremy Iellimo (.323) is one of the few batting order holdovers from Mount’s breakthrough team in 2019 which was off to a strong start in 2020.
Reid Tarnowski (34.2 IP, 3.89 ERA), Logan Edmonds (44IP, 4.00 ERA) both were quality pitchers as freshmen in 2019 and likely figure only more prominently two years later for Pitt-Bradford (4-5). Pitt-Greensburg (1-7) will feature Andy Prentice (46IP, 45K) was one of the league’s top strikeout artists but walked nearly as many as he struck out in 2019. Ben Green (.361, 5HR) will be expected to anchor the lineup with a combination of power and consistent hitting.
Alfred State (6-12) brings back Josh Laurie (.316 4 HR). Hilbert (6-5) returns Josh Wilson (.325) and Medaille (1-6) will look to Shawn Filas (.337, 3 HR), while D'Youville (1-6) will try to climb the standings in the conference.
Favorite: La Roche
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference: The Heartland is nothing if not competitive. Three different schools have won the league in the last 3 completed years, and 7 of the league’s 10 schools have made the 4-team conference tournament in those three years. In 2019, the Rose-Hulman Engineers topped the standings by a solid margin, but stumbled against Franklin in the conference tournament. The Grizzlies won the tournament and made a very good account of themselves in regionals, winning 3 games but placing second in a very tough Texas-based regional.
Franklin (5-3) brings back Quenton Wellington (.360, 4 3B, 5 HR, 22 SB) and Ryan Bixler (.299, 6 3B, 10HR, 11 SB) from that 2019 squad. Both combine power and speed for a very strong outfield duo to anchor the Grizzlies at bat and in the field. Krae Sparks (58IP, 51K) in 2019, but is the most experienced returning pitcher, and improved control would make him a formidable ace. Earlham (7-3) brings back one of the conference’s top pitchers in Joey Gerbus (68IP, 59K, 2.63 ERA) and Danny Dopp (.336, 3 HR) and Isaiah Shake (.293, 6 3B, 21 SB) anchor the lineup for a Quakers team that looked like building momentum last year, with a strong record and some quality wins among them.
Anderson (6-3) is a program fans are accustomed to seeing compete near the top of the HCAC. The Ravens will be accustomed to Thomas Parker (.285, 10 2B, 25 SB) standing on second base. He has gap power, and he led the league in stolen bases in 2019. Clayton White (5-0, 2.82 ERA) was effective in the starts he got, and AU will need more innings from him in 2021. Rose-Hulman (4-3) needs to replace a lot from 2019 and will build around Luke Calabrese (.319), one of the few starting holdovers from the 2019 team.
Defiance (7-3) was off to a strong start in 2020 with a collection of talent that wasn’t called on much in 2019. Cohen Nies (69IP, 75K, 3.26 ERA) is one that was, and he will likely be called on to lead the helm the pitching staff and the team again in 2021. Transylvania's (6-5) Hudson Chastain (.403, 14 SB) is the only HCAC returner that hit .400 in 2019. Riley Wilbur (.363, 13 SB) among several who were starters in 2019. Jake Schmidt (45.2IP, 44K) could develop into a true ace if he can throw strikes more consistently.
Hanover (7-7) returns Andrew Littlefield (.345, 4 HR) from a team whose top players from 2019 have mostly graduated. Eli Copner (38.2IP, 3.26 ERA) was effective in somewhat limited innings, but will be asked for more volume in 2021. Bluffton (4-6) brings back Jaxon Rogan (.319), while Manchester (2-5) and Mount St. Joseph (4-6-1) look to retool with much-changed starters from 2019.
Favorite: Earlham
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| Adrian's Mo Hanley was placed on the USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award watch list, the first time since Chris Haddeland, Linfield in 2016. The 43rd Golden Spikes Award, which is the equivalent to college football's Heisman Trophy, will be presented in July. Adrian athletics photo |
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association: The MIAA was already playing 4-game series, so several conference programs are venturing south and playing several non-conference games, in contrast to much of the region. Adrian’s season is already underway after a weekend 3-game set at Birmingham Southern. Alma played a three-game series at Louisiana College on the first weekend in February. Could this inter-regional play give the MIAA a leg up when it comes to postseason consideration? Only time will tell, but in the conference, the aim remains to catch the Adrian Bulldogs, if you can.
No. 22 Adrian (4-5) welcomes back Gunner Rainey (.411, 20 2B) for a 5th year. Rainey was the MIAA’s only .400 hitter in 2018-19. Brandon Cooper (.393, 11 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR) and Thomas Miller (.382, 13 2B, 4 HR) made for an all-Bulldogs top 3 in batting average two season ago and are still in the program. Brady Wood (.353) was also among the league’s top 10. With a core that was already the league’s best two years ago, it is hard to see Adrian not having a very potent offense in 2021. That’s to go with 2019 ERA leader Maxwell Denny (9-0, 2.10 ERA) and right behind him was Mo Hanley (5-1, 2.49). It will take a very strong season to knock Adrian off the top spot it has made its own over the last decade.
Most of that time, the most likely candidate to dethrone them has been Hope (1-2). The Dutchmen will look to Evan Maday (.351, 12 2B), Joey Merucci (.341), and Brant Kym (.313) to build their latest challenge. Max Gaishin (43.2IP, 3.09 ERA) and Sean Hoey (55.2 IP, 58K) were talented but wild as underclassmen as sophomores, and Hope will need more consistent strike throwing and more innings from them as veterans.
Kalamazoo (5-2) has Chase Coselman (.362) come back as one of the best returning hitters in the conference and has an arm to match the conference’s best in Jack Brockhaus (41.2IP, 48K, 2.59 ERA). Trine (9-2) got off to the hottest start in the league in 2020 and will be looking to continue that with…Chase Hall (.282) leading four of the top five from their 2019 lineup. Adam Wheaton (58.1IP, 61K, 3.09) will be hoping for more run support than he got in 2019 when he deserved better than a 4-4 record.
Calvin (3-0) saw then-freshman Matt Raymond (.318) led them in hitting as a freshman in 2019 while Trevor Van Duyn (65.1IP, 5-2, 3.97 ERA) is back as the top hurler. Van Duyn could easily lead the league in complete games, as he walks few and doesn’t rely on strikeouts to get through games. Albion (6-3) brings back a trio of bats in Drew Olszewski (.355), Sean Haddlesey (.333), and Keilan Huang (.323, 14 2B). Alma (8-6) will rely on Jaret Koin (.333, 4 HR) and Zach Schirmer (.317, 10 2B), while Olivet (4-8) leans on Max Daust (59.2IP, 3.17 ERA) and Matt Hewitt (.285, 3 HR).
Favorite: Adrian
North Coast Athletic Conference: NCAC fans are well accustomed to Wooster being at or near the top of the conference, and Denison becoming a mainstay to join them. But 2020 wasn’t exactly starting that ways, with Wabash, Allegheny and Wittenberg all off to strong starts. But in 2019, it was as it has been, with Wooster topping the league standings over Denison by just a half-game, and then Denison upending the top seeds in the conference tournament with two straight wins after losing to Wooster on Day 1. Wooster went on to the super regional. Both are ranked to start 2021, and the clear targets for the rest of the conference. In a season where no one can be sure how NCAA tournament selections are going to go, the NCAC season and tournament could eliminate at least one of the region’s best teams from even being in the postseason.
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| 2021 could be the year that Denison eclipses Wooster for NCAC supremacy. Denison athletics photo |
Denison (5-4) had several of the conference’s best players as sophomores in that 2019 team that still with the Big Red. Max Lahn (.439, 11 SB) was second in batting average in 2019, and Will Krushena (.374, 5HR, 69RBI) led the league in RBIs. Brian McAuliffe (.329, 10HR) tied for tops in home runs. The story isn’t quite that rosy on the pitching staff, but Taylor Perrett (5-2, 3.52 ERA) and Will McManaman (6-1, 3.36 ERA) are still very capable and experienced cornerstones. With all of this proven experience and production back, it might be seen as a surprise and a motivation point that Denison is only in the receiving votes category in the D3baseball.com/NBCWA national rankings.
Wooster (4-4) is a different story, with most of their 2019 stalwarts having graduated in the last two years. Evan Faxon (7-2, 2.63 ERA) is one that hasn’t and will certainly be one of the top arms in the conference. Ben Gbur (.308, 3HR) had solid but not eye-popping stats as a freshman in 2019, but players change a ton from first to third years, and Gbur has physical attributes to suggest he could have developed into an impact player in the last two years. Despite the personnel losses, Wooster maintains respect from national pollsters, placing 23rd in the current D3baseball.com/NBCWA Top 25.
Wittenberg (7-3) returns veteran catcher Jack Hollingshead (.419, 11 2B, 5HR), who was simply one of the most productive hitters of 2019, and Mason Davis (.356, 10 2B) and Jack Siefert (.324, 6HR) are two more powerful hitters among five .300+ hitting returners from 2019. Tanner Griggs (50IP, 45K, 11BB) is a consistent strike thrower who can miss bats, but only averaged 5 innings per start. Going deeper into games would lighten the bullpen load, and would help the Tigers mount a threat to the NCAC’s top two.
Wabash (6-2) is led by Canton Terry (.318) and Matthew Annee (.305, 5HR), and will be looking for more consistency to go with four arms that got a lot of experience in 2019 with varying success. Tyler Dearing was arguably the most effective (48.1IP, 39K) of the bunch. Allegheny (5-2) started 2020 off strong with mostly new faces – 25 of 39 players are freshmen or sophomores in 2021. DePauw (4-4) returns Charlie Patrick (.317, 10 2B, 8HR), one of 2019’s most powerful hitters. Kenyon (7-8) brings back Ryan Page (.349, 13 2B), one of five southern Californians on the roster, outnumbering home-state Ohioans (four).
Oberlin (0-4) barely got started last year but Jacob Thompson (.379, 12 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR) and Lawrence Hamilton .359, 12 2B, 3 HR) were formidable batsmen in 2019. Three Yeomen hail from outside the United States, with one of those attending high school in a fourth foreign country. Ohio Wesleyan (4-4) has not posted an updated roster as of Feb 29th but expect Canyon McWilliams (.392, 16 2B, 5HR, 13SB) to be back. McWilliams was a junior last year and, if he has returned, will likely be among the conference’s top hitters. Hiram (3-5) looks to build on a competitive start in 2020 with a 2021 roster sporting 40 freshmen and sophomores.
Ohio Athletic Conference: Perhaps never again will conference play be a more true measuring stick in the Ohio Athletic Conference than this one. No non-conference games in midweek, no midweek games at all. Just four nine-inning games per weekend, for nine straight weekends. Everything you’ve got against everything they’ve got. While the big regional non-conference matchups will be missed, this OAC season will have a unique symmetry that comes with its own upside. When the 2020 season halted, an incredible battle was brewing, as 9 teams had at least 5 wins out of 11 games, and no one had
Otterbein (8-5) has many of the top players from that 2019 team still around in 2021. Luke Barber (.320, 9HR) is an all-American candidate at first base and Tim Snyder (.307, 5HR, 8 SB) provides a mix of contact hitting, speed, and power. Matthew Gibson (.324), Sam Edgell (.306) and Dmitri Collaros (.284) were unlikely to clear the fence, but get on first base often via single or walk, and Collaros stole 15 bases. On the mound, the Cardinals have several veteran options as well. The likely leader among them is “utility ace” Collin Hoffmann (6-1, 7 SV, 2.49 ERA), who will start or come out of the bullpen, but when he comes on in relief, it’s usually his game from there, whether it’s the third inning or the eighth. Travis Engard (61.2IP, 2.92 ERA) isn’t overpowering, but uses control and craft to get outs.
Heidelberg (7-5) will likely look to veteran catcher Marc Ochoa (.344, 6 HR) along with Kyle Jenkins (.345, 48 RBI) and Tyler Smith (.345) to lead their bid to return to 2019 heights, while Ross Thompson (14.2IP, 22K in 2020, played at Capital in 2019) will likely be a pitching staff ace. Brady Knizner (46IP, 2.74 ERA) and Mason Metz (34 2/3 IP, 2.60 ERA) are among several with a chance to take on bigger roles on the pitching staff after topping the staff in relief innings. Ochoa will likely be one of the top power hitters and run producers in the conference and will be valuable to the Princes in handling pitchers taking on new roles. Pollsters in the D3baseball.com/NBCWA poll have reason to believe he will, as they have moved Heidelberg into 25th in the current rankings.
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| Dudley Taw spent much of 2019 on the injured list and Baldwin-Wallace is hoping that with the extended rest time he will return to 2018 form this year. Baldwin-Wallace athletics photo |
Baldwin-Wallace (5-6) has endured even more waiting than the rest of us. Dudley Taw was a 2nd-team All-American in 2018, but shut it down after 10 games in 2019 due to injury. He looked better in 2020, but obviously, a 2018 level of production would make a huge difference in the Yellow Jackets lineup. Alex Ludwick (.313, 11 2B, 6 3B) is the Yellow Jackets’ top returner in terms of 2019 hitting production, while Spencer Berg (27IP, 27K, 3.67 ERA) and Drew Wilson (12.2 IP, 16K, 1.42 ERA) are the veterans among the hurlers, most of whom were not around in 2019. Wilson will also probably find a role when not pitching, as he did in 2020.
Marietta (9-3) had the conference’s best overall record in 2020 after missing the OAC Tournament in 2019. Top 25 voters saw enough to rank the Pioneers 18th in 2020, where they currently sit in the 2021 poll as opening day nears. Marietta is the highest ranked Mideast team in the current poll. Many of the same players that endured a losing season as underclassmen in 2019 are still around in 2021. Third baseman Damian Yenzi (.376, 10 2B, 10 SB) is a standout both at bat and with his glove at the hot corner. Sam Mathews (49IP, 6 SV) leads the pitchers, who were mostly either inexperienced or injured in 2019. The Etta Express has also had a long wait to play in their much-changed home venue. Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park is the new name, and has a new playing surface, walls to upgrade on fencing, and new field dimensions, with center field pulled in to merely a typical major league distance of 400 feet from the previous 410. It was completed in 2019, but has yet to host a college game.
Mount Union (7-5) was right in the middle of the melee last year, and Paul Hesse, the dean of OAC coaches, has long used a deep rotation that should serve him well this year. He has an experienced team both in years and with the time many underclassmen got on the field in 2019. Corey White (.366) and Nathan Duliba (.322) are the hitting leaders among several seniors that played a lot two years ago, and Carson Davis (5-1, 58IP) is the incumbent ace on a staff that may offer more options with experience than any in the league.
Don’t sleep on the programs you might not historically associate with postseason success. Several of the best statistical performers returning from 2019 will bid to lead them to the conference tournament, or even beyond. John Carroll (7-4) is consistently in the hunt for conference tournament qualification and pins its hopes on veteran aces Andrew Steele (5-0, 2.22 ERA) and Mitchell Midea (5-2, 2.33 ERA). Four-game league weekends could bode well for the Blue Streaks with those top-end pitching options. Ohio Northern (5-5) has Nate Bye (63.2IP, 2.97 ERA) returning for what seems like his seventh year. Bye has the most career innings pitched in the league. His penchant for going deep into games could be a big asset starting off league series. Michael Rocco (.401) is the highest returning average hitter from 2019.
Muskingum (5-6) has a strong core of experienced veterans in 2021, after four freshmen and sophomores were among their top 5 hitters in 2019, led by Brett Carson (.319, 9 2B). Another freshman, Jake Norris (63IP, 3.29 ERA) was the staff ace. Capital (7-6) brings back staff ace Scott Gutstein (70.1IP) and Brandon Barnette (.385 in 2020) and looks to build on what was a promising-looking 2020 start with a lot of young players in prominent roles, while Wilmington (0-8) will look to use last year’s pause as a way to distance from the past and create a brighter future, as will we all. The Quakers have 24 freshmen and sophomores that former Dayton coach Tony Vittorio will count on building that future.
Favorite: Otterbein
Presidents' Athletic Conference: Appropriately, the only conference school actually named for a president has gained a stranglehold on the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Washington & Jefferson won the league in 2019, as it did 6 times since 2010. W&J’s main rival in the league has reclassified to the NAIA and scholarship athletics. The other holdovers in the PAC have won the conference just twice since 2008.
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| W&J will be looking to make it four straight regular season PAC titles in 2021. Washington and Jefferson athletics photo |
But W&J wasn’t off to a sterling start in 2020 – albeit against a very strong schedule – which might just offer the chase group hope of making up ground in 2021. 2019, Grove City and Waynesburg led a tightly bunched group below W&J. In all, seven teams finished at .500 or better in PAC play. W&J (3-6) will build the drive for another title around Adam Moore (.336) and Nick Drake (51.2IP, 9BB, 34K, 3.14 ERA), two of the few holdovers from the 2019 team stocked with upperclassmen. Still, it will be a surprise if the Presidents aren’t tough to knock off the top spot in the league.
Grove City (5-6) features Lake Pry (73.1IP, 7-2, 3.19 ERA) as the most accomplished of several returning veteran pitchers on a team that will likely be built on pitching and defense. Austin Wacker (40.2IP, 37K) will likely be asked to transition to a starter from his previous top relief pitcher role. Waynesburg (2-8) has yet to post a 2021 roster, but will feel the absence of Mason Miller (8-2, 67.2IP, 97K, 1.86 ERA). Miller packed his arm to Gardner-Webb and is already turning heads with early season success.
St. Vincent (3-4) doesn’t have a lot of returnees and a young roster overall, but returning two experienced starting pitchers is a pretty good start. Casey Jones (8-1, 62IP, 73K) and Jimmy Malone (63.2IP, 6-3, 3.53 ERA) will likely make for good Saturdays in the PAC’s 4-game weekend conference series. Bethany (7-5-1) had a good start going in 2020 and will look to Kyle Goodwin (.346) and Ethan Young (.290, 6 HR) to build on that. Goodwin has been a starter most of his career with the Bison, while Young broke through as a sophomore in 2019. Tyler Alworth (5-1, 3.79 ERA), who also often plays in the field when not pitching, will likely be needed to do more as one of the few holdovers from the staff two years ago.
Thiel (5-3) will need better pitching depth to help out returning ace Sante Carducci (74.1IP, 3.27 ERA). Carducci had no luck at all in 2019, as a team that hit .334 could only give him enough run support to win 4 games in 11 starts, 5 of which were complete games. Nash Matson (.312), and Anthony Sebastian (.303) are back to try to turn more quality Carducci starts into wins. Westminster (Pa.) (4-3) is led by Frank Cinicola (.339, 14 2B) while Dawson Porter (.484 in limited at-bats) will be looking to repeat his 2019 tear over a full season. Porter was hitting .400+ again in the first few games of 2020. The Titans will need to improve their pitching from 2019 to make a serious run at the top, though. Geneva (4-5) had a season to forget in 2019 but had a much improved look in 2020, especially at the plate. Veteran Tyler Seliga (.282) will be hoping the show several freshmen put on in their brief college careers was no fluke. Chatham (2-10) also has not updated its roster, but Caleb Lehman (.340, 6 3B) is due back. Franciscan (3-8) had a respectable first year in D3 in 2020.
Favorite: Washington and Jefferson
Independent: Case Western (5-5) is looking like they will join UAA member NYU in skipping the 2020 season. The Spartans could join Washington U, who has put together a non-conference schedule, but with the other mideast teams playing only conference games, there are few teams which they can play.