The College of Wooster baseball team, which captured its eighth regional title last spring, starts the 2023 season ranked 22nd in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top-25 Poll. Wooster was also ranked 22nd in Collegiate Baseball News' Div. III Preseason Top-40.
Wooster went 35-17 last spring and won four straight elimination games to capture the Alton Regional title. The four-game stretch started with a 21-3 rout over Crown College (Minnesota), a game in which Wooster blasted eight home runs. Next, alumnus Ben Hines walked off fifth-ranked Webster University with a two-run home run in a 4-3 win, then the Scots went on to down Bethel University (Minnesota) twice.
In the Salisbury Super Regional, Wooster forced the winner-take-all game against eventual national runner-up Salisbury University before falling in a wild thriller 18-16.
Junior utility ace Eli Westrick headlines Wooster's veterans as a returning all-conference selection. He started his sophomore campaign not hitting while pitching, but quickly became a regular force in the lineup on a daily basis on his way to leading Wooster with a .373 average (57-for-153). The second baseman added 43 RBI, 28 runs, 10 doubles, four triples, and three home runs to his line. On the bump, the right-hander ranked third on the team with 51 1/3 innings pitched and posted a 5-1 record with a fine 3.68 ERA over 11 outings, eight of which were starts.
Other returning starting position players include senior first baseman Dane Camphausen (12 home runs, 57 RBI in 2022), senior utility Dean Brown (52 hits, 4.58 ERA in 19 2/3 innings in 2022), and sophomore infielder Nick Pett (.300 average, 33-for-110 in 2022). Other key returning pitchers include junior Corey Knauf (4-2, 59 1/3 innings pitched in 2022), senior Ethan Samangy (3-1, 2 saves, 35 innings pitched over 25 appearances in 2022), senior Owen Barnard (3-0, team-leading 2.91 ERA over 34 innings in 2022), senior Christian Johnston (3-1, 4 saves over 22 appearances in 2022), and senior Ryan Sullivan (1-2 with team-leading 25 appearances in 2022).
Salisbury was picked first with 15 first-place votes and 606 points. Defending national champion Eastern Connecticut State University was right behind with eight first-place votes and 561 points.
Wooster's season starts with a home doubleheader on Saturday, February 25 against Grove City College. Wooster has nine games scheduled against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top-25 Poll.