Last spring was a season of firsts for the Wabash baseball team. The Little Giants won their first NCAC title as well as making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament, scoring an upset win over then-No. 1 Christopher Newport before being eliminated in the following game.
The Little Giants are looking to build off that success, counting on a nucleus of returning starters with plenty of experience. Wabash returns four position players with at least three years of starting experience and a pair of pitchers from last year's playoff rotation.
Headlining this year's team will be five returners who were named all-NCAC performers a year ago. Senior first baseman John Holm is the most decorated of the bunch, having been named first-team all-conference, NCAC Player of the Year, All-Mideast Region first-team, and a D3baseball.com honorable mention All-American.
Senior Chris Deig and junior Montana Timmons were also first-team all-conference performers a year ago while senior Andrew Swart was named to the second team and senior John Pennington was an honorable mention selection.
Coach Cory Stevens returns for his sixth year at the helm of the Little Giant program with high expectations and higher hopes for a team that made a statement on the regional and national level in 2011.
“I think we have a group of guys that, while it was special to win the North Coast and make it to the NCAA tournament last year, are tired of talking about that,” Stevens said. “That is in the past, and they want to move forward. The expectations are higher this year.
“The bar has been raised, and they expect to win the North Coast this year, and our goal is the World Series and a national championship.”
Stevens will be leaning on an eight-man group of experienced seniors this season, including a quartet of captains in Swart, Pennington, Deig, and Jeff Soller. This year's seniors were a part of the first Wabash team to qualify for the NCAC tournament three years ago, and have gone every year during their Little Giant careers.
“I think we have great senior leardership,” Stevens said. “In order for us to build upon last year's success, we are going to follow their lead throughout this spring.
Holm and Swart have had impressive careers in Little Giant uniforms as Holm already holds school records for single-season RBIs, career home runs, and career RBI's and Swart is within striking distance of the school record for career wins, only seven short entering the 2012 season.
That pair, along with this entire senior class, has raised the bar for incoming Wabash players, including this year's freshman class of 23 players.
“For our freshman, and younger guys especially, to look up at John Holm and Andrew Swart and see what they have done individually and for the team, I can't think of any better example than those guys,” Stevens said.
While this year's group certainly has a wealth of experience and talent returning, there are several question marks yet to be answered. The graduation of PJ Tyson, David Seibel, Joe Johnson, and Tanner Coggins have created four openings in the field, while Brian VanDuyne leaves a hole in the starting rotation.
“We have some holes to fill,” Stevens said. “Some of those young guys are going to make an impact early. I think a lot of those guys have made the transition to college baseball well so far.
“We are going to be relying on those guys to come in and play alongside that great group of seniors.”
In the outfield, with Deig and Timmons returning, there looks to be one spot up for grabs. A year ago, junior Robby Hechinger burst onto the scene late, playing a big role in Wabash's postseason run. He, along with sophomore Trey Fankhauser appear to be the frontrunners for that third outfield spot.
On the infield, second and third base are spots that will need to be filled to replace Johnson and Seibel. At second, sophomore Ross Hendrickson and freshman Tanner Watson will battle for playing time. At the hot corner, freshmen Andrew Rogers and Lucas Stippler will battle for time.
Behind the plate, sophomore Scott Kickbush and freshmen Tyler Hampton and Jeff Samuel could all see time. Holm saw innings behind the plate a year ago as Tyson battled an arm injury, so the possibility exists for him to play at the position as well.
With Coggins' graduation, a void was left at designated hitter. That spot could be filled by a number of players, depending on how battles at individual positions play out. Fankhouser, Hechinger, and freshman Clint Scarborough are front-runners at that spot.
On the mound, the Little Giants return significant experience headlined by Swart and Widup in the starting rotation. Sophomore JT Miller appears to be a strong candidate for one of the top three spots. To round out the rotation, seniors Eric Foust and Soller have plenty of experience and will battle for that fourth spot. Senior Luke Zinsmaster returns after serving as the closer a year ago. He could see time in the rotation or at the back end of the bullpen.
The Little Giants open the 2012 schedule when they travel to Memphis, Ten. this weekend to face Rhodes College for a three-game series. The next weekend, Wabash travels to Montgomery, Ala. for three games against Huntingdon College.
“We want to find out what our best combinations are during those two trips,” Stevens said. “As a coaching staff, we have talked about 50 different combinations we can play on the field, so it's important for us to find out who our best combination is.”
Wabash will again enjoy a warm-weathered spring break as the Little Giants travel to San Antonio, Tex. for seven games in seven days (Mar. 4-11).
