K.R. Schlievert broke the school assists in a season record as a freshman.
Setting the Scene:
The 2003 Wittenberg University baseball team entered the season with a youthful enthusiasm, optimistic that a few holdover veterans from recent successful teams and an influx of talented newcomers could help the Tigers make another strong run. However, after a 7-1-1 start to the season in Fort Myers, Fla., the Tigers cooled off to finish with a 17-22-1 overall record and a mark of 4-12 in the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division.
The Tigers were extremely competitive throughout the season despite their youth and inexperience, despite playing in the rugged NCAC and facing a loaded nonconference schedule. The conference featured four teams that earned recognition in national polls, and the Tigers’ schedule also included quality programs like Mt. St. Joseph, Thomas More, Otterbein, NAIA scholarship programs Cedarville and Ohio Dominican and NCAA Division I Dayton.
Postseason Awards:
Senior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) claimed first-team All-NCAC honors. Freshman shortstop K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) and sophomore outfielder Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville) were awarded Honorable Mention status.
Born, who was additionally honored with third-team All-Mideast Region honors following the season, was the team’s leading hitter with a .411 batting average. He clubbed six home runs, good for third on the team, and drove in 40 runs, second on the team. The team’s MVP, Born committed just four errors while handling 279 official chances while playing primarily first base.
Born finished his career as one of the finest players to ever don the Red & White. He is the school record-holder for putouts in a career with 985, more than 300 more than the next highest total. He batted .368 for his career, including back-to-back .400-plus batting averages in 2002 and 2003. He ranks fifth all-time in at-bats (481), eighth in runs scored (117), fourth in hits (177), fourth in doubles (37), third in runs batted in (120), seventh in home runs (13), third in total bases (273) and fifth in bases on balls (80).
Schlievert, who was named team Rookie of the Year, was third on the team in batting average after posting a .389 mark in his first collegiate season. He led the Tigers with 157 plate appearances as he batted lead-off 34 times and started all 40 games at shortstop. He finished with a respectable fielding percentage of .942 despite handling more than 200 chances, and he ranked second on the team with 13 doubles and second in runs with 41. The rare freshman player to start every game in his first collegiate season, Schlievert broke the school record for assists in a season with 142, beating the old mark by 13.
Foster started all 40 games in the outfield, and he finished with seven home runs, second-best on the team, and 25 RBI, good for fourth on the squad. He drew a team-high 18 walks, and his 39 runs scored were good for third on the team.
Brad Koopman hit better than .300 in his freshman season.
Tag Team On The Mound:
The Tigers have put up the offensive numbers in recent years, but baseball success hinges on the ability to get the opposition out consistently.
In 2003, a total of 15 pitchers took to the mound at least one time. As a staff, Wittenberg posted an earned run average of 7.19 and gave up 362 hits and 226 earned runs in 283 innings, numbers that have the potential to improve significantly considering the youth on this year’s staff.
Just two of the pitchers - Adam Abraham (Granville, Ohio/Granville) and Brian Robinson (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) - who saw action in 2003 were seniors, and seven were freshmen. Six of those seven freshmen took the mound at least six times during the season, and four of those six - Steve Less (Sheffield, Ohio/Elyria Catholic), Tyler Jacobs (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), Justin McCulla (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) and Gerald Foos (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) - had ERAs below 5.30.
Three players tied for the team lead in wins with three - Less, Abraham and sophomore Ryan Goldschmidt (Ft. Loramie, Ohio/Ft. Loramie). Goldschmidt led the staff in innings pitched with 49.0 and strikeouts with 39. In 11 appearances, he made eight starts and tossed three complete games.
The team leader in appearances was junior Jason Flick (Hamilton, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick), who served as a reliever in 13 games.
What The Future Holds:
A new baseball stadium, for starters. The Springfield City Commission recently awarded a $2.56 million contract to build a new municipal stadium on the site of the old stadium, which was demolished in March 2001 after serving the community for more than 70 years and playing host to Wittenberg baseball games between 1981 and 2000. Groundbreaking on the new Carleton Davidson Stadium took place Friday, May 16. District officials hope the stadium will be completed in time for Wittenberg’s 2004 season, which opens in March. The stadium, located at 1425 Mitchell Blvd. in Springfield, will have a seating capacity of 1,061.
Entertaining crowds in that stadium will be another young Tiger team, but one with some proven collegiate talent and plenty of young arms. The pitching talent has been chronicled above, and another potent offensive club will be led by Schlievert, Foster, sophomore third baseman Tom Pickering (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), who started 38 games and batted 338 with 29 RBI, sophomore second baseman Jon Komperda (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), who batted .333, and the catching duo of freshmen Adam Keller (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) and Brad Koopman (Pleasant Hill, Ohio/Newton), both of whom batted over .300 in 2003.
The Coach:
Jay Lewis (Wittenberg ‘94) completed his sixth season as the Tigers’ head coach. He now has a record of 147-121-4. Lewis took over the reins of his alma mater’s program in 1997, three years after excelling for the Tigers as a catcher. During his head coaching stint at Wittenbeg, Lewis' teams have averaged 21 wins a season, and have finished second in the NCAC tournament twice (1997 and 1998).