Brian Hampp
The Wittenberg Tiger baseball program heads into the 2006 season hoping to build on two straight winning seasons. The return of nine letterwinners, including four of the team’s top six hitters, and two of its top three starting pitchers provides the basis for optimism that the Tigers will once again contend for the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
After finishing with a .316 team batting average a year ago, the Tigers figure to once again be a team that can play “small-ball” with the best of them. Sophomore outfielder Jon Fox (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) was outstanding in his inaugural collegiate campaign, finishing with a .358 average while batting leadoff. He topped the team in runs (30) and hits (48) and he stole six bases in seven attempts on the season.
Fox and senior shortstop K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) set the table expertly a year ago. Schlievert, one of the best defensive players in school history with just 32 errors in three years as a starter (he has started every one of Wittenberg’s 113 games since 2003), batted in the No. 2 hole. He has topped the .300 mark offensively in two of his three seasons in the Red & White, and a year ago he had almost twice as many sacrifice hits (9) as anyone else on the Wittenberg roster while also equalling Fox in runs scored with 30.
Senior first baseman/designated hitter Brian Hampp (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) needs to be a run-producer for the Tigers after posting back-to-back strong offensive seasons. Hampp, who hit .354 a year ago, has collected 23 doubles and driven in 58 runs the last two years. He will likely be joined in the middle of the lineup again by junior first baseman/outfielder Andrew Wellman (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington), who put together a huge second half of the 2005 season. Wellman batted .492 with 18 runs batted in while also playing errorless baseball. His on-base percentage was a phenomenal .583.
Several other players who saw limited playing time in 2005 figure to get plenty of opportunities this year, including senior outfielder Matt Berry (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington), sophomore outfielders Joel Puthoff (Houston, Ohio/Russia) and Ryan Cronk (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), and sophomore infielders Rocky Staton (Franklin, Ohio/Middletown) and Tyler Christello (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton). Berry is an outstanding defensive centerfielder who earned his first letter in 2005 after appearing in 15 games, including five starts. Puthoff led the Tigers with eight stolen bases in nine attempts as he appeared in 17 games and started 14 of them.
Rounding out the position players are a pair of transfer students who are being counted on to make immediate contributions. Sophomore Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial) is in line to take over the majority of catching duties after transferring to Wittenberg from St. Joseph’s (Ind.), and sophomore Jeremey Fruhwirth (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) is in the infield mix after making 26 appearances, including 20 starts, at Defiance a year ago. Fruhwirth, whose 20 starts were all at third base, led the Yellow Jackets with a .322 batting average.
Steve Less
The pitching staff is led by senior righthanders Steve Less (Sheffield, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) and Jason Holmberg (Miamisburg, Ohio/Kettering Alter). Less is a hard-thrower who has been in the rotation since his freshman year. After posting an outstanding 4.02 earned run average in 2005, Less has a career record of 12-11 while throwing at least 37 innings in each of the last three seasons. He held opponents to a team-low .243 batting average.
Holmberg, on the other hand, moved into the rotation a year ago after making seven appearances in relief in 2004. He took his wide pitching repetoire to the mound 10 times in 2005 - seven times as a starter - and he posted a 4-3 record with a 5.48 ERA. Holmberg held opponents to a .301 batting average and ranked second on the team with 36 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched.
Head Coach Jay Lewis, who needs 11 wins to reach 200 in his career, has numerous options to fill out the rotation, starting with sophomore Eric Hartfelder (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who made five appearances and one start in 2005. After posting a modest 1-0 record with a 4.76 ERA as a freshman, Hartfelder hopes to pick up where his brother, Kurt, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 Frontier League draft and a first-team All-NCAC honoree a year ago, left off. Kurt Hartfelder made eight starts during his senior season, going the distance every time and finishing with a 7-1 record and a team-best 3.57 ERA. Freshman Tim Antil (Brookville, Ohio/Northmont) also figures prominently in the starting rotation mix.
In relief, the Tigers have just one player back in the pen who has earned a varsity letter. Junior Trey Richardson (Urbana, Ohio/West Liberty-Salem) led the Tigers with a 1.74 earned run average in six appearances in 2004, but he missed most of the 2005 season with an injury. Juniors Tyler McClain (Springfield, Ohio/North) and Stephen Leep (Springfield, Ohio/North) made a combined nine appearances a year ago after transferring back to their hometown university, and both figure to get even more opportunities in 2005.