Veteran Tigers Look To Take Next Step In 2013
Wittenberg returns most of its line-up and its top two starting pitchers in hopes of making a move back toward the top of the NCAC.
The Wittenberg University baseball team enters a promising 2013 season with 16 letterwinners back in the fold, including four players who have earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honors during their collegiate careers.
The line-up is deep, experienced and loaded with speed, starting in the outfield where sophomores Zac Wilson (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) and Brandon Reaman (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) hope to build on their stellar inaugural collegiate campaigns. Wilson primarily played left field, batting .307, scoring 31 runs and stealing eight bases. Reaman played a nearly flawless center field – he was not charged with an error in 39 appearances (38 starting assignments) – while batting .360 and leading the team with 40 runs scored and nine stolen bases.
Junior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) split time between right field and first base a year ago, and he wound up second on the team with a .363 batting average in 91 official plate appearances. He will again see time at both spots in 2013, with senior Zack Finke (Maineville, Ohio/St. Xavier), who batted .321 in 28 at-bats last year, likely to see action when Jordan moves to the infield.
The infield positions are also manned by players with an impressive track record, starting with senior Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson), a three-time All-NCAC honoree who has finished with a batting average of at least .333 in each of his collegiate seasons while bouncing between shortstop and third base defensively. Goodwin is back at shortstop, with senior Graham Wolff (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), who batted .308 and ranked second on the team with 35 runs scored in 2012, moving back to second base, where he earned first-team All-NCAC honors the year before.
That sends junior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) back to third base, where he was a starter in 2011 before hitting .295 and driving in 20 runs while playing second base a year ago. Junior Cam Chambers (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville), who saw action in 14 games in 2012, will provide depth in the middle infield.
In addition to Jordan, sophomore Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) and junior Tyler Grau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) will see action at first base. Grau batted .232 in 20 appearances, including 16 starts, last year, primarily as a designated hitter. He scored 10 runs and drove in 10 more in 56 official plate appearances.
Grau will be joined by junior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) and sophomore Aaron Patrick (Eldorado, Ohio/Tri-County) in a rotation of designated hitters in 2013.
Finally, the catching position will be manned by junior Alex Lochard (Sidney, Ohio/Sidney), who started 24 games and finished with a .958 fielding percentage in 2012, and freshman Will Cousins (Medfield, Mass./Medfield).
For the second straight year, Finke is the Tigers’ top returning starting pitcher. He has made 18 appearances, including 14 starts, over the last two years, compiling an 8-3 record with an earned run average under 4.00 in more than 100 innings. He will be joined at the top of the rotation for a third straight year by senior Kevin Tolle (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont), who has a 6-4 record in 13 starts over the last two seasons. Finke and Tolle both earned honorable mention All-NCAC awards for their performances in 2012.
To start the season, the rest of the rotation includes sophomore Frank Sullivan (Milford, Ohio/Milford) and freshman Jordan Hitt (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern). The bullpen will feature freshman Luke Black (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), sophomore Stu Haley (Chicago, Ill./New Trier), junior Colby Clark (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg), freshman Seth Parrish (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and Burgher.
