Fresh Approach, Same Championship Aspirations for Wooster Baseball

Realignment through changing the program to a different position and state to maximize potential and achieve goals is the theme veteran NCAA Div. III head coach Aaron Swick has been focused on since taking over The College of Wooster's premier baseball program in August. Now, fueled with renewed drive, the Fighting Scots know it will take all aspects of the team coming together to be in the hunt for another North Coast Athletic Conference title this spring.

"This winter, we are focusing our attention on building up skill development and creating good competition in practice," said Swick. "In addition, we are being deliberate in spending time in the mental part of the game and building the right routines and reset mechanisms to work through a challenging sport."

Pushing the team hard in practice and establishing a focused, determined, yet relaxed culture in games is how Wooster's new head coach described the style, and he noted, "we will use analytics to make guys successful pitch to pitch and play to play."

High-powered offense has been the program's calling card for decades, and Swick feels the program is "talented to win games in a shootout and to win games that are close if we play good defense." That success will be predicated on a very young pitching staff in terms of collegiate experience ramping into attack mode quickly and consistently.

"We are going to pitch to contact and try to get off the field as quickly as possible," said Swick. "Our staff has grown and improved throughout the year. We are looking for consistent competitors who can get outs. They've really grown in the nuances of pitching with holding runners, timing, being able to pitch inside and outside, and pitching backwards from time to time. Overall, there is great potential."

Senior Corey Knauf is the most experienced Wooster pitcher and has worked over 50 innings in each of the last two seasons. He has the stuff to be flat-out dominant, evidenced by the program's first 15-strikeout game since 1944, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Hiram College, and firing seven innings of two-hit shutout baseball against Grove City College.

Sophomore Devin Anthony earned third-team All-NCAC honors as a first-year after ranking in the top eight in the conference in wins and ERA. Anthony went 3-0 with a 2.88 ERA in conference play, headlined by holding Hiram to just two hits through eight innings in his debut weekend conference start.

"Both Corey and Devin are smart guys and command the strike zone," said Swick. "They throw multiple pitches for strikes, have good feel, and are good competitors. They've both pitched well for us leading up to the season."

Several key arms who were called upon multiple times per week graduated from the program, and Wooster will look to a mix of returnees and newcomers to align within those roles. Sophomore Sammy De Maio, Wooster's leader among those with 20 innings pitched in ERA last year, is a big key to the group. Other returnees Swick is projected to look to for big outs includes junior Alex Gerdenich, junior Thomas Gfell, and sophomore Cooper Baer, who projects to have a pitching-only role this year. Sophomore Jack Spring, back from a long-term injury, will provide a boost to the core pitchers.

"We will look for leverage opportunities and matchups for Sammy," shared Swick. "Using Sammy to our advantage is going to be important. He throws his changeup well and can face left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters. Alex, Thomas, and Cooper all have unique stuff which can give the opposing team a tough matchup."

Offensively, Swick is looking for the Scots to really make pitchers work and be a pesky out. Ultimately, he is prepared to tweak the style to be a "byproduct of who is in the lineup," and wants Wooster to be "multidimensional and be able to score runs in different ways."

All-American middle infielder Eli Westrick fits that approach perfectly and is someone for the entire lineup to look up to, evidenced by consistently getting the ball in play and ranking as one of the toughest players in the country to strike out last year.

"The thing that is really impressive about Eli is he has such great feel for his swing and can generate extra base hits at any time and can do so to all parts of the field," shared Swick. "Eli does a really good job understanding the situation and maximizing his potential. He is going to be a significant catalyst on the field and in the dugout."

Rising sophomore Ryan Kramer, described by Swick as "maybe one of the better hitters I have ever seen," has "really grown in the area of having a good plan at the plate." Kramer was an immediate impact player as a first-year and was the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Div. III co-Rookie of the Month for February. He projects to start at first base.

Junior Nick Pett projects to start at third and had a "good fall," per Swick, and is another bat that can "drive the ball to all fields." Good defense and arm strength are other areas Swick highlighted on his hot corner starter.

At the moment, sophomore Andrew McGowan is the starter at second base, with senior Grant Mitchell nipping at the feet for a middle infield starting role. "We have three really good players up the middle and only two spots in the infield," per Swick. Junior Andy Heintz adds depth to the infield among the returnees.

Sophomore John Panstares emerged as the everyday starter in center field last year and brought superb defense to the team. Simply put, Wooster's defense did not drop off in center field, a key point to note as the then-first-year was taking over for American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Gold Glove winner Ben Gbur.

"John runs down balls pretty well in the outfield," confirmed Swick.

Gerdenich enters the year as the starter in right field, while either senior Bryn Langley or junior Leo Widtmann will play left field. With Gerdenich projected to be a regular pitcher, Swick noted "we are going to have to figure out who the other outfielders are." A "pretty equal group" with junior Ben Carroll and sophomore Dan Hanson in the mix gives a plethora of players who can "track down the ball pretty well," per Swick. Offensive consistency ultimately could be a key factor for earning regular opportunities.

Sophomore Colin Leslie has really impressed Swick and enters the year as the team's No. 1 catcher. More consistency, good bat speed, and the ability to get on base has the right-hander projected for a spot in the middle of the lineup, per Swick, who also noted, sophomores Grant Craig and Nathaniel Huxtable are vying for the backup spot.

"Colin has a plus arm, receives pitches well, understands the game, and will hit in the middle of the order," shared Swick.

Wooster's first-year class consists of infielder Zack Barienbrock, catcher Sam Calcut, infielder Tamlin Ferguson, pitcher Dean Goldman, infielder Jay Hanzie, pitcher Noah Kasper, pitcher/infielder Andrew Kerr, pitcher Michael Scarpelli, pitcher Ben Tarpey, pitcher Isaiah Vance, and pitcher Constantine Vernadakis.

"Our first years are hungry," said Swick. "They have been working hard and have been adapting to college baseball well. As a group, they are good learners and have put in the extra effort. The class has a bright future."

Twenty-one of Wooster's 40 games are against teams that won 25 or more games in 2023. Swick likes the challenge and making sure the program is "measured against teams that are the best."

"Our goal is to play as well as we can, to control ourselves," concluded Swick. "If we play good baseball, there is no reason why we shouldn't be in the hunt for the NCAC title."

Wooster opens its season at Spalding University on Friday, Feb. 23. The Scots are at home for the first time against Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, March 2.