Great hitting is synonymous with The College of Wooster baseball program, especially over the last four decades. Legendary head coach Tim Pettorini’s guidance that transformed Kurt Kapferer from an average high school hitter into one of the most feared left-handed bats in small college baseball is part of the reason why.
Div. I programs shied away from aspirations of developing the 6-7 left-hander into an overpowering southpaw following a torn rotator cuff and labrum as a high school senior. Wooster kept up its pursuit and “after seeing him take a few hacks” upon arriving on campus, Pettorini instantly knew he had to find somewhere for the promising left-handed power bat to play.
“The biggest thing that stood out immediately was Kurt’s tremendous power,” summed up Pettorini. “We were very fortunate to have a tremendously talented roster when Kurt arrived on campus. I knew with the power he had that he would enhance an already outstanding team. He fit in immediately and really blossomed as a hitter in his time at Wooster.”
First base is where Kapferer landed, and he made such an impact that he appeared on the All-North Coast Athletic Conference honorable mention team as a first-year despite starting 18 of the team’s 43 games and appearing in 33 games overall. The instant contributor hit an impressive .388 (26-for-67) with 28 runs, 22 RBI, and five home runs and followed that up with a .331 average (54-for-163), 58 RBI, 42 runs, and a NCAC-leading 16 round-trippers as a sophomore en route to earning an elevation to first-team All-NCAC and debuting on the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Mideast Region team.
A knee injury midway through his junior year limited Kapferer to designated hitter duties, yet it did not slow him down one bit at the plate. A loaded Wooster lineup with three ABCA All-Americans, including Div. III National Player of the Year Luke Ullman, gave Kapferer plenty of protection as he hit .382 (58-for-152) with 55 RBI, 40 runs, 12 doubles, and 10 home runs. Wooster went 39-9, won its fourth Mideast Regional title and finished third at the NCAA Div. III “World Series,” the program’s second-highest national finish at the time.
Wooster’s lineup scored even more runs during Kapferer’s senior year with a 9.7 per-game scoring average, and the program was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the national polls for each week of the regular season. Kapferer’s play led to first-team ABCA All-America honors following a .388 average (57-for-147) with 54 RBI, 48 runs, a Div. III-leading 18 home runs, and 10 doubles. The NCAC Player of the Year strung together a conference- and program-best 29-game hitting streak, during which Wooster went 25-4. Kapferer hit .462 (43-for-93) with 41 runs, 35 RBI, and an astonishing 14 home runs during the streak and reached based at a near-60-percent clip.
Kapferer’s 49 home runs still sit atop the program leaderboard. The three-time all-region and four-time all-conference selection played on teams that went 144-43, made three NCAA appearances, and won three conference titles.
After graduating with a computer science degree, Kapferer started his professional career at Lincoln Electric Company. He has worked as a solution consultant at Hyland Software since 2013.
Personally, Kapferer is married to Katie (Marco) ’06, and they reside in Brecksville, Ohio.