A plethora of talent is consistently waiting in the wings to compete for and fill graduation voids no matter which spots need reloading, and that has enabled The College of Wooster baseball team to contend for North Coast Athletic Conference championships and beyond on an annual basis. Last year, a less experienced lineup answered the call and helped guide Wooster to the NCAC Championship Series. This year, the pitching staff has the opportunity to step up as the younger component of the Fighting Scots' team.

"I like our team a lot," shared Barry Craddock, who enters year three leading his alma mater's program. "I think we are poised to make a good run at the conference title again, and then beyond. We have an older lineup, losing just one starter to graduation. We did lose some significant pitchers, yet still have some guys with experience to jump into those spots. Then, we have some players who earned some time last year chomping at the bit."

Senior shortstop Tyler Chumita headlines Wooster's veteran-driven lineup and is one of the catalysts for the overall team success. The American Baseball Coaches Association All-American reached base at a 56 percent clip and hit .465 (59-for-127) in 2021, with those marks raking as the third- and fifth-highest, respectively, in the program's storied single-season history.

"Tyler is the best player in the region in my opinion," stated Craddock. "He may not throw the fastest on the team or run the fastest, but he is so important in everything that he does for us. He is the leader of the defense at shortstop and a middle of the order hitter. Tyler is such a good baseball player."

Talent capable of performing at an all-region level or beyond surrounds Chumita in the lineup, and presents no easy outs for opposing pitchers. Senior right fielder Ben Hines earned all-region laurels in his first season as an everyday player, and senior centerfielder Ben Gbur is one of the top all-around athletes in the region. Junior first baseman Dane Camphausen hit .355 (43-of-121) and belted eight round-trippers in his first full season as a starter.

"Our top four hitters are all capable of being conference player of the year," summed up Craddock. "The numbers we are capable of putting up is very exciting for us, and very troubling for our opposition. They are going to have a difficult time getting through nine inning games this year. Playing seven inning games until the conference tournament last year was an advantage for our opposition. When you have to go through our lineup and face those guys a minimum of three times, you have problems."

The faces hitting fifth through seventh in the lineup heading into the spring project to be familiar ones in senior designated hitter Alex Gasper, senior left fielder Dominic Stilliana, and junior third baseman Dean Brown. However things "aren't settled yet," per Craddock, with much of the "competition against each other indoors," still on tap leading up to opening day on March 5. Craddock does see the lineup being "very similar" to last year, but some of the spots "could flip around."

Senior Michael Thomas is slated to be the starting catcher, per Craddock, with Gasper serving as the immediate backup. Sophomore Eli Westrick enters spring practice holding the early leg up for the starting second baseman spot, with sophomores Jack Henderson and Grant Mitchell among the returnees pushing very hard for time, per the Scots' skipper. Other returnees among the position players include junior catcher Riley McErlean, junior outfielder Jack Whitehouse, sophomore catcher Marcus Cole, and sophomore outfielder Bryn Langley.

Wooster graduated its top three starting pitchers and the departures account for nearly half of the innings pitched in 2021. Wooster's two most experienced arms – seniors Mitchell Reardon and Colin Springer – are a great "one-two punch," per Craddock, and plenty of arms are eager to prove themselves following a season with available innings at a premium due to teams playing seven-inning games as part of COVID-related adjustments instead of traditional baseball.

"I think we're deeper than probably some of our opponents give us early season credit for because they just don't know what we know," summed up Craddock. "The bulk of our pitcher-only staff has only gotten better and guys are more willing to throw strikes. I feel strongly that senior Dylan Carr, junior Owen Barnard, and sophomore Corey Knauf are going to push for front-end spots among the returnees."

Junior Ryan Sullivan is a guy "we are going to be able to use a lot," according to Craddock, while junior Ethan Samangy has quickly earned the trust of the staff due to "managing difficult situations really well." Junior Steven Leicht and sophomore Christian Johnston are "really coming on throwing a lot more strikes," and that should lead to opportunities per the coaching staff. Junior Hayden Sherry, an unknown due to coming off a year of injury, rounds out the returnees on the pitcher-only staff.

Wooster may lean on its everyday position players in two-way roles, as Gbur, Westrick, and Brown are some of the hardest throwers on the team. That was a blueprint to success on the Scots' latest run to the NCAA Div. III World Series, with third baseman Chandler Dippman serving as the team's ace by season's end in 2018.

"More than likely those guys will be bullpen arms so they can be more everyday players at their position, but we will see," said Craddock. "We just have to build them up and see what they are capable of giving us."

An eight-member first-year class rounds out the 2022 team and Craddock's "excited for the bright future they have with the program and where they can take their talents moving from this point forward."

Wooster opens its season on Saturday, March 5 with a two-day set at Spalding University. A 10-game trip to Florida follows before the Scots return home to take on John Carroll University in the home opener on Tuesday, March 29 at 4 p.m. NCAC play starts April 2 when DePauw University makes the trip to Art Murray Field.