Southern Indiana Today

Wabash Baseball Begins 2023 Season In Memphis

The Wabash College baseball team begins its 2023 season this weekend with three games in Memphis, Tennessee, at Rhodes College. The Little Giants are scheduled to face Augustana College Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT before taking on the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire on Saturday. Wabash closes the trip with a Sunday nine-inning contest against Rhodes at 2 p.m.

 

Wabash head coach Jake Martin knows the competition his Little Giant team will face not only this weekend but in the following week at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, and in the spring break trip to Florida will help prepare the squad for the week-to-week battles in a challenging North Coast Athletic Conference schedule.

 

"The level of competition that we're facing and getting used to seeing the quality arms we're going to see from day one, getting used to seeing the tough lineups one through nine, and just playing clean baseball against quality opponents will be valuable as we build towards the conference portion of the schedule. This nonconference portion is as tough of a schedule as I've put together. We're excited to see how we match up against some of the best teams in the country."

 

Wabash finished 20-19 last season with a 4-14 mark in conference games. The Little Giants were picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the NCAC preseason coaches poll.

 

"The North Coast Athletic Conference is a really tough league and one we're excited to compete in," Martin said. "There are some tough scheduling pieces for playing teams coming off byes due to the unbalanced schedule. We could face two number-one pitchers in the first four conference games. It can create some interesting matchups, but we must take it week by week. We will run out our best and not overthink how the matchups play out. We need to handle our business. We feel pretty good about being able to run quality starters out for four conference games per week and are excited about the challenge."

 

The Little Giants return plenty of offensive firepower in 2023. Kamden Earley led the Little Giants with a .363 batting average last season. The junior outfielder collected 53 hits and 73 total bases in 37 games as a freshman. AJ Reid hit .361 as a sophomore and owned a .469 on-base percentage with 52 hits, 20 walks, was hit by pitches 12 times, and finished with 81 total bases while starting all 37 games for Wabash. He and Earley shared the team lead with 40 RBI apiece.

 

Senior catcher Liam Patton drove in 37 runs and led the Little Giants with a .517 slugging percentage. He hit a team-high five home runs while batting .321 for the season. Camden Scheidt collected 37 hits and batted .336 as a freshman. He scored 37 runs, drove in another 17, and stole 13 bases in 15 attempts. Evan Neukam started 24 games as a freshman with a .307 batting average and a .393 on-base percentage.

 

"AJ's been a guy for us since his freshman year that's hit the middle of the order. He started shortstop on his first days on campus. He's a consistent, tough, hard worker and sets the tone offensively and defensively for us. Patton is just a big bat in the middle of the order. He's physically big and kind of intimidating there, and he can hit for extra bases. Those two in the middle of the order should allow us to drive in some runs. With Scheidt getting on base in front of those guys, we can drive in some runs. He's a tough player to strike out, and he gets on base in the leadoff spot.

 

"I believe Alex Washlock and Michael Galanos will be good options in the infield. Jackson Wannemuehler and Will Phillips have done a nice job in their development and should provide us with excellent depth in the outfield. And can get into the mix in the starting lineup as well. Benjamin Henke is a freshman shortstop from Jasper, Indiana. We feel he can get into the mix and potentially start at shortstop, allowing us to move Reid to third base. We have many options and flexibility with the depth in the infield."

 

On the mound the Little Giants will turn to seniors Jacob Bishop and Derek Haslett, as well as sophomore Grant Stratton. Bishop pitched 50 innings last season with a 4.68 earned run average and a 5-4 record in 12 appearances. He struck out 53 batters while allowing 34 walks and held opposing teams to a .217 batting average. Stratton appeared in 14 games with six starts as a freshman. He worked 48-1/3 innings and struck out 32 batters while allowing only 15 walks with a 4.25 ERA. Haslett should move into the starting rotation for the Little Giants. The senior was 1-0 last year with a 3.93 ERA in 18.1 innings of work.

 

"A big loss came with the graduation of Dylan Scheid and Tavic Simmons," Martin added. "Those are some veteran players who pitched in many big games for us, so we need to fill those spots. Early on, Robbie Manuzzi looks like he can take the next step. With four starts last year and some significant innings as a freshman, we think he can fill in one of those starting spots. The growth of Stratton should be an impact for us. Bishop, Haslett, and Sam Phillips are also veteran arms that should be able to fill the void of Scheid and Simmons."

 

Original source can be found here.