After finishing one win shy of the G-MAC Tournament championship game in 2021, the Hillsdale College baseball team is hoping experienced talent, combined with better health and new leadership, will be a winning combination in 2022.
The opposing coaches in the G-MAC pegged the Chargers at seventh in the 11-team conference in the G-MAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour, released on Thursday afternoon. Hillsdale also was picked seventh last season and bettered that prediction by one spot, finishing sixth in the final league standings and upsetting third-seed Ohio Dominican and second-seed Walsh in the G-MAC Tournament.
Defending G-MAC champion and 2021 NCAA DII World Series participant Trevecca Nazarene was picked to finish first, with four first place votes, and conference newcomer Ashland sits in second, with two first place votes. Tiffin is the third-place team with four first place votes in a tight race. You can see the full poll below.
While the Chargers will have a new coach in first year skipper Tom Vessella, the team itself will look familiar to last season, as Hillsdale returns all but four players from its 2021 squad, including all but one player who contributed to an offense that finished in the top four in the G-MAC in virtually every offensive category.
Three players return who finished with double-digit home runs for the Chargers in 2021 and helped Hillsdale lead the conference in the stat, giving the Chargers one of the best power-hitting lineups in the conference. Sophomore first baseman Jeff Landis leads the way, coming off a year when he hit .303 with 15 home runs, the third most in a single season in Charger history.
Outfielder Joe Hardenbergh, who hit .302 with 10 home runs, and shortstop Aidan Brewer, who hit .294 with 10 over the fence as well, are also back for the Chargers, as is dependable leadoff man and third baseman Cody Kanclerz, who led Hillsdale with a .339 batting average in 2021, reliable second baseman Nick Stepke and the team's best defensive outfielder, Danny Passinault.
On the mound, Hillsdale has a big hole to fill with the graduations of Andrew Verbrugge, who finished his career in the top 10 in virtually every pitching category for the Chargers, and dependable starter Sawyer Allen. But Hillsdale has a returning ace in senior David Toth, who set the program's single-season strikeout record in 2021 with 99 and has all the tools to be the G-MAC's best power pitcher in 2022 with more refined control.
Senior James Krick, a starter last year, returns, as do all of Hillsdale's top relievers, including Logan Simon, Paul Brophy, Will Gifford and Brendan Pochmara, from 2021.
The Chargers will hope for better health in 2022 after significant injury problems struck Hillsdale in 2021 and contributed to a mid-season lull that kept the Chargers out of the conference title race. Outfielders Steven Strachan III and Lewis Beals, utility player Cooper Peterson and a variety of pitchers, including expected starter Drew Olssen and top reliever Chad Stevens, all missed significant time and could make a huge impact on Hillsdale's fortunes with better health in 2022.
Hillsdale also has a massive, nine-player class of talented incoming players. While the Chargers' returning depth will make it hard for that group to break through early on, its talent gives Hillsdale plenty to be excited about in the future and reinforces Hillsdale's lineup with the kind of quality depth that should make the Chargers more resilient to injury troubles if they reoccur in 2022.
With significant continuity up and down the roster, the most significant change in 2022 is Vessella, who became the 15th head coach of the Hillsdale College baseball program since WWII when hired this past summer.
An experienced former player who spent several years in the Minor Leagues as a pitcher, and a top-notch baseball mind, Vessella will look to maintain Hillsdale's offensive success in recent years and continue to grow a young but talented pitching staff as the Chargers look to make a return trip to the G-MAC tourney in 2022 and take the next step as a program in the coming seasons.
Hillsdale kicks off the season with neutral site series against two teams who made the NCAA DII Tournament last year. The Chargers play Davenport in a three-game series on Feb. 11 and 12 in Hoover, Alabama, then travel north to Johnson City, Tennessee to take on Northwood in a four game series on Feb. 19 and 20.
Hillsdale's first home game is on March 18 against Ashland, kicking off a four-game series over three days from March 18-20. The Chargers have four home series in 2022, as well as a midweek home contest against Wayne St. on March 29 at 3 p.m.
You can find the full schedule for Hillsdale here.
Great Midwest Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
1.) Trevecca Nazarene (4 first-place votes) – 91 points
2.) Ashland (2 first-place votes) – 82 points
3.) Tiffin (4 first-place votes) – 81 points
4.) Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) – 77 points
5.) Kentucky Wesleyan – 65 points
6.) Walsh – 62 points
7.) Hillsdale – 47 points
8.) Malone – 37 points
9.) Findlay – 27 points
10.) Cedarville – 23 points
11.) Lake Erie – 13 points