With 7 of his 8 starting position players back in the fold, 3 of his top 4 starting pitchers back, and his most effective relief pitcher returning, fifth-year head coach Tyler Mott will look for the Battling Bishops to make another run at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship.
“I think the pieces we have in place will allow us to compete at a high level day-in and day-out,” Mott said. “If we can get better each day and bring consistent effort, I think we’ll like what we see in a couple of months.”
The Bishop infield returns intact.
Senior Tim Knezovich (ColumbusBriggs) returns at first base. A 2-time All-NCAC selection, Knezovich ranked second in the conference in home runs and eighth in runs batted in last season. Senior Nathan Strome (Sidney), an outstanding defensive player, also returns; junior Ben Steele (Delaware/Hayes) provides additional power, and freshman Sam Abbott (Sun Prairie, Wis.) also will look to contribute.
Junior Zach Bott (Dublin/Coffman) is back at second base after batting .315 last season. Sophomore Andrew Parise (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) also is in the mix.
Senior Steve Gaydos (Strongsville) returns at shortstop, along with sophomore Greg Hock (Lewis Center/Bishop Watterson).
Sophomore Sean Vollenweider (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) won the starting spot at the hot corner last year and went on to bat .324 and receive honorable mention All-NCAC status. Junior Tim Heinmiller (Gahanna/Bishop Hartley) will back up Vollenweider.
Stability also will be an asset in the Bishop outfield.
Senior James DiBiasio (Westlake) found a home in right field last year. DiBiasio led the league in walks and ranked third in stolen bases in 2011. Freshman Sam Keen (Evergreen, Colo.) also will see action in right.
Senior Seth Frentsos (Delaware/Hayes) takes over in center, with sophomore Jack Lawson (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) looking to contribute as well.
Freshman J.J. Buckey (Toledo/Ottawa Hills) is penciled into the leftfield spot, with sophomore Colton Poncsak (Bryan) also looking for playing time.
Behind the plate, junior James Toland (Stow/Walsh Jesuit) is back. Toland clubbed 5 home runs last season, tying for third in the NCAC, and his 32 RBI a year ago was seventh in the league. Sophomore Brandon Marker (Dublin/Scioto) will back up Toland, along with Heinmiller and freshman Collin Finn (Worthington/Thomas Worthington).
On the mound, Mott feels that the Bishops’ experience and depth will be his team’s biggest asset.
Atop the Bishop rotation, senior righthander Kevin Schindler (Mentor) tied for the league lead with 7 wins last year.
Senior lefthander Mason Farr (West Lafayette, Ind.) was the Bishops’ No. 2 starter last season. Farr went 4-2 and tied for eighth in the NCAC in strikeouts in 2011.
Junior righthander Steve Skarsten (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe) went 5-2 last season, including an impressive complete-game performance during the NCAC tournament.
Junior righthander Brandon Sega (Columbus/Upper Arlington), who racked up 5 saves last year, looks to move into the No. 4 spot in the rotation.
Hock, a righthander, and freshman lefthander Charles Cooper (Columbus/Upper Arlington) also will draw starting assignments.
Long relievers include sophomore righthander Billy Cooper (Westerville/Central), freshman righthander Blake Adkins (Westerville/Thomas Worthington), and senior righthander Robbie Shane (Hilliard/Bishop Ready), who has 4 career saves.
Parise, Marker, and Buckey, all righthanders, as well as freshman righthanders Ryan Ossenbeck (Cincinnati/Anderson) and Paul Priddy (Greenwich/South Central), will see action as situational relievers.
Ohio Wesleyan has its earliest starting date in a decade when the Bishops opens their season on February 25 with a twinbill against Bluffton on the turf at Chillicothe. Contests against regional foes Case Reserve and Capital lead into a 8-game trip to Port Charlotte, Fla.
The NCAC schedule returns to a divisional format this year and opens on March 24 at defending champion Wabash. Games against NCAC East Division member Allegheny, along with regional foes Marietta, Muskingum, Wilmington, Thomas More, John Carroll, and Otterbein comprise the remainder of the non-conference schedule.
