2008 Bethel Baseball Blog (latest entry first)

March 16th, 2008

Short First Week Back

After taking Monday and Tuesday off we returned to work on Wednesday in order to prepare for our home opener on Saturday.  At first it looked almost impossible to play our home opener but the weather helped us get the field ready to play.  Saturday was once again an inconsistent day for us.

 In game one we managed to give up 4 unearned runs in a loss to Concordia University (MI).  A decent pitching performance by freshman Lance Schrock went to waste.  The numbers may not look all that great, but it was one of those games in which ball that should have been caught landed for singles and ended up scoring.  Lance threw five innings allowing nine hits and five runs (only two earned).  Offensively, in game one Tony Bruns and Nelson Sanchez picked up a pair of base knocks each.

Game two saw a much better Bethel team take on the Concordia Cardinals.  It was a very well pitched game by freshman Jesse V. Johnston.  Jesse picked his second win of the season on a complete game effort in which he allowed five hits and two runs (none earned).  Offensively we clicked in all cylinders.  Cam Branock, Nelson Sanchez and Tony Bruns each had two hits.

So far it has been a very weird season.  One game we play like it is the first time in our lives playing baseball and the next we game we go out there and play like we are capable of playing.  The one constant has been our pitching; we are currently carrying a 3.46 team ERA, now it’s just a matter of taking ownership of our play on defense.  Once we start making the routine play and executing at the plate consistently we are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the conference.

Record:

5-8 (0-0)

This Week: March 17 – 23 

Away   - Tuesday @ MARIAN COLLEGE 1:00 pm (DH)

HOME - Thursday vs. MARIAN COLLEGE 1:00 pm (DH)

HOME - Saturday vs. TAYLOR UNIVERSITY 1:00 pm (DH)

Season Box Stats

March 10, 2008

Spring Trip Recap

Downs and Ups

Last week was a very productive week for us.  It gave us a great opportunity to evaluate the ball club as well as some individuals before the start of another MCC season.  The week started with us losing to Montreat (NC) and beating Walsh (OH) on Monday.  Tuesday we lost to Walsh before taking a break on Wednesday.  We resumed action on Thursday by losing to a very average Siena Heights (MI) team and then losing to Thomas (GA).  It had been a very disappointing trip so far and a decision had to be made.  We challenged the team to decide which direction they wanted to go for the rest of our stay in the sunshine state as well as for the remaining of the season.  At this point we are 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the Warner Southern Invitational.

On Friday however, it seemed as if the real Bethel Baseball Club showed to play.  We went on to beat last year’s super-regional runner-up St. Ambrose (IA) on the first game of a double header and later on that night we played host Warner Southern (FL) and defeated them after being down 7-1 after four innings. 

Saturday we played Warner again for the third place in the invitational and lost to them 5-4. 

We were very proud of the way we played over the weekend.  It could have been easy to throw in the towel after being down, but the guys proved everyone what Bethel baseball is all about, and that the word “quit” is not in our vocabulary.

3-5 on the trip does not seem like anything to be happy about, but we are really happy of how that 3-5 record came about.  We had a lot of good things happening during our trip, and most importantly we found that we can play with anyone in the country. 

Record:

4-7 (0-0)

This Week:

HOME - Saturday March 15th vs. Concordia University (MI) 1:00 pm (DH)

 

February 25th 2008

Baseball Season Underway

A three game series against NAIA #17 Trevecca Nazarene University opened our 2008 season.  The weekend series was highlighted by a game three 3-2 win over the Trojans. It was the first win of the season and it also was the first time in nine games that we beat Trevecca since we started opening our season in Nashville the last four years.


It was a very good series for us for many reasons. First and for most, it gave us the opportunity to get outside and compete against somebody not wearing Bethel blue.  Even though we came home with a 1-2 record, we are extremely happy about the trip.  We wanted to improve in all areas of the game but particularly on defense, and all the hard work paid off. We only committed three errors, two of them were on really though plays.  Pitching wise we had two very good starts from Chad Emberton and Andy Biskupski.  Chad allowed one earned run in five innings and Andy got the win allowing 2 runs in a complete game effort.  Freshmen Chris Zart and Jesse Johnston each had scoreless performances.  On offense, we managed to score 9 runs against very good pitching.  We hit a lot of balls hard, we also executed every hit and run play and walked 14 times.  Ben Nehls, Mike Green and Walter Lehman all collected their first hits.  

Bethel is 1-2 (0-0)

Bethel Baseball Stats

2.22.08

The Bethel College Baseball team looks to bounce back.

 After a very disappointing 2007 campaign, we are eager to get the new season underway.  Returning six starters from last years’ squad, we are looking forward to getting on the field and giving our huge freshman class some experience before the start of another tough MCC season.

 We are going to have a nice mixture of experience and youth on the field.  Senior Victor Odreman comes back to first base after missing the 2007 season.  Juniors Cameron Branock (SS) and Nelson Sanchez (3B) will cover the left side of the Pilots’ infield.  Freshmen Mike Green and Marty Rasala will compete for playing time at the second sack.  Sophomore Tony Bruns will return to his natural position behind the plate after playing the majority of his freshman season at first.  Freshman Walter Lehmann will complete the catching tandem. The Outfield will be surrounded by a trio of Penn High School grads as Sophomore Reid Spitaels will patrol center field and Freshmen Ben Nehls and Dustin Gosztola will run down balls in the corners.  Senior Andy Biskupski and junior Chad Emberton will provide experience on a pitching staff that features one sophomore and seven freshmen.

 We open the season with a three game series against (NAIA #17) Trevecca Nazarene University (7-2) in Nashville Tennessee this weekend.

For more information and a complete schedule and roster check:
The Bethel Baseball Homepage <===== Link

2.21.08

The Bethel College Baseball team looks to bounce back.

After a very disappointing 2007 campaign, we are eager to get the new season underway.  Returning six starters from last years’ squad, we are looking forward to getting on the field and giving our huge freshman class some experience before the start of another tough MCC season.

We are going to have a nice mixture of experience and youth on the field.  Senior Victor Odreman comes back to first base after missing the 2007 season.  Juniors Cameron Branock (SS) and Nelson Sanchez (3B) will cover the left side of the Pilots’ infield.  Freshmen Mike Green and Marty Rasala will compete for playing time at the second sack.  Sophomore Tony Bruns will return to his natural position behind the plate after playing the majority of his freshman season at first.  Freshman Walter Lehmann will complete the catching tandem. The Outfield will be surrounded by a trio of Penn High School grads as Sophomore Reid Spitaels will patrol center field and Freshmen Ben Nehls and Dustin Gosztola will run down balls in the corners.  Senior Andy Biskupski and junior Chad Emberton will provide experience on a pitching staff that features one sophomore and seven freshmen.

 We open the season with a three game series against (NAIA #17) Trevecca Nazarene University (7-2) in Nashville Tennessee this weekend.

For more information and a complete schedule and roster check:
The Bethel Baseball Homepage <===== Link