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game operations | event staff

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

Dr. Garry Killgore

EVENT MANAGER

Doug Hire

COMMUNICATIONS

Kaho Akau, Joe Stuart, Kelly Bird

STATISTICS

Joe Miglioretto

PUBLIC ADDRESS AND SCOREBOARD

Jeremy Nettrouer

VIDEO WEBCASTS

Joe Stuart, Isaac Milner, Jack Stallard, Johnny Miller

GAME PROGRAM

Kelly Bird, Felip Unker, Kaho Akau

Picking Up Where They Left Off

After a springboard season in 2022, Linfield returns a mature club that has its sights set on reaching the next level

by kaho akau ’19

Anytime you put on a Linfield baseball jersey, people expect you to contend.

The Wildcats had a significant turnaround in 2022. They went from an eighth-place Northwest Conference finish in 2021 to claiming a share of the regular season championship a year later under Dan Spencer in his third year as head coach. It was the program’s first league title since 2017, and Spencer became the first Linfield skipper to be named the NWC Coach of the Year since that same season.

Linfield rolled into the NWC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and made it to Championship Sunday, where the Wildcats fell to their co-champion Pacific Boxers in Forest Grove. They finished the season at 20-20 overall and 14-10 in NWC play while landing six players on the All-Conference Team.

“I wouldn’t say we overachieved last year,” Spencer said as he enters his fourth season at the helm. “I told the team to win the games we were supposed to win. For the most part, we did that. We just needed to win one more in the tournament.”

Bet On The Wildcats

Linfield has two goals heading into Opening Day. The first goal is to get to the conference tournament. The second goal is to win it. In a league that has sent just one representative to the NCAA Tournament in recent years, securing an automatic berth to the playoffs is almost necessary.

“You’ve got to get there and then you’ve got to win it,” said Spencer about the NWC Tournament. “What we do up until that point is to try to accomplish those two things.”

The ‘Cats were picked second and received one firstplace vote in the NWC Preseason Coaches Poll. Spencer believes the returning players will make the necessary contributions, and the newcomers will fill key roles to help the team get back to the top of the standings.

One of the positions that needs to be filled is second base as junior Mike LaVigne will sit out the entire 2023 season due to injury following a second straight all-conference selection. Danny Kahn is expected to take over at second base, but he’ll miss some time too and will return to the lineup when healthy.

The loss of those two veterans means other players will step up and gain some experience. The good thing is the depth is there, but it’s starting to reach its limit.

“We like our club,” Spencer said. “Overall, our talent is better. That helps us on paper, and that’s where it starts.”

Starting Pitching

The starting rotation is falling into place, but there will likely still be changes from series to series. Junior John Over and senior Andrew Del Biaggio are set to take the mound in Games 1 and 2. Over posted a 4.66 ERA in 11 starts last season while Del Biaggio led the team with 54 strikeouts.

“Both of them are better than they were a year ago,” Spencer said. “Jackson Koons has also been great, but we’re not sure what to do with him yet.”

Koons went 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA as a freshman a year ago, appearing in 13 games and starting in eight. If he’s needed at any point in the first two games of a series, he’ll enter in relief. If he’s not needed, Spencer plans to throw him on the mound to start Game 3.

“We’re not sure if he’s more valuable to help us out of the bullpen. We don’t want to hold on to a guy to be our No. 3 starter when he could help us win one of those first two games. That will sort itself out in the first couple weeks, and we’ll go from there.”

Coming Out Of The Pen

Relief pitching was a strength for Linfield in 2022 thanks in large part to Fourth Team All-American closer Colton Meyer, NWC Pitcher of the Year.

Senior submarine pitcher Skyler Manelski will serve as the primary closer but could get help at the back end of games from Koons and sophomore Nick Alder. Junior Gavin Ludlow is another experienced arm that has shown promise in the early spring.

The addition of freshmen righties Casey Struckmeier and Brian Mannion adds depth to the bullpen. Both also have starting potential and could be used as Game 3 arms if Koons is needed in relief.

“We like all those guys. We have to get them into games. The goal is to try to win every game. We have to learn things along the way to find out what we’re going to look like at the end of the season.”

For Pitching And Defense

Linfield learned a lot about itself when it opened the season with an exhibition doubleheader against Corban University of the NAIA, giving the ‘Cats a chance to play against a team in different colors.

Last year, a strong bullpen helped win games for a fairly young starting rotation. Now that those starters are a year older, the coaching staff expects more innings out of them to put the team in the best position to win games.

Clean defense is not just a goal but an expectation. The ‘Cats have a high standard for how they want to defend, and it starts with the fundamentals.

“We expect to defend, play catch and throw the ball to the correct base. We’re going to defend at a high level.”

The Backstops

Great catching is at a premium, but not at Linfield. Four players will compete for time behind the plate in Nate Kassler, Brett Joner, Cage Hardy and Tyler Marr.

Kassler played in 20 games and started in 12 as a freshman last year, but his season was hindered by injury. He recorded 76 putouts and eight assists. Joner batted .288 and caught 10 runners stealing. Hardy appeared in 17 games and registered a 1.000 fielding percentage.

“They all want to be the guy, but they push each other, help each other and help the pitchers. They’re selfless and want to win. It’s a pleasure to work with them every day.”

The Lineup

At the Division III level, the teams that win games are the teams that have upperclassmen with experience. And this year’s senior class is expected to carry the load and lead the way for the newcomers.

Garrett Moen and Bodey Smith will man center and right field, respectively, while Branden Pasion and Jackson Horner will return to the corner infield positions. There are also high expectations for Cameron Skinner to lock down the desig- nated hitter spot in the lineup.

One of the top defensive outfielders in the NWC, Moen also recorded a .378 on-base percentage last season. Pasion was named an honorable mention in his first season in McMinnville, playing in all 40 games and starting in 38. He led the team with a .326 batting average, 12 doubles, 20 walks and 11 hit by pitches.

“If those guys have good years, then the younger guys will fit in accordingly.”

First team all-NWC shortstop Tanner Jacques graduated last spring, but the ‘Cats have found his replacement in junior Jake Hoskins, a transfer from Linn-Benton Community College.

A group of freshmen outfielders will rotate in left field to complement Moen and Smith. But as talented as those underclassmen are, the team will still rely on the consistency of the returners.

A Game Of Strategy

Spencer tells his players that baseball is like a game of chess. There’s an opening, a middle game and an end game. If the ‘Cats set themselves up well in the first two stages, they’re going to find themselves in better spots in the end game.

With the first series unfolding this weekend, they’re going to keep things simple by going out there, throwing strikes, playing good defense and seeing where they stand near the end of those games.

“We just want to play good baseball and see how it all shakes out.”

ETHAN RHOADS | 0

5-11 | Sophomore | INF Seattle, Washington