MITCHELL HORUCY
Special to The Leader
Image by KAYLA WELSH | Staff Photographer.
With three years under their belts, seniors Jordan Maher and Jake Wentland prepare for their final seasons.
Maher has been successful thus far at Fredonia, with a career batting average of .302. Wentland has also had a successful campaign leading into his senior season, with a career batting average of .270 and ten RBIs. Both Maher and Wentland were named captains for their senior years.
When asked about what it meant to be named a captain, Wentland said, “It means a lot to me, because it puts me in a position where I can help out the young guys that I see.”
He added that the jump from high school to college baseball is a big one, so he tries to help out his younger teammates as much as he can.
Maher stated that it was rewarding to be named a captain.
“Going through three tough years, record wise and with COVID, and … being able to battle through all that and … to be named captain, it’s kind of cool,” Maher said.
Maher mentioned that even though he has this title, he is no different than a freshman — they’re all one team. Maher added that this was also the first year where he didn’t feel like an underclassman. His freshman year was during the pandemic, so his season was cut short. Last season, his first year as an upperclassmen, he was behind 16 seniors.
During spring break, the team will be traveling to Lakeland, Fla., to compete in a week-long tournament. The team will play 10 games over the course of seven days, which means there won’t be much time for anything besides baseball.
Maher said the team builds tight team bonds whenever they have a chance to gather as a group. This is often after long practices or late games.
Wentland added that even on their off days, the team will try to do baseball activities to keep their minds right.
“Whether it’s [when] we go to the cages to hit on off days or get a throw in or get a good stretch outside, there’s beautiful weather, we just have to take advantage of it,” Wentland said.
He also added that they will try to go out and do some team activities such as mini golf or go-karting during their week in Florida.
Last season might not have been the best season for the team, finishing just 10-24, but there are things that can be used to help their team improve for this season. Both Maher and Wentland said that it was very beneficial to just be on and around the team last year. They mentioned that being at the games and in the locker room, they got a firsthand look at how a team operates.
As mentioned earlier, the team last year had 16 seniors, meaning many team members left. However, the team has added 19 new players. They have a good incoming freshman class, and have added players through the transfer portal. Wentland stated that he was excited to see the young guys on the team play and compete.
Another big addition to the team is new head coach, Jordan Basile, a Fredonia alum. Basile is the all-time hits leader at Fredonia and is a member of the university’s Hall of Fame. He has 12 years of experience at numerous different levels, including Division I. Maher and Wentland are both excited to get to know him better and see how he likes to run things.
When asked about something that makes this team special, Wentland talked about how tight knit the group is. The team is usually eating together in the dining hall, and they can always talk to their assistant coach, Ryan Hann, to help them out with their game.
Maher mentioned that since the team is so young, they have to accept that they are going to be a scrappy team on the field.
Both Maher and Wentland agreed that even though all of the SUNYAC games are big, the series at home versus Brockport is the match they’re most looking forward to.
“We know a lot of guys on the team, and hopefully, it’ll be the best game of the year,” Wentland said.
Wentland also added that they had two former players take the trip down I-90 and join Brockport for their graduate school years. Wentland said it’ll be interesting to see those guys again and compete against them.
Wentland, when asked about his expectations for this season said, “We know how the SUNYAC stacks up against us. We know the top teams in the conference that are continually ranked nationally and we just plan on competing as hard as we can and staying scrappy for runs, scrappy for young guys that can compete and get their experience and stack up some wins whenever we can.”
Maher had similar sentiments when talking about his expectations for the season. He mentioned that he wants to stay competitive for the whole game no matter what the final score is.
Despite a tough season last year, the Fredonia men’s baseball team is excited and optimistic for the new season.
Catch the team at their first home game on March 28 against Penn State Behrend at Ludwig Field.