The Madison College men’s baseball season is inching closer to their regular-season opening game on March 24.
The WolfPack finished 8-2 during their Arizona spring training trip that started on March 9.
In that stretch, the No. 2 ranked posted wins over Chandler-Gilbert Community College twice, Mesa Community College, Williston State College, Miles Community College, Western Nebraska Community College, Paradise Valley College and GateWay College.
The WolfPack’s only losses during the trip came at the hands of Glendale Community College, a 2-1 loss and a 6-2 loss on March 14.
Glendale was ranked 19th in the most recent NJCAA poll and had already played 28 games this year at the time of the ranking.
Madison College starts off the season facing Morton College in Cicero, Ill., on March 24. The WolfPack look to have back-to-back fantastic seasons after they made a run to the National Finals last year.
WolfPack head coach Mike Davenport, who is entering his 19th season as the Wolfpack’s head coach, looks to build onto what they had last season when the team tied the school record of 50 wins.
This Madison College team will look different this season with 20 newcomers and just nine players who saw some sort of action during the 2022 season.
One sophomore to keep an eye out for is all-conference shortstop Gabe Roessler. Last year, he batted .355 with 65 hits, 51 runs scored and 44 runs batted in. He also had 14 stolen bases and a .909 fielding percentage. Roessler started out last season with a 14-game hitting streak.
Another returning player to keep an eye on is Roessler’s fellow infielder teammate Carter Stebane. Stebane had a .303 batting average to go along with 33 hits, 31 runs scored and 26 RBIs a year ago.
The pitching staff has three returning to the team, Chris Byhre, Alex Hayes and Eli Hoyt.
Hoyt and Hayes saw the most action of the three, pitching 45.0 and 44.0 innings, respectively. Hoyt posted a 1.40 earned run average with 53 strikeouts, while Hayes had a 4.09 ERA and 41 strikeouts. Hoyt was second on the team in wins with a 7-1, while Hayes finished 4-1 with two saves.
Byhre was a middle and late reliever in 2022, leading the team with a 0.98 ERA over 18.1 innings to earn a 3-1 record and two saves.
Your first chance to see the Madison College baseball team at home this season comes on April 1, when they play a doubleheader against the College of DuPage starting at 3 p.m.