Bearcats Build Offensive Success on Power, Finesse, and Quickness

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University baseball team has been very successful on offense this season, as the Bearcats have shown the power to blast home runs, the finesse to advance and score runners, and the quickness to steal bases. Nine regular starters for the Bearcats are hitting at least .280 with six players above .300 and three players at or above .400. Willamette has scored 234 runs in 28 games an average of 8.4 runs per contest.

Power has been on display with the Bearcats smacking 49 home runs so far this season, including 26 in the last nine games. Willamette leads the nation in NCAA Division III in home runs. East Texas Baptist University, which has achieved eight fewer homers, ranks second with 41.

Five Bearcats have hit at least seven homers. The leaders are Michael Nelsen (Sr., C, Folsom, CA/Vista Del Lago HS) with 11 homers, Samuel Daly (So., RF, El Dorado Hills, CA/Jesuit HS) with nine, Luke Werkmeister-Martin (So., 1B, Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) and Jeff Hoffman (Fy., 3B, Salida, CA/Joseph A. Grigori HS) with eight, and Ethan Fischel (Jr., SS, Eureka, CA/Eureka HS) with seven. Nelsen also leads the Northwest Conference in home runs and is tied for the lead in NCAA Division III.

The Bearcats also have pounded 57 doubles and three triples. Sean Little (Sr., INF, Corvallis, OR/Crescent Valley HS) ranks first on the squad with nine doubles. Daly has connected for eight doubles, while Werkmeister-Martin, Tyler Vandemark (Sr., OF, Modesto, CA/Joseph A. Gregori HS), and Layton Wagner (So., INF/RHP, Boise, ID/Timberline HS) have hit seven doubles apiece. Daly leads Willamette with two triples. Overall, the Bearcats have produced 109 extra-base hits.

"The offense is hitting on all cylinders right now," Willamette Head Baseball Coach Aaron Swick said. "Right now, we have six everyday guys who have an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) over 1.000. That makes it very hard for opposing teams to move through our lineup."

Top hitters by batting average are Little at .422 (35 of 83), Werkmeister-Martin at .406 (41 of 101), and Daly at .400 (40 of 100). Vandemark is hitting .326 (31 of 95), Hoffman is batting .324 (23 of 71), and Fischel is connecting for hits at a .308 clip (28 of 91). The Bearcats own a .326 team batting average.

"Assistant Coach Mikey Nantze does a great job in preparing the hitters during the week and in developing a game plan," Swick noted. "It also gives the pitchers a lot of confidence on the mound knowing we are going to score runs on a regular basis."

Seven WU players have scored at least 20 runs and seven players have registered at least 17 RBIs. Werkmeister-Martin has crossed the plate a team-leading 33 times, while Little has scored 29 times. Daly has earned 27 runs and Fischel has reached home on 25 occasions. Nelsen's 11 homers have contributed to him leading the team with 39 RBIs. Daly and Fischel each have driven in 30 runs, while Werkmeister-Martin has produced 27 RBIs.

Willamette has been more than just a team with power. The Bearcats have advanced runners around the bases with groundouts, sacrifice bunts, and sacrifice flies. The team's totals include 10 sacrifice bunts and seven sacrifice flies. Vandemark leads the Bearcats with six sacrifice bunts, while Werkmeister-Martin has supplied two sacrifice flies.

Quickness has also had an impact, as runners have been able to steal bases and to reach home plate on singles and doubles. The Bearcats have accumulated 38 stolen bases. Little and Faudskar have both stolen seven bases. Wagner has earned five stolen bases. Three WU players -- Werkmeister-Martin, Vandemark, and  Fischel -- have stolen four bases apiece.

The success of Willamette's offense has resulted in opponents recording an 8.51 overall earned run average. That's nearly three runs more per game than the Bearcats' 5.65 team earned run average. Among starting pitchers, Wagner leads the Bearcat switch a 5-1 record and a 2.75 ERA. Relief pitcher Brady Joyner (Fy., RHP/OF, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS) ranks first on the squad with a 1.50 ERA to go along with a 4-0 record and three saves.

Willamette will be back in action this weekend at John Lewis Field with four Northwest Conference games against Whitman College. The teams will play a doubleheader each day, starting with a 9-inning game at 12 p.m. (PDT). The second game each day is scheduled for seven innings. At the beginning of the season, the Bearcats hosted the Blues in a four-game non-conference series. Each team won two games, with the Bearcats winning the first and third games, 8-4 and 9-8. Whitman limited the Bearcats to six hits and two runs in each of the other two games, as the Blues won, 6-2 and 3-2.