LANCASTER, Pa. – A year removed from a scintillating run to the Centennial Conference championship series, the Ursinus College baseball team was voted fourth in the preseason poll.
Defending league champion Johns Hopkins collected eight first-place votes and 80 points to top the projected standings, while Haverford garnered the other two first-place votes to finish second with 70 points. Franklin & Marshall (55 points) was third, followed by Ursinus (54), Swarthmore (50), Gettysburg (48), Dickinson (31), Muhlenberg (26), and McDaniel and Washington College (18).
Ursinus lost a number of starters to graduation, but many of the most integral pieces from last year's squad remain intact. A trio of returning all-conference performers – senior outfielder Travis Kozak, junior shortstop Carter Usowski, and sophomore outfielder Alex Mumme – headline the incumbents.
Kozak gave the Bears a dynamic leadoff hitter, leading the squad and ranking inside the top 10 in the CC with a .459 on-base percentage and 36 runs scored. The lefty, who hit .349 with 16 RBI, was hit by a pitch 21 times to lead the conference and rank fourth in Division III; he also paced the CC with 10 sacrifices. Kozak's 53 hits tied for fourth-most in single-season school history.
Usowski rode a scorching start to a sensational sophomore season in which he led the Bears in RBI (33) and hits (53). Usowski scored 28 runs and had 14 doubles to tie for fourth in school history; through his first two seasons, Usowski is a career .347 hitter.
Despite missing a month of action in the early part of the season, Mumme made his presence felt in a big way with a record-setting rookie year. In just 29 games, Mumme hit .417 with a school-record 20 doubles, four home runs, 26 RBI, and a .748 slugging percentage. The freshman shined in the CC playoffs, going 8-for-17 with three doubles, two homers, and three RBI; the two home runs both came in a 10-7 victory over Gettysburg in an elimination contest, making Mumme just the seventh player ever to hit two homers in a CC playoff game.
Sophomore Dom Fiorentino completes the Bears' outfield after a rookie campaign in which he hit .250 with 18 RBI. Classmate Brian Varani should see an increased role in the outfield.
Ursinus lost three quarters of its starting infield from a year ago, but head coach Stan Exeter brought in plenty of young talent to help offset those subtractions. Freshmen Jerry Scavone and Eric Gross could see significant roles, while sophomore Mike Stanziale (.294, 10 RBI in 2017) gives the Bears a versatile option up the middle. Mumme may see time at first base, and rookie Tom Jacobs is set to assume starting catching duties.
Senior Pierce Greenleaf and junior David Drea will anchor the rotation. Greenleaf was 5-3 with a 4.37 ERA, and the southpaw Drea finished 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA and ranked second on the team with 26 strikeouts. The duo combined for 19 starts and 111.1 innings last season.
Senior Steve DiStefano finished 2-0 with a 4.40 ERA in a relief role, and junior Aidan Rogers is likely to log more innings this year. Exeter added four freshmen pitchers to the mix and hopes to receive contributions from that group.
The Bears will certainly be ready for the rigors of CC play following a daunting non-conference schedule that begins with nine games in California during spring break, including a date with defending national champion Cal Lutheran. Ursinus will also face perennial powers Gwynedd Mercy, TCNJ, and Ramapo, among others, before opening its conference slate at home against Dickinson on March 31.
Ursinus opens the 2018 campaign with games against Concordia (Wis.) and Chapman on March 4.