It’s almost spring time here in the Midwest, which means it’s also baseball season. At Greenville University, the men’s baseball team is getting ready to kick off another successful year. After coming up short last season, the Panthers are looking to reload in 2019. Assistant Coach Andy Rincker gave insight on what to expect for their season.
Last year, the Greenville baseball team competed in the SLIAC championship tournament but was defeated by Webster University in the championship. This year they look to return back to the top with the program’s five returning seniors along with the rest of the experienced juniors and sophomores.
Be sure to keep a lookout for 6’2 pitcher Jonah Moore who is from Ashmore, Illinois and has contributed heavily to the program’s success. Other seniors include Isaac Whitten, Adam Lamb, Cole Becker, and Joe Wood.
Coach Rincker is looking forward to having such an experienced squad in which he believes will help the team down the stretch in the postseason. He is also looking forward to their spring break trip to Florida, in which he expressed how much fun they have as a whole and how great it is to compete against such great teams. Some of the team’s goals consist of “seeing their pitching staff live up to their hype, returning back to the postseason, and winning the team’s first-ever regional.”
They have yet to announce a starting pitcher for opening day which is coming up here pretty quickly. One of the strong parts of the team Coach Rincker talked about was the Panthers pitching staff, which is expected to be really good this year and to be one of the strong parts of the squad in helping them reach the goals that they set for this season. Coach Rincker feels his bullpen is what can win the Panthers a lot of ball games down the stretch if they play with their best effort.
This year also brings in new faces — fifteen freshmen joined the team this year, who are expected to contribute any way possible. The team added to their already good pitching rotation with young guys like Luke Rushik and catcher Blake Duncan who has the potential to be a contributor for the next four years for the squad. The Panthers team opened the season this past weekend, on February 15, against Fontbonne in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams will meet two more times in March in a doubleheader.
The Panthers home-opener will be February 22 against Lawrence University. This year’s GU baseball team should be exciting to watch.
Media by Klaiton Wolff.
