Jason Anderson believes his team has the experience and talent to find success on the diamond. What remains a wild card for the Lawrence University baseball coach is his team’s confidence and consistency.
Anderson, now in his fourth season at Lawrence, is attempting to instill in his team self-assurance about victory.
“We have to figure out, learn how to win, and play with confidence that way,” Anderson said.
“Last year, we had two seniors and everyone else was a freshman or a sophomore. … When you have one or two guys having a bad day, it affects everyone. The biggest thing we’ve learned and improved on is our consistency, playing at a high level day in and day out.”
After several years of struggling with an extremely young lineup, the Vikings are in a position to have a squad with experience. The leadership of this group and finding that path to success will fall to senior pitcher/designated hitter Eric Bohling.
Bohling is healthy for the first time in his career after having surgery on his labrum early in his career. Last season, he posted to a 1-3 record on the mound and hit.274.
“Bohling is going to be the glue of the entire team,” Anderson said. “He’s the only senior and he’s a captain. He’s one of the best captains I’ve ever had.
“After that, we will have three freshman starting (pitchers), and the fourth guy will be a sophomore. If Eric sets the tone, we’ll have a good conference series. If he doesn’t, it could be kind of a struggle.”
Sophomore John Doran is one of the pitchers looking for consistency, and freshmen Davis Ogilvie, Kelton Jenkins, Drew Doares and Atley Gay will be asked to contribute immediately.
Bohling has a solid group backing him up in the field with only two starters, including All-Midwest Conference outfielder Robert Rashid, lost from a season ago. Anderson likes the maturation he sees from his returning players.
“What jumps out right away are the guys who were sophomores and have been playing for a couple of years have taken a big jump,” Anderson said.
“We have a significant amount of upper-class leadership despite being very young because they’ve played for two years. It’s really showed on the offensive side of the ball so far.”
Junior shortstop Gabe Henriques, who missed nearly half of last season, and junior second baseman Davide Harris, form the backbone of Lawrence’s defense and spark the offense. Harris led the team with a .324 batting average last season, and Henriques hit .286.
“Those guys will play up the middle and be the lead-off and second in the order. It’s noticeable on the field that they are quite the team, quite the duo,” Anderson said.
“They are two of our best hitters and two of our best defenders. They are probably are two best athletes. Davide was our best hitter last year, and I expect nothing less from him.”
The Vikings also return versatile performers like outfielder Alex Brewer, outfielder/first baseman Sam Kossow and infielder Phil Wisniewski.
Siebert, Crisman honored
Men’s basketball standouts Chris Siebert and Tyler Crisman have been named to the All-Midwest Conference team in a vote by league coaches.
Siebert, a sophomore guard from Baraboo, Wis., was selected for the second team, and Crisman, a senior guard from Frankfort, Ill., received honorable mention.
Siebert averaged 16.4 points per game and that ranked sixth in conference play. Siebert was fourth in the conference at 4.2 assists per game, and he also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest. Crisman finished seventh in the conference in scoring at 16.2 points per game.
Hughes, Raymond selected
Matt Hughes and Jameson Raymond have been named to the All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Team in a vote by league coaches.
Hughes were both chosen for the first time.
Hughes, a senior forward from Goodrich, Mich., led the team with 12 goals in MCHA play, and he added 10 assists for 22 points. Hughes ranks fourth in Lawrence history with 46 goals and is sixth with 91 points.
Raymond, a senior defenseman from Flint, Mich., finished second in scoring by league defensemen. Raymond picked up three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in MCHA play. Raymond ranks fifth in school history with 55 assists and is ninth with 73 points.
Skaters honored
Lawrence also had six players chosen for the Academic All-MCHA team.
Senior defenseman Jesse Byam-Katzman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior forward Ben DiMarco (Galveston, Texas) were both honored on the academic all-conference team for the third time. Junior goaltender Michael Baldino (Woburn, Mass.) was named to the team for the second time, and junior goaltender Kevin Aslett (Portland, Ore.), junior forward Phil Bushbacher (Glenview, Ill.) and sophomore defenseman William Thoren (Gothenburg, Sweden) were all chosen for the first time.
Stevens runs to record
Junior Sam Stevens broke the Lawrence University record in the mile run last Saturday at the Pointer Qualifier at UW-Stevens Point. Stevens, a junior from Suamico, Wis., raced to a record time of 4:19.95 to break the mark of 4:22.1, set by Joe Berger in 1985.
Fencers ninth
The Lawrence fencing team finished ninth overall at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships at Notre Dame last weekend.
The men’s epee squad led the way by taking fifth with a 5-2 victory over the University of Chicago. The Lawrence men finished eighth overall among the 20 teams, and the women were 11th.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.