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The Malone University baseball team opens up the 2018 campaign this weekend with a four-game series against the University of Illinois Springfield at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson, Georgia.The Pioneers are coming off of a 35-18 season in 2017 that included a 14-8 mark in their first year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
In addition to finishing runner-up in both the G-MAC regular season and the G-MAC Championship, Malone posted the second-best winning percentage in the Midwest Region, led the Region in team batting average (.328), and finished second in team ERA (3.32). Despite all of that, the Pioneers narrowly missed out on an at-large bid in the Midwest Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
After qualifying for their third-straight conference tournament appearance last spring, the Pioneers have garnered some respect this preseason. Malone was picked as the G-MAC North Division preseason favorite and was voted seventh in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Midwest Region Preseason Poll.
 
In an effort to beef up the in-region resume and boost the strength of schedule, Pioneer head coach Tom Crank arranged the challenging four-game series with Illinois Springfield to begin the season. The Malone pitching staff will be tested early against the Prairie Stars, who led the Region in scoring (7.6 runs/gm) last season and finished second in homeruns (70). Over spring break in Florida, Malone will play a difficult 11-game slate that features a doubleheader against nationally-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato and a meeting with a Davenport (MI) team that reached the NAIA Tournament last spring.
 
The rest of the non-conference slate is highlighted by a nine-inning game against NCAA Division I Kent State as well as home-and-homes with nationally-ranked Mercyhurst, Wheeling Jesuit, and Tiffin.
 
A 27-game Great Midwest schedule includes doubleheaders against the six teams in the G-MAC South (Alderson Broaddus, Cedarville, Davis & Elkins, Kentucky Wesleyan, Ohio Valley, and Trevecca Nazarene). Malone will play three-game series against the five remaining teams in the G-MAC North (Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican, and Walsh). All five schools begin their first season in the conference this spring but represent familiarities with Malone from their years in the GLIAC.
 
Graduation claimed just five seniors from last year's team that posted Malone's best record since the record-setting 2009 season. G-MAC Player of the Year Keanan Locke and first baseman Ryan Sarbaugh earned their degrees and are now on staff with the Pioneers. Also gone are All-Conference rightfielder Brenden Wells and relief pitchers Jordan Knight and Gunnar Smeyres. Smeyres led the G-MAC with nine saves in 2017 and was named Second Team-All-Midwest Region.
 
Save for the loss of their closer and top setup man, the Pioneer pitching staff remains entirely intact. Malone finished 14th in DII in ERA and 12th in shutouts with seven. The Pioneers were third in the Region in WHIP (1.37), fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (7.7), and their opponents batted a collective .258.
 
Seniors Roscoe Blackburn (4-2, 1.42 ERA) and Joshua Hurford (7-0, 1.48 ERA) both return to lead the starting rotation. Blackburn was named the G-MAC Pitcher of the Year after finishing third in the country in ERA and third in the G-MAC with 69 strikeouts. Hurford ranked seventh in DII in ERA and led the G-MAC with a .217 batting average against, five complete games, and two shutouts, including a no-hitter against Alderson Broaddus.
 
Bolstering an already outstanding 1-2 punch in Blackburn and Hurford is junior lefthander Braun Miller (4-3, 3.27 ERA), who equaled Hurford with two shutouts last spring, including a dominant four-hit performance over Ohio Valley in an elimination game on day two of the G-MAC Tournament. Miller was named a top-30 NCAA DII pro prospect by perfectgame.org earlier this year.
 
G-MAC All-Freshman selections Eric Mullet (5-2, 3.42 ERA) and Kyle Kovach (2-0, 3.77 ERA) stabilize the backend of one of the deepest starting rotations in the country. Mullet struck out 41 batters in 50 innings last season, holding opponents to a .255 average. Kovach recorded 20 Ks and surrendered just a .238 batting average against. The Pioneers went 10-5 in the 15 combined starts between the two last season.
 
Innings-eating lefthander Jordan Yoder returns to anchor the bullpen after posting a 4.50 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 22 appearances as a junior. Flame-throwing righthander Chandler Stahl is likely to see his role increase this spring after tallying 15 strikeouts in just nine innings last spring. Christian Specht, who made three spot starts as a freshman, provides flexibility in late-inning situations.
 
Seniors Cody Ballay and Trevor Beerman, juniors Shawn Mills, Anthony Stillwagon, and Clyde Yoder, and sophomore Tommy Walker give the Pioneers depth in the pen. Talented freshmen Clay Cooper and James Kontur, who were both named First Team All-Ohio last spring, and Alex Widmer, who was selected by the Chicago White Sox organization in the 36th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, add even more depth to the bevy of quality arms.
 
Calling pitches for the Malone staff is junior catcher Matt Noel, the G-MAC's leading hitter a season ago. Noel was named First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Midwest Region, and was a Third Team Academic All-American in 2017. His .415 batting average was the 18th-best in all of NCAA Division II and the highest among DII catchers. Noel also posted a .500 on-base percentage, 35 RBI, his first career homerun, and just one error from behind the dish.
 
Tom Eslich is Noel's primary backup. He hit .299 with a .368 OBP in 2017. Sophomore Trey Davis, who served as the bullpen catcher last spring, and freshman Bryan Yoder could also see time at the position.
 
In the infield, the double-play combo of Joe Crank and Zach Mottice return to shortstop and second base respectively. Crank (.352 OBP) collected two homeruns, 33 RBI, and a league-leading six triples last spring while Mottice batted .372 with a .437 OBP and 14 stolen bases and was named Second Team All-Conference. Slick-fielding junior Damian Maglione (.369 OBP) will man third base while senior Todd Ropp is expected to get the starting nod at first.
 
Junior Austin White will see time at both corner infield spots as well as DH after hitting .265 with two homers and 16 RBI in 98 at bats last spring. Freshmen Tyson Gingerich and Clay Wisner and sophomore Tyrus Jones, who could also see time in the outfield, will serve as the primary backups in the middle infield.
 
G-MAC Freshman of the Year Nate Cobb returns to roam centerfield for the Pioneers following a standout rookie season in which he hit .352 with a .441 OBP and led the G-MAC with 52 runs scored and led the Midwest with 25 stolen bases. Cobb will start alongside senior Andy Fletcher in left and freshman Turner Hill, a two-time First Team All-Ohioan, in right.
 
Among those battling for time in the outfield are senior Dyllan West, sophomore Connor Ferguson, and freshmen Mitch Massaro and Jacob Mottice, who were both State Champions in high school.
 
Besides leading the Midwest with a .328 batting average, the Malone offense was second in team OBP (.405) and averaged nearly six runs a game. With just five career homeruns among the returning players, the Pioneers will need to consistently put the ball in play and utilize the speed that allowed them to steal 58 bases last season and finish third in the Midwest with 20 triples. As they seek to replace the production from Locke, Wells, and Sarbaugh in the middle of the order, the Pioneers will rely heavily on their pitching and much-improved defense, especially in the early going.
 
As always, the goal remains the same for Coach Crank's club and that is to compete for a G-MAC Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. With one of the most formidable pitching staffs in DII, the Pioneers have their sights set on their first-ever berth in the Midwest Regional. If they continue to play solid defense and come up with timely hitting, the preseason North Division favorite could make that a reality.