GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference conducted interviews with Cedarville head coach Mike Manes and junior catcher Jaden Cleland as part of this year’s baseball season preview.
The Yellow Jackets are one of the final teams around the G-MAC to make their spring debut for 2016, timed for the most part along with MLB Spring Training start dates.
As Manes explained in his interview, he expects 2016 to be a bounce-back year and his team will hit and play defense well and the big question, like the one posed for many other teams -- will they pitch?
Some injured arms from a year ago are back and throwing. Cedarville is a team that makes a lot of contact and run the bases with intelligence.
Cedarville’s core with impact position players remains intact and Manes revealed some of the younger players are playing really well from what he’s been able to observe at this point.
The Yellow Jackets ended 2015 with a 21-26 overall record and finished in the middle of the pack in the league standings at 11-13.
Cedarville’s first pitch for Opening Day is scheduled for Wednesday, March 2, vs. Young Harris College.
Hitting: Just a junior, Drew Johnson is one of the conference’s most prolific hitters and mans the hot corner defensively for the Cedarville defense…If not for a guy named Hunter Newman at Trevecca Nazarene, Johnson would have been a lock for first-team all-conference status…He’s a feared switch-hitter in the middle of the order (.389 avg) who drives the ball with authority to all parts of the field…He had 77 hits, drove in 41 and legged out a league-leading eight triples...Gone are the team’s second and third-leading hitters, Zach Huskey (.310) and Sam Summerlin (.301)…Huskey turned in some dazzling defense on the middle infield and Summerlin’s versatility allowed for Manes to use him in a various positions…Though his numbers by no means were lackluster, watch for outfielder David Lenhardt (.290) to recapture his 2014 form when he hit .364 and belted five home runs…The junior catcher Cleland has an impressive fundamental understanding of the regional ranking system and his poise on camera reflects on how well he can communicate with his pitching staff...He started 39 of the 40 games appeared in last season.
Pitching: Sean Larkin led the pitching staff a year ago with five wins (5-2, 6.33), but has graduated along with Jordan Ammon (3-3, 5.45)…Tyler Hurt had four wins as a junior and is also not on the spring roster… Connor Hamilton saved five games and appeared in 17 to compile a 3.31 ERA; he’s a key piece of the puzzle in the late innings…The Yellow Jackets have plenty of veterans back in the mix including Nate Robinson, Jordan Adams, Garrett Baker and Eli Weldy.
Coaching: Manes has been at the helm of Cedarville since 2008 and has earned 235 career wins since taking over the program…He previously coached at Trinity International with a four-year stint.