Baseball Opens 2020 Season This Weekend

Saturday, February 15

Davidson, NC

12 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

Lehigh

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

2/12/2020 3:12:00 PM | Baseball

2020 Roster
2020 Quick Facts
2019 Stats
Record Book
DavidsonPhotos.com

When he surveys his 2020 baseball roster, Davidson head coach Rucker Taylor sees a number of reliable, proven veterans set to return to the lineup. He also sees a collection of promising, talented youth, and that mixture of personnel — and the potential of the collective unit — is cause for much optimism as Opening Day arrives.

The Wildcats have depth and flexibility on the roster.

"This is the most competition we've had for innings and at-bats since I've been here," said Taylor, now in his second year as head coach and eighth overall at Davidson. "We've had a lot of good competition, and guys have handled that well."

The Wildcats, 29-22 last year, open the 2020 season at home against Lehigh Saturday (time TBA) at Wilson Field — which now features a newly installed artificial turf infield — and in all, Davidson will play its first 11 games at home.

"We have a lot of older guys who have played and been in the program for a while and some younger guys that played a lot as freshmen or sophomores and will now have the opportunities to take on increased roles," said Taylor. "The preseason has been good. We are in a better place now than we were six months ago. We had a lot of new faces running around in September, and a lot of those guys have made noticeable, positive steps forward."

The Wildcats return six regular starters to the lineup, including senior Brett Centracchio, who has started 127 games in his career, including all 51 at first base last season. As a freshman, he was the designated hitter on the 2017 team that reached the NCAA Super Regionals.

Senior Matt Frey is back at second base after a breakthrough junior season that included a 41-game reached-base streak, and junior Ruben Fontes returns after leading the Atlantic 10 with 14 home runs out of the DH spot.

Senior Alex Mardiney and sophomore Trevor Candelaria were everyday outfielders in 2019, in left and center, respectively, and senior catcher Zach Nussbaum will again anchor a three-pronged crew behind the plate.

Taylor said outfielders Parker Nolan (Soph.) and Greg Lowe (Sr.) have had noteworthy offseasons, as has 6-5 senior infielder Walker Imwalle, who joins Centracchio and Frey as team captains.

Senior Alex Fedje-Johnson and sophomore Matthew Gravely return to provide infield options, as does sophomore John Hosmer, who will again catch and now possibly also play some at third.

Shortstop Jacob Hinderleider and catcher/infielder Garrett Browder lead a freshman class that is ready to contribute.

Davidson led the A-10 with 67 home runs a year ago, with returners accounting for 46 of those round-trippers. Along with Fontes, Centracchio (9 HRs), Frey (8) and Mardiney (7) also hit from the left side.

"We have some left-handed hitters with real power in the lineup," said Taylor. "We've emphasized defending the plate and being better in two-strike situations to become a more complete offense. A couple of the new guys in the lineup are right-handed hitters with some athleticism that we think will help make us more versatile. Our goal is always to be a tough lineup 1-9, and we think we have that possibility this season."

Defensively, Taylor believes this team has a chance to be the best in his time at Davidson.

"Especially up the middle, we have guys with experience and some new guys in the lineup that are athletic and have the chance to defend at a high level," he said. "Ryan Munger does a great job with the catchers, and he feels like we have three guys that can do it this year. Last season, we defended better at the end of the year and in conference play. We're hoping that growth continues, and a big part of that is the pitching staff and how they go about things. If we're throwing strikes and getting soft contract or striking guys out, that keeps everyone in a good spot."

On the mound
Right-hander Gabe Levy quickly made an impact as a freshman last season, recording a 2.57 ERA in 49 innings. He worked primarily out of the bullpen, where he recorded 11 saves to rank second among all A-10 relievers and second nationally among freshmen.

Now a sophomore, Levy is being called upon to start, as he did four times a year ago, for a team that is tasked with replacing all of its weekend starters.

Fellow sophomores Alex Fenton and Blake Hely showed their potential last year, made strides in the offseason and will join Levy in the rotation. Junior Pete Bloomberg returns in the bullpen after striking out 32 in 19.2 innings, and Imwalle, who can play first base and left field, will now fill a split role and potentially give the Wildcats some innings on the mound.

Seniors Jaret LaCagnina and Charlie King and junior Luke Burton are veterans in a young bullpen that is loaded with nine freshmen ready to toe the rubber, including Jacob Peaden, Nolan DeVos and Will Schomberg. Sophomores Noah Takac and Casey Kruger and junior Kieran Casey recorded outs last year and sophomore Jake Biederman returns from injury after missing last season. The Wildcats have added a junior college transfer in 6-7 junior Jacob Walker.

"Parker Bangs feels like this is a deep and talented staff," said Taylor. "A lot of those guys are underclassmen, and it will be instrumental for our success for several of them to have big roles this year. With the growth we've seen from the fall until now, that is certainly realistic."