Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Baseball
Rachael Keating

Leatherneck Baseball Set for Opening Day on Sunday

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois begins the 2021 season at Central Arkansas on Sunday (Feb. 21).

Who | Western Illinois at Central Arkansas 
When | Sunday (Feb. 21) at 1 p.m. & Monday (Feb. 22) doubleheader at 1 p.m. 
Where | Bear Stadium - Conway, Ark. 
Watch | TBA
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH

First Pitch | After last season was cut short due to COVID-19, the Western Illinois baseball team begins the 2021 season at Central Arkansas on Sunday (Feb. 21) at 1 p.m. Both sides will play a doubleheader on Monday (Feb. 22), starting a 1 p.m. 

Tickets / COVID-19 Protocols | For more information regarding protocols and ticketing at UCA, visit here. 

Headlines 
  • Head coach Andy Pascoe enters his second season at the helm of Western Illinois and is currently the third youngest head coach in Division I baseball. 
  • On Tuesday (Feb. 16), Trenton Bauer was named a Summit League Player to Watch, and Austin Edwards was selected as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch. 
  • Freshman Brett Sears will get the opening day start on Sunday. Jace Warkentien is set to start game one of the doubleheader, followed by Chandler Fochs. 
  • Sunday will mark the third meeting between both programs, with the all-time series tied 1-1. The Bears and Leathernecks last met in the 1986 season.
  • Western returns its team-leaders in every offensive, defensive, and pitching category. 
  • Leatherneck baseball welcomed nine newcomers for the 2021 season with five transfers and four from the high school ranks. 
  • WIU returns 26 players from the 2020 campaign, highlighted by seven starters. 

Scouting the Opposition | Central Arkansas finished .500 (8-8) last year… the Bears were picked fourth in the Southland Conference preseason poll… they return nine seniors from 2020 that stood 2-1 in conference play… UCA is led by head coach Allen Gum who has won 247 games in eight seasons. 

The Return | Shortly after the 2020 season was canceled, seniors Trenton Bauer, Kevin Raisbeck, and Jackson Gray were granted an extra year of eligibility. The transfer trio has combined for 133 games in the Purple and Gold, including helping set the program's all-time Summit League victories (16) and handing Oral Roberts, the 18-time league champion, it's first-ever sweep in league play. 

Preseason Hardware | Earlier this month, freshman Chase VanDerGinst was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference team for the Summit League. He played in nine games with five starts and concluded the season on a five-game hit streak that featured two multi-hit games to end the shortened season with a .386 average and a .455 OBP.  

Quick Start | Catcher Jayden Gibson made his collegiate debut and season opener last year at Tennessee, one to remember as he recorded both of Western's two hits in the series opener. Off his bat in the second inning, he collected the Leathernecks' first hit of the season and later singled up the middle in the bottom of the eighth. Gibson also threw out a runner at second in the bottom of the sixth. 

Bullpen | The WIU bullpen returns 13 of 15 arms from last season, led by the team-leaders in appearances, starts, strikeouts, and innings pitched. In back-to-back games at Mizzou last year, the Leatherneck relievers tossed up zeros. The combination of three relievers - Chandler Fochs (7.0), Brian Raymond (4.0), and Jack Carberry (2.2) - tossed 13.2 innings of shutout ball and have held the Tigers to six hits. 

Newcomers | Nine newcomers will suit up for the Purple and Gold this season - Derek Botaletto, Kory Olsen, Caden Kratz, Collin Drake, Christian McKelvey, Gavin Terry, Thurman Thomas III, Jacob Greenan, and Will Jaynes. 

On Deck | Western Illinois heads to the ACC preseason favorite, Louisville, next weekend for a three-game series (Feb. 26-28). 
 
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories