Name: Bethany Lutheran College
City and State: Mankato, MN
Head Coach
Ryan Kragh
Assistant Coaches
Danny Kneeland, Logan Nissen, Ben Maes, Logan Gunther
Who are some key returning position players and what do you hope to see from them this year?
Matt Verdugo, Liam Peterson, Hunter Pearce, Ben Hopper, Malichi Santiago and Aiden Russel, Aiden Russell was rookie of the year in the UMAC last year, hitting 308 with 13 XBH. Liam Peterson was our leading hitter at 350 with 14 XBH, and Matt Verdugo was right behind at 348. Hunter Pearce is one of the top catchers in the league as he’s coming back from injury. Ben Hopper has been a consistent hitter at the top of our lineup while patrolling the middle infield. We are also excited for Malichi Santiago in the middle infield as well as at the top of our lineup. He had a great freshman campaign. We are hoping that this veteran group will lead us offensively.
Who are your key returning pitchers and why?
Brody Curtiss, Gavin Jacobsen, Conor Merton. Merton was 4-3 last season. Jacobsen won 3 games last year as a freshman, and veteran Brody Curtiss was 4-4 with 44 K’s.
Do you have an incoming impact freshman or transfers that will help the team in 2023?
I feel like we have one of the better incoming classes that we have had at Bethany. It’s a great mix of transfers and incoming freshman. We are excited to see how they adapt to our league and our program.
What was the focus and what things did you see from the team in the fall?
The biggest thing we focused on this fall was getting our new guys acclimated to how we expect things to operate here at Bethany. We saw some really good depth this fall. Something that we haven’t had the past couple years. I think having a veteran offense will help some of our young arms this season.
What are the expectations and goals for the team entering the season?
Our expectations never change, we are trying to win the UMAC title every year. Our league is going to be very strong this year and we will need to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year to compete for that goal. Goals for this team are to keep getting better each day and dominate the little things daily. If we can do that we have a chance to have a fun year.