(West Burlington, IA)-The 2020 version of Southeastern Baseball will feature plenty of new faces. While the fall season is always important, that was especially true with 80 percent of the Blackhawks roster comprised of freshmen, many of which will need to fill key roles. Though Head Coach Justin Schulte acknowledges his young squad has plenty of work left to do, he believes they got a lot accomplished in the short, eight-week fall season.
"For a team that was 80 percent freshman, I thought it was a productive fall," Schulte said. "We didn't get everything done we needed to. We still have some work to do on the defensive end and, obviously, continuing to work offensively, but, overall, it was a productive fall for having probably the youngest team I've coached in 22 years."
Gone from last year's pitching staff are, Chris Sagedahl (Dallas Baptist), Hayden Malenfant (Southeast Missouri), Tyson Cosgrove (Montreat), Aaron Buford (Grandview) and Justin Snow. While sophomore closer Kyle Amendt, set-up man Josh Hoffman, bullpen arm Braden Houston, and starting pitcher Jacob Bockenstedt all return, the Blackhawks will rely on plenty of new arms to solidify their pitching staff. Three sophomore transfers and a host of other young arms, will look to help solidify the pitching staff. Coach Schulte believes they developed a strong core to the staff this fall, but knows he will need some more guys to develop between now and February 14th when the Blackhawks kick off the 2020 campaign in Mississippi.
"I thought the pitching staff had a good fall," Schulte said. "There were guys that were able to separate themselves and we found out who some of our top guys are going to be. I thought our sophomores did a really good job of leading our staff this fall. Had some guys take advantage of opportunities and get division one scholarships. As we go forward, we are going to continue to instill our philosophy and hope it looks like what it needs to come February. But we do feel like we have a strong base in our starting rotation and a strong base at the back end of our bullpen."
Also new to the pitching staff is Assistant Coach Brad Merritt. He comes to the Blackhawks from NAIA Milligan College in Johnson City Tennessee, following a seven year playing and coaching career in Europe and Australia. All told, Merritt, a native of Maryville, TN and a University of Tennessee graduate, has eight years of coaching experience at the collegiate and professional levels.
The Blackhawks also entered the fall looking to replace nearly their entire line-up, returning only outfielder Carlos Pinyero from the 2019 season. Pinyero had a stellar fall and will serve as the team's catalyst out of the lead-off spot again this season. Sophomore transfer Oliver Regalado (College of Central Florida) also showed well in the fall, will be counted on to produce in the middle of the Blackhawk order and play third base. So, too, will returning Sophomore Britt Noel who had a productive fall and could help in either the outfield or at the DH position. The battle continues for the other seven starting positions that will likely be manned by freshmen. They might be young, but Assistant Head Coach and hitting coach John McVey thinks with some hard work, his crop of young players have the talent and mindset to produce at the college level.
"This group has a tough but exciting challenge ahead of them with a lot of freshmen battling for positions," McVey said. "They did a good job maturing throughout the fall but still have a long way to go as far as maturing into college hitters. With a good phase two, and a strong offseason in the weight room, this has a chance to be a run producing offense."
Behind the dish, a quartet of freshman (Tyler Oberbroeckling, Shayne Cambell, Tanner Sears, and Jayson Willers) all showed positive signs in the fall and will look to earn the starting role in a position battle that will continue into the spring. A wild card at the catcher position is fellow freshman Brady Lukavsky who missed the entire fall with an injury. Assistant Coach and Catching Coach Mitch Feller likes the depth of the group and believes they will begin to separate themselves in the coming weeks.
"The catching staff came in deep, we have four guys that were able to stay healthy and compete for our starting position. The four guys competing for the starting spot are new to the program with no returners (from last season)," Feller said. "Each one brings a different aspect of the game and excels at it. We are still looking for one or two of them to separate themselves from the pack. We are in individuals where they will work on the area of the game that they need to most work. The two guys that make a jump in those areas and can stay locked in behind the plate and help lead our program will be the guys we count on in the spring."
With the eight week game schedule behind them, the Blackhawks have entered phase two of their fall season, with a focus on gaining strength and athleticism in the weight room, conditioning, and individual pitching, position and batting practice. Coach Schulte believes the two-phase approach to the fall season will have his team ready to compete at a high level heading into the spring.
"With this many new guys, the emphasis has to be on becoming more athletic and stronger and combining those two phases of their development," Schulte said. "But we have very physical team for having a lot of freshman and I'm excited for what the next eight weeks will do and what those guys will look like in December with individual work on the mound, individual work in the weight room, and individual work in the cage."
The Blackhawks kick-off their season with a double-header against Jones County CC in Ellisville, Miss on February 14th. Their home opener is set for Saturday, March 21st against NE Nebraska CC with a double-header starting at 1 p.m.
Legendary Southeastern Coach Justin Schulte Inducted into Mount Mercy Hall of Fame
Southeastern Head Coach Justin Schulte has racked up a myriad of accolades during his illustrious 21 year head coaching career. He's won an astonishing 836 games (an average of almost 40 wins per year), led his teams to 20 regional appearances, reached the regional final eight times, and earned a World Series birth in 2014. He's sent over 160 players onto four year schools, over 50 players to the division 1 level, and 19 players to the professional ranks.
The 2020 season will be his 15th at the helm for Southeastern, but for the first seven years of his Hall-of-Fame career, Schulte built the baseball program at Mount Mercy from an NAIA bottom feeder into a national power. When Coach Schulte took over the Mount Mercy program in 2005, they had won just 8 games the previous season, didn't give out athletic scholarships, and played their games on a local high school field. In his first year at the helm, Schulte led the Mustangs to 32 wins, the second most in school history at the time. By the time he left Mount Mercy to take over at Southeastern seven years later, it was the eighth most wins in school history. All told, Schulte went 276-170 (.619) at Mount Mercy, winning over 40 games four times, and leading the program to six regional appearances. His 276 wins are still the most by any coach in program history. In September, Mount Mercy recognized him for his accomplishments, inducting him into the Mount Mercy Hall of Fame at a ceremony at Mount Mercy.
Still, Coach Schulte's greatest accomplishment may very well be the impact he's had on the careers and lives of so many of his former players. That's why it's no surprise that many of his former players and assistant coaches showed up to help celebrate the occasion. The always humble Schulte was quick to credit them for his success.
"It was a very humbling experience. Especially seeing so many former players and assistant coaches come back and just realizing what those guys did in a seven year span," Schulte said. "What they were able to accomplish, you know, players win games. Assistant coaches and players are the heart and soul of the program. Head coaches probably get too much credit for winning games, but those guys mean the world to me and jump started my career. It was just a humbling experience to have all those guys back and to reflect back on what those guys meant to Mount Mercy baseball and what they meant to my coaching career to this point."
Where Are They Now? Former SCC Standouts Abound on Four Year School Rosters
Following the 2019 season, twelve Blackhawks signed on with four year institutions to continue their baseball careers. Seven of those, pitcher Chas Sagedahl (Dallas Baptist), outfielder Cooper Jones (Illinois State), outfielder Bryce Simon (Morehead State), first baseman Devin Buckner (Morehead State), infielder Cole Tucker (Niagra University), pitcher Hayden Malenfant (Southeast Missouri), and outfielder Nick Boone (South Carolina Upstate) all signed with division 1 programs. Infielder Dayson Croes signed with Division 2 Quincy University, and outfielder Marcos Sanchez (Texas Wesleyan), pitcher Tyson Cosgrove (Montreat), infielder Christian Cordero (Grandview), and pitcher Aaron Buford (Grandview), all signed with NAIA programs.
Fall Signing Period Approaching for Current Blackhawk Players
On November 13th, a trio of Southeastern Sophomore pitchers will continue the Blackhawks pipeline to division 1 baseball, when they sign their name to scholarship papers during a ceremony at the school. Kyle Amendt will sign with Dallas Baptist University, making it two years in a row a Blackhawk will sign with DBU. Jacob Bockenstedt will continue his baseball career at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Ky Hampton is set to sign with Eastern Illinois.
Pitcher Josh Hoffman, outfielder Carlos Pinyero, pitcher Braden Houston, and outfielder Britt Noel are still weighing their options and will wait until the spring to decide on their baseball futures.
