Season Preview -- WJU Baseball Begins Season in Florida

By: Michael McDonald, Assistant Sports Information Director

Baseball | 2/21/2017 10:38:00 AM

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit baseball team begins its 2017 season in Winter Haven, Florida on Sunday February 26. WJU plays a 10-game schedule over a six-day span before returning north for the remainder of the 2017 season.

The Cardinals finished the 2016 season 16-28 but ended the year on a 14-16 stretch, missing Mountain East Conference postseason play by a single game. WJU returns nine seniors, three juniors, and six sophomores while welcoming two transfers (juniors) and 10 freshmen to the roster. Four position players return from a season where they started 40 games or more.

Dillon Sunnafrank (senior – Cambridge, Ohio – outfielder/pitcher) returns for his final collegiate season. Sunnafrank earned All-MEC Honorable Mention as a junior as he hit .322 in 149 at bats. Dillon finished with 22 runs, 48 hits, six home runs, and 30 RBI's. On the bump, Sunnafrank tossed 62.1 innings over 11 starts, including four complete games. The Cambridge, Ohio native struck out 36 hitters while tallying a 3.61 ERA.

Cody Hudson (senior – Shadyside, Ohio – pitcher) joined Sunnafrank on the 2016 All-MEC Honorable Mention team. Hudson hurled 32 innings in 12 appearances while charting a team-best 1.97 ERA.

Jagger Bruck (senior – Lyndhurst, Ohio – outfielder) and Christopher Brake (senior – Columbus, Ohio – infielder) return after starting 40 plus games in the 2016 season. Bruck hit .218 in 43 starts and scored 17 runs while Brake hit .194 in 42 starts including 25 hits and 13 runs.

Benjamin Standiford (senior – Cambridge, Ohio – pitcher) and Kyle Rees (senior – Cleveland, Ohio – pitcher) look to add depth and experience to the Cardinal rotation. Standiford started 11 games, completing 48 innings and striking out 36 hitters. Rees made 11 appearances for a total of 19.2 innings.

Christopher Minder (senior - Moundsville, W.Va. – outfielder), Carter Sancomb (senior – West Friendship, Md. – catcher) and Pat Pizzoferrato (senior – Steubenville, Ohio – outfielder) look to add depth to the veteran-filled Cardinal roster.

Logan Schickler (junior – Sagamore Hills, Ohio – first base) leads the group of five juniors. Schickler started 40 games at first base and hit .187 in 123 at bats. He finished the year with two home runs and 12 RBI's.

Matthew Angelini (junior - Windsor, Conn. – catcher) started nine games and hit .219 as a sophomore while Bobby Truelove (junior – Columbus, Ohio – outfielder) made four appearances.

Dalton Rollison (junior – Crooksville, Ohio – outfield) and Michael Finch (junior – Norwalk, Ohio – pitcher) transfer in to join the Cardinals for their junior seasons.

Logan Menear (sophomore – Reedsville, W.Va. – pitcher) pitched in eight games as a freshman, charting an ERA of 9.42 over 14.1 innings. Adam Dennison (sophomore - Wadsworth, Ohio – infielder) made 19 starts and appeared in 22 games, hitting .230 with 14 hits and 12 runs.

Dalton Davis (sophomore - catcher – Canton, Ohio), Jeffrey Patrick (sophomore – Crooksville, Ohio – infielder), Thomas Farrell (sophomore - Waldorf, Md. – outfielder) and TJ Jacob (sophomore – Martins Ferry, Ohio – outfielder) each enter their second seasons on the team.

Coach Terry Edwards welcomes 10 freshmen onto the Cardinal roster. In alphabetical order, the incoming players are: Josh Bell (Pittsburgh, Pa. – pitcher), Ryan Blessard (Thornville, Ohio – pitcher/infield), Zach Blumling (Granville, Ohio – pitcher), Tanner Evans (Richmond, Ohio – pitcher), RJ Harris (McKeesport, Pa. – catcher/first base), Tristan Grimes (Westlake, Ohio -outfielder), Nick Luciano (Pittsburgh, Pa. – pitcher), Drake May (Canton, Ohio – infielder), Brian Shaw (Wheeling, W.Va. – pitcher), and Brock Wenger (Brewster, Ohio – pitcher).

Keep up to date with the Cardinals throughout the 2017 season by visiting the WJU Athletics webpage, athletics.wju.edu, and clicking on the sports tab, where you will find baseball.

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