Simply put, the Valparaiso University baseball program is ready to take the next step forward in 2022.

A program that has made consistent strides since joining the prestigious Missouri Valley Conference — an elite baseball league that sends two to three teams to NCAA Regionals on an annual basis — isn’t shying away from a quantifiable goal this spring.

“We’ve stressed that we want to win more games,” head coach Brian Schmack said. “A lot of times I don’t talk about wins and losses and just talk about the process. We’re still talking about the process to get there, but our guys are ready to win. They’ve put in the work, and they know they can compete with the teams in our league. We know it’s a battle to win game in and game out in The Valley. Our players are coming in with a different attitude this year. The older guys are setting a good tone.”

After winning two games in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament last season for the first time since joining the prestigious league, Valpo was one of four programs left standing in the event, joining a pair of NCAA Regional qualifiers in Indiana State and DBU plus a Southern Illinois team that enjoyed a 40-win season. With the majority of the 2021 roster returning and Emory G. Bauer Field continuing to receive upgrades including web streaming capabilities, a new press box and soon a new scoreboard, the positive momentum surrounding the program on and off the field is evident with the first pitch of 2022 right around the corner.

Starting Pitching

Right-hander Trent Turzenski (Burlington, Wis. / Burlington) will get the ball on Fridays. He’s rated the No. 30 2022 draft prospect among Missouri Valley Conference players by D1Baseball.com. Turzenski was rated No. 18 on D1Baseball.com’s 2020 list of the top 50 freshmen pitchers in the nation based on analytics after he finished that season with a team-best ERA of 2.48.

“He’s throwing more strikes and attacking more,” Schmack said. “His velocity has been better, and he’s throwing the ball over the plate and letting his stuff work.”

To start the season, right-hander Colin Fields (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) and left-hander Jake Miller (Chester, N.Y. / Don Bosco Prep) are expected to round out the weekend rotation. Fields threw the eighth no-hitter in program history and first since 1992 on March 13 of last season at Middle Tennessee. He finished the season with 81 strikeouts, the most by a Valpo pitcher since Dalton Lundeen in 2015. Fields is rated the No. 15 2022 draft prospect in the conference by D1Baseball.com. Miller saw action in 11 games out of the Valpo bullpen last season.

A number of other pitchers are in the mix for starts as well. Nolan Lebamoff (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll [Kankakee CC]) has looked solid, Zach Fricke (Arlington Heights, Ill. / Buffalo Grove) is healthier and Connor Lockwood (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) has opened eyes. Lockwood is slotted at No. 12 on D1Baseball.com’s list of impact freshmen in the MVC this season.

“Lockwood is an aggressive, strike-throwing, confident kid,” Schmack said. “He’s been carving guys pretty regularly. He pitched two fall innings against other teams and five of the six outs were strikeouts. He has multiple pitches and is a good strike thrower.”

Depth on the pitching staff figures to be a strength and Schmack has stressed the importance of the starters going deeper in games.

“Getting to the sixth and seventh inning out of our starters is important,” Schmack said. “We’re trying to find a way to bridge the gap to the end of games. Hopefully the starter can help with that. There’s been a lot of improvement on the pitching staff. We’ve seen velocities go up, which is encouraging. We’re hoping to build off the finish to last year.”

Bullpen

Right-handers Nathan Chasey (Ames, Iowa / Gilbert [Indian Hills CC]) and Bobby Nowak (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central [Kankakee]) are at the forefront of a deep bullpen group.

“Chasey has improved; he’s throwing harder this year,” Schmack said. “He’s added a slider and is using that more often. Nowak looks impressive. He’s a guy with some strength who can spin it as well.”

Righties Jacob Rosenkranz (Lincolnshire, Ill. / Stevenson), Josh Cottrill (Pewaukee, Wis. / Pewaukee) and Grant Jablonski (Mishawaka, Ind. / Mishawaka) also figure to factor into Valpo’s relief plans in addition to freshman southpaw Christian Hack (Oak Forest, Ill. / Tinley Park).

“A lot of guys have made strides,” Schmack said. “We think we’ll have more options this year than we’ve had in the past because of our depth. We want to be able to throw those guys in higher leverage situations, whether it’s the seventh inning or the ninth inning. We want our best guys to throw a lot. It’s been more difficult to figure out who is going to pitch in those spots because we have more options. There are still some difficult decisions that have to be made, but it’s a good problem to have. There is a lot more maturity on our pitching staff as our guys understand their roles and who they are on the mound.”

Catcher

Now in his third season in the program, Angel DiFederico (New Haven, Ind. / New Haven) has become the clear starter behind the dish. He led the team in league-only batting average at .313 last season in 19 MVC games (18 starts) and reached base at a .387 clip in league action. He ranked third on the team in overall batting average and boasted seven multiple hit performances.

“Angel has separated himself and gotten a lot better,” Schmack said. “He has a good arm and has done a nice job behind the plate.”

DiFederico will be backed up by Jake Kapers (Schererville, Ind. / Mount Carmel) and Kade Reinertson (Huxley, Iowa / Ballard Community), who is coming back from an injury.

Infield

Significant experience returns across the Valpo infield with starters back at third base, shortstop and first base in Kaleb Hannahs (West Terre Haute, Ind. / West Vigo), Alex Thurston (Fowler, Ind. / Benton Central) and Kyle Schmack (Wanatah, Ind. / South Central).

“That group played together a lot on the infield last season, so they’ll have some comfort with one another entering this year,” Schmack said. “The expectation is that those older guys will progress the way that older guys typically do. Older players are more confident and they learn the game better. All three of them have changed their bodies. Kaleb has gotten stronger, Thurston has gained weight and strength and Kyle has trimmed down a little bit and become more mobile.”

Hannahs became the first freshman to lead Valpo in batting average since 2012 on his way to earning MVC Freshman of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Second Team All-American, All-MVC Second Team and Valparaiso University Male co-Newcomer of the Year in 2021. In addition, Hannahs is listed by D1Baseball.com as the No. 3 prospect in the conference for the 2023 MLB Draft.

Thurston appeared in 40 games and made 39 starts a year ago. Schmack ranked fourth on the team in batting average at .264 and tied for second on the club with 24 RBIs while ranking second on the team with nine doubles.

“Kaleb isn’t putting any extra pressure on himself; he’s just trying to be a more consistent version of him,” Schmack said. “Thurston is going to make the routine plays and sometimes difficult plays, and his at-bats have been a lot better. He made some adjustments; he played summer ball and had a great year. Kyle is looking to take the next step. He wants to strike out less, put the ball in play more and become more of a complete hitter. If everyone gets a little bit better, we will be a better team.”

At second base, Nolan Tucker (Cedar Lake, Ind. / Hanover Central) will miss the beginning of the season with a hamstring injury. Adam Brauch (Waukee, Iowa / Dowling Catholic) will start the season as the starting second baseman and will be backed up by Brady Nowicki (Big Bend, Wis. / Mukwonago [Indian Hills CC]). Brauch is back after missing last season with an injury. He has impressed with the bat, while Nowicki is strong defensively.

At designated hitter, Brady Renfro (Antigo, Wis. / Antigo) is back after earning All-MVC Honorable Mention status last season as a true freshman.

“Renfro is healthier after having hip surgery in the summer,” Schmack said. “That affected him toward the end of last season. He’s moved better and has continued to improve. We expect him to bat cleanup for us.”

Outfield

With two starting outfielders from last season departed via graduation, there is competition for playing time in the Valpo outfield.

Matt Olive (Minneapolis, Minn. / Blake School), who hit a heroic ninth-inning home run to lift Valpo over Illinois State in an elimination game of last season’s MVC Tournament, will start in left field. Freshman Spencer Warfield (Fullerton, Calif. / Servite) and sophomore Alex Ryan (Lake Mills, Wis. / Lakeside Lutheran) will share time in center and could see some time in right, along with right fielder Jeremy Drudge (Plymouth, Ind. / Plymouth).

In addition, freshman Ryan Maka (Oak Forest, Ill. / Oak Forest) is in the outfield mix.

“The younger guys are learning, and Drudge has made a few important tweaks to his swing,” Schmack said. “Maka has made the biggest strides from fall to now. He’s a strong kid; he’s got a good bat. He’s going to be pretty good when he gets settled in. As a team, we struck out way too much last year. We know we need to put the ball in play more this season.”

Play Ball

The season gets underway on Friday at Memphis, while the Beacons open the home portion of the slate on March 23 vs. Milwaukee. Missouri Valley Conference action gets going on April 8 vs. Indiana State at Emory G. Bauer Field.

In this day and age, players across all sports in every level of intercollegiate athletics transferring to other programs has become the norm. Valpo had zero players transfer out to join other programs following the 2021 season, something that has become a rarity and attests to the program’s tight-knit culture.

“Trying to figure out how to win is our next step,” Schmack said. “That’s the key. That’s the difficult one, but winning games is our focus this season.”