By: Seth Stogsdill, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
DANVILLE, Ky. – After spending nearly all of last season on the road, Centre baseball will be looking to take advantage of their new facility in a more normal 2023.
The Colonels traveled for the first month and change during the 2022 season for both practice while the construction of Gary Wright Field at Fishman Park was close to completion. Once the facility opened in mid-March, Centre christened its new stadium in memorable fashion, scoring two runs in the ninth for a comeback victory over Hendrix. In the final month of the season, the Colonels swept their season series against Sewanee and splitting the series against an always strong Berry squad, including a 15-0 run rule victory in game 1 of the SAA Tournament.
This season the Colonels will play 26 games at Gary Wright Field at Fishman Park, as the stadium has begun to attract some of the top competition in the area. Centre will open play with a series against no. 10 Baldwin Wallace and will also host a tournament the following weekend featuring Dominican and Penn State-Behrend. Concordia-Chicago and Transylvania will come to Danville during the week of Spring Break. The Colonels will also host Rhodes, Millsaps, Sewanee and Berry in conference action.
The lineup will look different this season for the Colonels, as Centre will be looking to replace a pair of fifth-year seniors,
Jordan Gunter and Pat Hope, who statistically rank among the ten best position players in program history.
Junior
Josh Cunningham looks to be a frontrunner to replace Gunter at the top of the order after hitting .290 as a sophomore and leading the team in home runs and RBIs. Cunningham had a flair for the dramatic last season, opening the year with a walk-off homer against Carroll and scoring the winning run in the first ever game at Gary Wright Field at Fishman Park.
Sophomore
Mark Pyburn had an excellent freshman campaign, primarily as a designated hitter in the no. 2 slot, leading the team with a .373 average and recording a freshman program record 53 hits. Pyburn, who was an All-SAA Honorable Mention selection in 2022, was the first non-pitcher from Centre to earn All-SAA honors as a freshman since 2018.
Juniors
Conner Jackson,
Luc Morgan and
Karson Thompson all return after starting a majority of last season's games at their respective infield positions.
Sophomore
Perry Nadreau came on strong at the end of his freshman season as the primary starting catcher and hit .325 with 18 RBIs.
The pitching staff will also be retooled this season as the Colonels will miss the production of
Carson Werrmann, who tied a single season school record for strikeouts and ended his career with 26 consecutive scoreless innings. Centre will return a pair of junior starters in
Jess Miller and
David Sickles, and the Centre staff returns nearly everybody else who threw from the bullpen one season ago.
In addition to the returners, coach Drew Briese and his staff put together one of the largest recruiting classes in program history to bolster depth and create more competition during practice. This group of newcomers covers all positions and has assimilated well into the Centre baseball culture.
Centre baseball will begin the 2022 season on Feb. 18 with a doubleheader against Baldwin Wallace.
