Lakers Open 2023 Baseball Season In Joplin

CHICAGO – Roosevelt baseball is set to begin its 2023 campaign Saturday at 10 a.m. in Joplin, Mo. against William Woods, the first of four games on the weekend for the Lakers.

Jason Becker is set to begin his third season in charge of the Lakers program after posting winning marks in each of his first two years at the helm. Roosevelt will try to improve upon last year's 25-23 season, which ended with losses in its first two games of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.  One major point of emphasis this offseason has been building competition into everything the Lakers do on a daily basis.

Becker gave a lot of credit to his staff – which includes associate head coach Tyler Martin as well as assistants Tom Baer, Kevin Johnson, Mike Kashirsky and Josh Piper – for building that competitive spirit into his team.

"The way our guys compete in practice, every day they're doing something to try and win something," Becker said. "The coaching staff has really built these guys up and have them prepared. No matter what spot we put this guy in, they're going to be successful. Our staff has really prepared them to face any competition and be in any situation."

There are plenty of new faces on the roster this season, but Becker is relying on his core group of returners to help steer the ship in the right direction. It starts behind the plate for the Lakers with catchers Sean Blanchard and Hunter Darst returning after being among Roosevelt's best hitters last season. Blanchard hit .342 in 31 games while Darst batted .313 in 41 appearances.

Captain Dan Gutierrez also returns to play shortstop this season for the Lakers and Jaylen Heard also comes back to solidify the infield. The pair and Darst were three of the team's five leaders in driving in runs last season, accounting for 77 RBIs between the three of them. Becker said he is hopeful this year's team will be better about grinding out runs as opposed to waiting on the big hits to drive in most of their runs.

Yet what excites Becker most is his defense, which he said will be a strength of his team this season. Although Roosevelt had a fielding percentage of .951 last season, Becker said he expects that will improve with some of the newer players he brought in this season. Roosevelt added a pair of NCAA Division I transfers as seniors in outfielder Bryce Hayman from Eastern Illinois and infielder Diego Munoz from Western Illinois. The Lakers also added experienced infielders Sherman Martin from Missouri Baptist and Ben Compton from Olivet College.

"Those new guys are going to come in and give us an instant boost on defense and a different perspective on how our offense is going to work this year," Becker said. "Our defense should be one of our biggest strengths this season, but I'm also excited to see how we handle the bat this year. I've been impressed with how we've been able to move runners from first to third in the preseason and not have to rely as much on that one big hit."

There will be significant changes on the mound as Kerry Zeese is the only returning pitcher who started more than three games for the Lakers. However, Chris Miller is back as well after winning four of his eight appearances last year for Roosevelt and Krzysztof Solis also won four times in 18 relief appearances for the Lakers.

Some of the new names expected to help on the bump this season are Omar Abuelhija, a transfer from CCAC rival St. Xavier, and Wynn Takacs, a transfer from Indiana University Southeast.

After opening with the four games in Joplin, the Lakers will travel to Alabama from Feb. 24-26 to face Alcorn State, an NCAA Division I team, for a four-game set. Roosevelt is scheduled to open its home slate on March 1 against Wisconsin Parkside before embarking on its annual Florida trip where it will play seven games in six days. After returning from Florida, the Lakers will open CCAC play at Ozinga Field against Trinity International with a doubleheader on March 14.

"The guys have put in a lot of work," Becker said. "They've really come to work every day and they really grew as a team. A lot of new guys this year, but the camaraderie and the teamwork have us really optimistic about the season. We're going to see early on what roles we fit into, but there are a lot of different opportunities for everyone so it will require us to buy into the sacrifice and selflessness we need to be successful as a team."