SEASON PREVIEW
A total of 26 players are back from last year’s squad that finished the season with a 30-23 record at the Varsity level and a 10-6-1 record at the JV level. The Lancers finished last season as GPAC Conference Tournament Runner's up. This is the second time in three years the Lancers have played for the GPAC Tournament Title finishing second at the end of the 2007 season.  With a strong group of returning players that includes eight players that hit over .300 last season and a terrific recruiting class the Lancers look to be contenders for another postseason playoff run.  The Lancers will have a few holes to fill with the graduation of several key players. Six seniors are gone from last year’s squad including four year starter Mike Hammonds, Fist Team All Conference Outfield selection Dean Hansen, and pitchers Brady Diercks and Trey Novotny. 

The Lancers will enter the 2010 spring season with some familiar faces in the infield.  Returning staters Jason Schmidt and Jason Livermont are coming off of great freshman seasons, Schmidt posted a .368 batting average and Livermont hit .333.  Also, returning to the infield is junior third baseman Ross Heine. Ross has started at third base and at catcher for the Lancers and hit .325 last season. Senior infielder Luke Elliott is back after hitting .306 for the Lancers last season. Luke has the ability to help the Lancers at multiple infield positions and could start at third base. Justin Kemp, Allen Hemeyer, and Mike Johnson return and look to provide depth for the Lancers. Kemp has starting experience for the Lancers and should push for time at several positions. Fresman Jordan Pravecek and Brett Korth also look to help the Lancers up the middle defensivley. Starting first basemen Trey Krier returns after a great junior season in which he was named 2nd Team All-GPAC. Krier hit .381 last season and also has the ability to help the Lancers as a designated hitter and pitcher. Junior Josh Damewood returns and has the abilty to play first base, designated hitter and pitcher. Damewood hit .400 last season for the Lancers. Incoming freshman Mathias Godsil and Dylan Bales look to provide depth at the first base position. Godsil has the ability to make an immediate impact for the Lancers at the varsity level.

The Lancers have a talented mix of talented veterans and newcomers at the catching position. Juniors Josh Wenande and Ross Heine return after great sophomore season. Wenande hit .320 and Heine batted .325 for the Lancers. Incoming freshman Mike Quall will look to help out the Lancers at the catching position.

The outfield brings back two starters from last season. Honorable Mention All-GPAC selection Zach Lambrechts will be back in rightfield and Andy Turbak looks to return as a starting outfielder in either Leftfield or Centerfield. Lambrechts batted .329 last season and led the Lancers with five home runs and 42 runs batted in. Turbak batted .287 last year for the Lancers. The Lancers return outfielders Dillon Lambley, Jareth Kaup, Robert Hauger, and Joe Tyrell. Lambley was a starter and batted over .300 during the 2008 season. The Lancers brought in outfield recruits Kris Osborn a sophomore and freshman Logan Kortan. Kortan looks to have the ability to make an immediate impact for the Lancers at the varsity level.

The Lancers will start fall camp with the pitching staff being a question mark. The Lancers graduated over 200 varsity innings from last year's team. Eight pitchers return with varsity experience and eight new pitchers are in camp. A key to the Lancers success will be filling all of the lost innings.  Lefthand throwing senior Trey Krier a three-year starter should lead the staff.  Seniors Brett Bosn and Dustin Wheeler look to log more innings at the varsity level.  The Lancers return juniors Nick Huston, Nick Wenande, and Josh Damewood all have pitched and have had success at the varsity level. Wenande has the ability to be a top-notch starting pitcher for the Lancers. The recruiting class also brought in transfers to help out the Lancers. Jesse Bailey a transfer from Marshalltown Community College and Jake Duprel a transfer from Erskine College look to have an immediate impact at the varsity level. Jake Broscha, Adam McVay and Henry Hauger return for thier sophomore years. Broscha and McVay have the ability to compete for innings on the mound at the varsity level. These sophomores are complemented by two sophomore transfers Kris Osborn and Dave Ogden. Jason Schmidt headlines the sophomore pitchers. Schmidt was the closer for the Lancers last season was a Second Team All-GPAC selection setting school records for ERA and saves in a season. The Lancer coaching staff brought in several freshman pitchers Josh Homme, Brett Korth, Aaron Zeller, Jordan Pravecek, and Spenser Braun. The lefthanded throwing Homme could see varsity innings this upcoming season. 

The Lancers again looks to excel not only on the field but in the classroom as well.  The 2008-2009 Lancers led the nation with 8 Scholar Athlete selections for NAIA Baseball.  The Lancers also received the NAIA Scholar Team Award for the sixth consecutive year with the team having a 3.22 cumulative team gpa.  The Lancers gpa was second highest reported team gpa for NAIA Baseball.  This was the first time in five years in which the Lancers did not lead the nation in team gpa. The Lancer baseball program still holds the distinction of having the highest ever recorded team gpa for NAIA Baseball with a 3.43 team gpa for the 2004-2005 school year.

Coach Bernatow is approaching his sixth season with excitement and optimism.  “The last few years the program has really set a high standard on the field and in the classroom.  This season will be a mix of familiar faces and some new faces. Their ability to gel into a team will be an huge influence in terms of success. The program currently has an abundance of talent and the future is bright,” Bernatow said. “We look to have the ability to be strong in all-facets of the game.  The goals for the upcoming season are to have a winning record, make the conference play-offs and have continued success in the classroom.”