TUCSON, Ariz. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team was ranked 28th in the 2022 Collegiate Baseball Preseason Division III Top 40 poll, which was recently released by the organization.
The Presidents received 210 points in the preseason poll, which had Salisbury, Cortland State, Marietta, Chapman and Johns Hopkins slotted in the top five spots.
W&J finished the 2021 season with a 37-3 overall record. The 37 wins represented the third most in a single-season in program history, trailing only the Division III College World Series teams from 2017 and 2019. With a 3-0 win over Saint Vincent College on May 15, W&J captured its 13th Presidents' Athletic Conference title and punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament for an eighth time. W&J finished 2021 with a Division III best .925 winning percentage.
The Presidents will bring back an experience squad in 2022, as the Red and Black welcome back six every day starters from last spring's lineup as well as their top two starting pitchers and four key contributors in the bullpen.
Junior utilityman
Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and senior pitcher
Henry Litman (Marietta, Ga./Walton) earned All-America honors from both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com last spring.
Horvat, who was named 2021 PAC Newcomer of the Year, finished with a 9-0 record (11 starts) on the mound. He compiled a 1.80 earned-run average in 70 innings of work. He struck out 71 and limited the opposition to a .184 batting average. When he wasn't getting things done on the mound, Horvat served as a starting outfielder and leadoff man. At the plate, he compiled a .366 batting average with 17 extra base hits and 34 RBI. Horvat tied for the conference lead in triples (5) and ranked fourth in the PAC in slugging percentage (.630).
Litman, who was named 2021 PAC Pitcher of the Year, finished with a 9-0 record (11 starts) and a 1.49 earned-run average over 72.2 innings. The 2021 D3baseball.com Mideast Region Pitcher of the Year struck out 63 and walked just nine. He allowed just seven extra base hits and limited the opposition to a .200 batting average. His 1.49 earned-run average ranked as the third best mark in a single-season in school history. Litman was also a First Team All-PAC pick and named to the PAC All-Tournament Team. Litman was W&J's fourth-straight PAC Pitcher of the Year selection and ninth award winner since 2009.
Other key returners include 2021 All-PAC First Team selections in senior catcher
Peter Kalinski (Washington, D.C./Saint John's College) and senior shortstop
Nate Rush (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School). Junior third baseman
Logan Scheider (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) received All-PAC Second Team status while junior outfielder
Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) earned All-PAC Honorable Mention laurels last spring.
Jeff Mountain, who enters his 20th season leading the program, was recognized as Mideast Region Coach of the Year by D3baseball.com for the first time and was honored as PAC Coach of the Year for a ninth time in his coaching career.
W&J is slated to host third-ranked Marietta at Ross Memorial Park on Wednesday, March 16. The Pioneers went 38-6 and advanced to the NCAA Marietta Regional Final last spring.
Beloit College and the College of Wooster, each of whom are slated to face the Presidents during a Spring Break trip to Florida, were among the "Others Receiving Votes" in the preseason poll. Beloit finished with a 24-6 mark and Wooster compiled a 25-13 overall record in 2021.
W&J is tentatively scheduled to open the 2022 campaign with a non-conference doubleheader at Mount Union on Feb. 19.
