EUGENE, Ore. – Learning from the highs and lows of an inaugural season, the Bushnell University baseball team is excited to be back on the field this week, opening the non-conference slate on Friday.
 
Bushnell went 11-37 overall and 9-14 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action last year, finishing just behind Corban (10-12 CCC), to take fifth place in the conference standings. The Beacons, who were playing their first season in over 50 years, earned their first win of the season with a 6-0 shutout of Corban at the Hamlin Sports Complex on Feb. 20. They went on to sweep the Warriors in their conference opener, getting out to a 4-0 CCC start.
 
The Beacons hit some road bumps along the way but one of the many highlights that came out the year was the first All-Cascade Collegiate Conference recipient in Bushnell baseball history, Jeff Fripp. Fripp hit .311 with eight home runs and 27 RBI as a designated hitter.
 
Head Coach Tommy Richards said, "There was a lot of adversity last year, but I think we learned a lot from it. The thing I was most proud about was how cohesive that group was and having a culture of togetherness and selflessness. We were challenged by the depth of our roster and it's hard to put guys in situations to be successful and protect them, so we tried to address that on the recruiting trail."
 
The roster size increased from 27 to 42, providing a significant increase in depth. As a second-year team, Bushnell has not experienced a period of adding new players as every Beacon was considered a newcomer last season. Richards said, "It's a new team, a new group and hopefully we can learn from some of the things we did last year, good and bad, make the adjustments and move forward."
 
"One thing we wanted to address was to get a little older," said Richards. "We added some experience." The Bushnell coaching staff brought in a class of 16 to the 2023 roster with 11 coming in as transfers.
 
 
OUTFIELD
 
"Our outfield has a chance to be really strong offensively," said Richards. "There are some guys that can mash. The defensive piece is important to us, so there's two different ways we can do it. We can be really offensive or throw guys out there that can track down fly balls. It's a deep group."
 
Jacob Richardson, Peyton Hino, Daniel Furman, Brendan Frazier and Dylan Carson all saw time in the outfield last season. Hino made 36 starts in his freshman season, hitting .269 with 18 RBI, and finished with a perfect fielding percentage. Furman and Frazier made multiple appearances on the mound in addition to the outfield last season. Frazier held a .263 batting average with 20 hits.
 
Richardson played in 28 games, while Carson saw time in 35.
 
Included in the group of outfielders are newcomers, Jaden Tiller (Burns, Ore.) and Caleb Richter (Grants Pass, Ore.), two of the five freshmen in this year's recruiting class.  
 
INFIELD
 
The Beacons add the most depth to the infield, including newcomers Liam Kerr (Vancouver, Wash.,), Ethan Stacy (Sydney, Australia), Riley Carter (Carlsbad, Calif.), Cayden Delozier (Canby, Ore.), Cade Crist (Springfield, Ore.) and Colton Hamada (Walla Walla, Wash.) Hamada is the only freshman of the group with the rest coming in as transfers.
 
Stacy has impressed in the offseason. "Ethan Stacy can be a leader," said Richards. "He communicates really well and is not scared to stick his nose in there and grind it out."

Delozier can play multiple positions on the infield, while Crist could be seen at first and behind the plate.
 
Returning are Jaxson Fraser, Fripp, Jacob Stoner, Jameson Hussey, Reece Carganilla, Dylan Martin, Noah Montoya, Jordan Wilson. All eight saw time in at least half of last season's games. Also returning is utility player, CJ Smith, the team's Most Inspirational award winner.  
 
Stoner and Montoya were strong at the plate in year one. Montoya hit .294 in 40 games played, while Stoner posted a .272 average and a team-leading 16 doubles through 44 games.
 
Hussey, a first baseman, was part of one of the most memorable moments of the inaugural season, recording the first walk-off for the Beacons in the NAIA-era in a victory over British Columbia. "I love Hussey," said Richards. "He is just relentlessly consistent which is huge."
 
Carganilla played in more games (46) than any other Beacon as last year's starting shortstop. He will likely be seen at second base this season.
 
Fraser and Wilson made 20 starts each, mostly at third base. Martin also made 20 starts but played in 42 games, seeing time at second base and as a pinch runner.
 
CATCHERS
 
The Beacons have depth behind the plate, beginning with last year's duo of Brandon Reed and Kyle Casperson. Reed made 25 starts as a freshman, hitting .262 with 15 RBI, while Casperson hit a team-leading .321 and started 26 games.  
 
"Brandon Reed has been so impressive," said Richards. "He is so consistent, has never missed a day of weights or practice, is reliable and dependable. Kyle Casperson is someone the guys look up to and has a high baseball IQ. He does the work and people respect him. He's coming back from injury, so we are not trying to do too much too fast."
 
This year's group of catchers also includes newcomer Max Richards (Forest Grove, Ore.) and returner Caleb Watson, who bring different skillsets to the table. Crist could also be seen at catcher, while Watson is also a pitcher.
 
PITCHERS
 
The newcomers to the pitching staff include, Jack Horn (Tacoma, Wash.), Caleb Schorr (Uintah, Utah), Chase Senecal (Jupiter, Fla.), Alec Gums (Roseville, Calif.), Tyler Halemanu (Hilo, Hawaii), Trevor Hammond (Ventura, Calif.) and Blake Stavros (Eugene, Ore.).
 
Returning are Kai Keamo, Furman, Frazier, Jahshua Yacapin, Jayden Soriano, Ethan Paulson, Trenton Hough, Gregory Joe, Ethan Sachs and Adam Sabatino.
 
Yacapin finished the year with a 3.81 ERA and 37 strikeouts in nine starts to lead the Beacons. Sabatino saw eight starts, while Keamo and Hough started in six games apiece, with all three making appearances as relievers. Paulson pitched in 14 games with a pair of starts, while Sachs started six games.
 
Richards said, "You got to have guys at the back end of the game. Furman is super competitive and has just enough psychopath in him to be good in the ninth inning. Knutzen is the same way. Hough can also pitch at the back end of the game."
 
Furman saw the mound seven times, while Knutzen made 15 appearances in relief.
 
"There is more awareness on the opener and the end game, but a lot of pieces fall in the middle game," added Richards. "It's going to take more than eight to 10 arms to have a good pitching staff. We need to be really consistent with at least 14 of them. Those middle innings are a big deal and then if we can get to the seventh inning and give the ball to one of these psychopaths, then we have a chance."
 
SCHEDULE
 
Bushnell opens the 2023 campaign at Jessup University for a three-game series on Feb. 10-11. The Beacons head back to California the following week to take on Simpson University (Feb. 17-18).
 
The home opening series will take place on Feb. 24-25 as Bushnell hosts the University of British Columbia followed by Corban (March 3-4) before getting back on the road to take on Oregon Tech (March 11-12). The Beacons have a game at Western Oregon (March 15) before concluding the non-conference schedule against Lewis & Clark. Two games against the Pioneers will be hosted in Springfield and the third will be in Portland.
 
Conference play begins on March 24 as the Beacons host Eastern Oregon. The Beacons play a four-game series with all six CCC teams, with home series against the Mountaineers, Oregon Tech and Lewis-Clark State this year.
 
Bushnell will have three non-conference games in the middle of CCC action as they host Western Oregon (April 11) and have a pair of games against Linfield (April 4, April 18) with the second game against the Wildcats being a road game.
 
The CCC Tournament takes place on May 6-7.