[Baseball] Baseball Falcons set to launch 2023 season at home this weekend

WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Baseball Falcons will begin the 2023 campaign with a four-game series at Westside Athletic Field starting Friday (Feb. 3) vs. Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The Falcons took a major leap forward last season, jumping to fourth in the KCAC standings (21-12) after finishing tied for seventh in 2021 (27-20).

Under head coach Adam Neisius, the Falcons were at their best in the clutch last year, accumulating a staggering seven walk-off victories.

"The vibe of the team is good, we lost some key pieces but have a great group of returners back and the incoming class has done very well," said Neisius.  "It's an athletic bunch that will play hard!"

A great opportunity to build on that for the upcoming edition will be power, bolstered by the return of the team's two leading home run hitters in Pablo Oden and Oliver Dunn.  Oden hit a team-high 11 homers and Dunn slugged 10 round-trippers in his first year with the program.

Primary leadoff hitter Caleb Coats will be welcomed back after serving as a sparkplug at the top of the order with a team-leading .445 on-base percentage. 

With the departure of the team's leading hitters from 2022 (Elerie Rivera, Jared Berard, Max Coyt), second baseman Buster Hardman is back and will have an opportunity to fill a big part of that void. Hardman was solid in his debut year as a Falcon, ranking fourth on the team in batting average (.311) and third in RBIs (35).

Returning for his fourth year with the team, Sam Engberg will again fill a valuable spot after flashing power with a career-high four homers last season.

Sophomore outfielder Niquan Benjamin will also vie for an increased role after hitting .248 and driving in 15 runs along with six stolen bases as a freshman in the 2022 season.

On the mound, the Falcons will have to replace the bulk of their rotation, with Nolan Crumrine and Matt Postier the only returners to throw at least 20 innings last season. Crumrine and Postier proved to be solid options during their freshman campaigns, with each notching four wins and Postier recording a 2.87 ERA.

Following this weekend's four-game set with Texas A&M-Texarkana, the Falcons will remain at home and host Peru State College for a three-game series next weekend (Feb. 10-11).

The Falcons' KCAC opener is set for Feb. 28 at Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the first home conference tilt will take place on Mar. 7 vs. Southwestern College.

"We are normally in the top 25 for strength of schedule and this year will be no different," said Neisius.  "It's a very challenging nonconference slate, we'll play numerous top-25 ranked opponents."

Neisius Notes – Head coach Adam Neisius' take on featured returning players and newcomers this season.

Returners:

Buster Hardman will move to SS - had a great fall and I expect him to have a very successful spring.  He will anchor our infield

Oliver Dunn - will move to 3B - very good player that we are excited to get back to the infield.  Had him in RF last year because of some injuries.  Think he's going to have a great year

Pablo Oden - will take over at 1B - solid year at the plate in 22' - will expect him to produce for us in the middle of the order

Dakota Harding - will be one of our starting catchers - very good defensively and this is the most confident I've seen Dakota with the bat

Niquan Benjamin - impressive freshman in 22' - will start in the OF, very athletic, and I expect Quan to continue to progress at the plate

Caleb Coats - had a good 22' season - he is an on-base machine, and I believe he will be better offensively this year - one of our best outfielders

Sam Engberg - will roam in the OF again this year - made some swing tweaks that I think will result in a solid offensive season for him

Nolan Crumrine - 50 IP as a FR - impressive what he was able to accomplish as a true FR last year - we'll expect him to log more innings - incredibly savvy - Gold Glove winner last year

Matt Postier - another FR with an impressive 22' (2nd team all-conference) - Matt could be in the weekend rotation this year - time will tell - whatever role he's in he will help us tremendously

Keagan Alejo - happy to have him back from injury in 22' - will be a big piece for our pitching staff

Tristen Saunders - another guy we're happy to have back from injury - will make a huge impact for us on the mound at the back end of games

Devon Lujan - Will expect him to get much more playing time this year - big physical hitter that can change the game in one swing.

Newcomers:

DJ Killion - will probably take over at 2B - experienced player with a big upside - athletic and able to be very productive offensively

Tarek Toussaint - will catch and DH - switch hitter with some pop - think he will make an impact for us immediately

Ryan Sylvester - will play in the OF for us - very athletic player that has the ability to hit for a high average and steal bases

Zeke Henson - incredible athlete - will see plenty of time in CF - has the potential to be a true five-tool player

Daniel Jaime - weekend rotation arm - very experienced at the college level - looking forward to seeing him throughout the season

Matthew Benton - possible weekend rotation arm - has good stuff that has the capability of winning a lot of games this spring

Matt Bomersback - another quality arm with college experience - Matt can play a number of roles this year - not sure exactly where he fits yet but we do know he can get outs against anyone

Vincent Vigil - quality FR that had a great fall - will be really good for us getting outs late in games - will only get better with experience

Shade Beck - quality LH pitcher that is going to see innings - can fill numerous roles on our staff - he's going to be solid for us

Cameron Chase - another lefty that has improved tremendously since coming in - will be a great match-up guy but can do much more if needed

Jackson Powell - FR lefty that has a huge upside - will need experience but has the ability to be a weekend rotation guy