KALAMAZOO, Mich. – With Western Michigan baseball's opening day fast approaching, we will be taking a look at the 2017 version of the Broncos on a class-by-class basis, heading over to the sophomore class. WMU features 12 sophomores this season, headlined by shortstop Connor Smith, the first ever Mid-American Conference (MAC) Freshman Player of the Year in school history. The class is made up of seven pitchers, two infielders, two outfielders and catcher.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMUBaseball
WMU opens the season on Friday, Feb. 17 at Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. and stays in the state of Georgia to battle Georgia State on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. and Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.
Head coach Billy Gernon on the sophomore class: "Our sophomore class, same as our freshmen class, was the second highest ranked recruiting class in the MAC according to Collegiate Baseball. Connor Smith's impressive .441 average was only one hit shy of leading the MAC in hitting last year. He was the first MAC Freshmen Player of the Year in WMU history along with being named a Freshmen All-American by Louisville Slugger.
Nate Grys missed the first half of the season and was second on the team in slugging percentage. Grys had home runs at Michigan State, Kent State and in the MAC Tournament. I am excited to see Nate for an entire season as he helps solidify the middle of our lineup.
Jesse Forestell looks to handle most of the catching responsibilities with the departure of Mitchell Ho. Forestell is coming off a freshmen campaign where he hit .262 with 21 RBI. Jesse rarely gives an at-bat away. He knows who he is and is very versatile offensively and could hit in many spots in our lineup."
Take a look at what the sophomore class did in 2016…
#2 Connor Smith / INF / 5-10 / 175 / Midland, Mich. / Midland Dow
2016: Started 55 out of 56 games at shortstop ... named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger... named MAC Freshman Position Player of the Year, the first in school history ... Second Team All-MAC ... All-MAC Tournament Team ... tied for 14th all-time with 71 hits in a season ... led team in hits (71), batting average (.336), runs (31) and stolen bases (12) while finishing third in RBI (24) and tied for fourth in doubles (6) ... jumped his batting average up to .441 in MAC play, a mark good for second in the conference ... tied for the team-lead with 20 multiple hit games ... had a 14-game hit streak from Apr. 30 to May 25, tied for the 12th longest in school history ... had a stretch from Apr. 30 to May 14 where he went 22-for-37 (.594) with multiple hit games in six of the seven ... went 5-for-6 with a double a run and four RBI against Toledo on Apr. 30 ... went 3-for-5 with his first career home run, two runs and three RBI against Georgetown on March 9 ... went 26 games at shortstop before he recorded his first error.
#10 Jimmy Roche / INF / 5-10 / 175 / Orland Park, Ill. / Sandburg
2016: Appeared in 24 games with six starts in the infield, outfield and as a DH … hit .200 with two runs, a double and five RBI's … went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI against St. Joseph's on March 11 … went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI against Toledo on May 1.
#13 Conner Henderson / OF / 6-1 / 185 / Vicksburg, Mich. / Vicksburg
2016: Played in 28 games as a defensive specialist with three starts in the outfield … hit .313 with six runs, a home run and two RBI … had three multiple hit games … went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Bradley (March 25) … went 1-for-2 with his first career home run against Butler (March 27).
#20 Nate Grys / OF / 6-2 / 220 / Madison Heights, Mich. / Bishop Foley
2016: Appeared in 28 games with 21 starts in the outfield and at DH … hit .250, with 11 runs, five doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI … went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a run and two RBI against Kent State on April 3 … hit a three-run home run against Miami in the MAC Tournament game (May 26) … had back-to-back two-hit games against Toledo on April 30 on May 1.
#22 Will Mullen / RHP / 6-4 / 215 / Rochester, Mich. / Notre Dame Prep
2016: Did not play.
#23 Chris Modrzynski / LHP / 6-3 / 175 / Alpena, Mich. / Alpena
2016: Made four appearances all in relief roles … pitched 2.1 innings with two strikeouts … finished with a 19.29 ERA … pitched 1.0 scoreless innings at Oakland with one strikeout on May 11.
#26 Matt McConnell / LHP / 5-10 / 175 / Lafayette, Ind. / Lafayette Harrison
2016: Made 11 appearances all in relief roles … finished with a 7.36 ERA after pitching 11.0 innings with eight strikeouts … did not allow a run in his final three appearances … pitched 2.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout at Butler on March 27 … picked up a season-high three strikeouts at Ball State on April 10.
#27 Jesse Forestell / C / 6-0 / 200 / Chicago, Ill. / Homewood Flossmoor
2016: Played in 52 games with 42 starts at catcher, designated hitter and in the outfield … hit .262 with 18 runs, five doubles, one home run and 21 RBI … fourth on the team in RBI … had a stretch from March 18 to April 10 where he had a hit in 12 of 13 games including five multiple hit games … went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI against Kennesaw State on Feb. 21 … went 3-for-5 with two runs, a double and three RBI against Bowling Green on March 19 … went 2-for-4 with a run, a double and two RBI against Bradley on March 26.
#28 Eddie McWilliams / LHP / 6-0 / 210 / Belleville, Mich. / Belleville
2016: Appeared in five games in relief roles … finished 0-0 with a 14.54 ERA in 4.1 innings … pitched 2.0 shutout innings vs. Bradley with a strikeout on March 25.
#32 Nic Laio / RHP / 6-5 / 200 / Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove North
2016: Appeared in 10 games in relief roles … finished 0-0 with a 11.57 ERA in 9.1 innings … pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings at Florida A&M with one strikeout on March 5 … picked up a career-high two strikeouts against Northern Illinois in a career-high 4.1 innings pitched on April 16.
#36 Jack Szott / RHP / 6-4 / 215 / Naperville, Ill. / Metea Valley
2016: Appeared in 20 games with eight starts … finished 1-8 with a 7.36 ERA … fourth on the team with 58.2 innings pitched … fifth on the team with 31 strikeouts … pitched a career-high 5.0 innings and picked up a career-high five strikeouts against Chicago State on March 29 … pitched 3.2 scoreless innings at Florida A&M on March 6 … pitched 1.1 scoreless innings against Louisville in the NCAA Regional.
#39 Casey Horjus / LHP / 6-9 / 210 / Grand Rapids, Mich. / East Grand Rapids
2016: Appeared in five games in relief roles … finished 0-0 with a 11.25 ERA in 4.0 innings pitched … pitched a scoreless inning against Northern Illinois with one strikeout on April 16.
