KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The juniors are made up of six student-athletes, including four pitchers, one outfielder and one pitcher/outfielder. Most notably is LHP Jacob Piechota, a 2016 All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament team selection that tied for second for most wins in a single season (10) in WMU history. 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, now onto the junior class.
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 junior class: Piechota got a save in game one of the MAC tournament when the Broncos beat Ball State 5-1 and then turned around with six innings of 1 hit shutout baseball eliminating Central Michigan from the MAC tournament by a score of 4-0. Piechota also had three saves and only walked 18 batters in 60.1 innings pitched. He was named to the All-MAC Tournament team with Keegan Akin (MVP), Connor Smith and Grant Miller. He tied for second in school history for wins in a single season and was only one of two pitchers to record 10 wins on the regular season and one of only three pitchers to record six wins in conference. "Southpaw Jacob Piechota was 10-4 with a 3.75 ERA and 6-2 in conference play with a 3.77 ERA in 2016.
Jake is a high command guy and I trust him in any and all game situations. The 6'5, RHP from Westchester, Ill., was plagued with injuries all last year but grinded through the season giving the Broncos some quality innings from the pen. Jake Bartels led the team with six saves last year and is poised to have even a better junior season.
We need to get Evan more at-bats. He has made tremendous adjustments against left-handed pitching and could very easily be our everyday designated here." Evan Nelson led the team in slugging percentage and led the team in doubles per at-bat. He was second in actual doubles including three home runs and 20 RBI.
Andrew Reisinger was heavily recruited with the anticipation of knowing we were most likely going to lose Keegan Akin to the draft." Reisinger went 10-1 last season for McHenry County College and has solidified a position in the rotation. Andrew has a very good fastball and very complimenting arsenal. He is poised and mature and has been a very special edition to our program"
Jimmy Chase returns after missing last season. Chase most likely would have been in our rotation last season and is pushing the ticket to be in it this season too. Jimmy is very athletic and doesn't get rattled easily. He and Reisinger add tremendous depth to our pitching staff."
Take a look at what the junior class did in 2016…
#8 Tanner Allison / LHP/OF / 6-3 / 190 / Portland, Mich. / Portland
2016: Played in 34 games with 25 starts in the outfield and made seven starts and 14 appearances as a pitcher … hit .222 with eight runs, seven doubles, a triple and 14 RBI with a 1.000 fielding percentage … came on towards the end of the season, recording eight hits in his final 10 games including a two-run triple against Kent State in the MAC Championship game on May 29 … recorded 39 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched ... finished with a 10.02 ERA and an 0-7 record … threw a scoreless inning against Toledo on May 1.
#12 Jake Bartels / RHP / 6-5 / 215 / Westchester, Ill. / Nazareth Academy
2016: Appeared in 24 games with one start … tied for seventh for most saves in a single season (6) … tied for seventh for most appearances in a single season (24) … led team in saves with six … finished 2-0 with a 4.46 ERA, third best on the team … pitched 38.1 innings with 18 strikeouts … had a stretch from April 20 to May 21 where he allowed just one earned run in 13.0 innings … combined with Jacob Piechota for a three-hit shutout of Central Michigan in the MAC Tournament Semifinal game (May 28) … in the first start of his career, he threw a scoreless inning at Michigan State (April 20).
#21 Evan Nelson / OF / 6-3 / 210 / Mission Viejo, Calif. / Mission Viejo
2016: Played in 50 games with 35 starts in the outfield and as DH … hit .278 with 16 runs, 11 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 20 RBI … had nine multiple hit games … went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI against Valpo (April 12) … hit a pinch hit grand slam against Bradley (March 26) … went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run and an RBI against Oakland on May 11.
#30 Jimmy Townsend-Chase / RHP / 6-2 / 185 / Hillsdale, Mich. / Jackson CC
2016: Did not play.
#31 Andrew Reisinger / RHP / 6-3 / 210 / McHenry, Ill. / McHenry
2016: Went 10-1 for McHenry County College.
#35 Jacob Piechota / LHP / 6-3 / 195 / Batavia, Ill. / Batavia
2016: Appeared in 29 games with two starts … named to the All-MAC Tournament team … finished 10-4, leading the team and the MAC in wins … second on the team with a 3.75 ERA … third on the team with 60.0 innings pitched … fourth on the team with 37 strikeouts … second on the team with three saves … pitched 6.0 shutout innings allowing just one hit against Central Michigan in the MAC Tournament Semifinal game in the first start of his career … had a stretch from April 29 to May 28 spanning 24.2 innings where he allowed just two earned runs with 19 strikeouts … pitched 4.0 shutout innings against Bowling Green on March 19 … tied first round draft pick Eric Lauer for most wins in the MAC (10).
