At the outset, the University of Mary Washington baseball team opened what looked like would be a rebuilding season. One year removed from carrying a senior class of 11 players in 2007, the Eagles started the campaign with six new position players and a pitching staff with just two seniors. Expectations quickly changed, however, as UMW won 26 games en route to a Capital Athletic Conference championship game appearance facing one of the toughest schedules in the South Region.
The Eagles opened with a win at Hampden-Sydney, then split a doubleheader with eventual NCAA Tournament team Messiah College and dropped a 9-6 decision to top-ranked SUNY Cortland. The Eagles then won 14 of 16 games, including nine of 11 conference games, with multiple wins over York College, Wesley College, and Gallaudet University.
As the calendar changed to April, the Eagles strung together three consecutive come-from-behind victories: one win over St. Mary’s College with a three-run eighth inning, and another pair of wins in the final at bat against Villa Julie College. Mary Washington opened the CAC Tournament as the second seed, and advanced to the weekend portion of the event undefeated with wins over Villa Julie and Wesley.
After dropping an 8-6 game at Salisbury, the Eagles eliminated Villa Julie from the event to advance to the championship round. Needing to defeat Salisbury twice to win the title, the Eagles defeated Salisbury for the Gulls’ second defeat of the regular season on a walk-off home run by Jon Sims, but fell in the title game.
After the conference tournament, UMW split its final four games, with wins over USA South champion Christopher Newport and USA South runner up North Carolina Wesleyan College.
The Eagles relied on a novice group in the starting lineup, and the young hitters proved their worth across the board. On the infield, first year starters Will Wright (.350 average, 34 runs scored, 35 RBI), Seamus Bergen (.317, 32 runs, 29 RBI), Eric Rehbein (.394, team-high 61 hits and 43 RBI), and transformed catcher Alex Rossi (.397, 41 RBI) provided a deep lineup despite previous experience. Senior Chase Townsend batted .369 in limited duties due to injuries, but still earned second team All-CAC honors. Rehbein and Rossi also were named all-conference.
In the outfield, seniors Riley Gorman and Jon Sims combined for 81 runs scored and 50 RBI, while Frankie Sheffield (.364) and Jeff Johnson (.452) experienced breakout seasons while sharing time in left field. Sophomore catcher Nick Espinosa handled a young pitching staff well, and hit .321 as one of the top backstops in the league.
On the mound, junior Andrew Cox served as the Eagles’ ace, going 9-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 13 appearances en route to first team all-conference honors. Senior Seth Kaas went 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA and thrived first as a reliever (three saves) and then as a starter. Junior Wes Hayden also won five games in 10 appearances, and freshmen Zach Hendrix, Jeff Brill, and Dan Murdoch showed flashes of their potential by winning six games combined. Rehbein developed into a strong pitcher when not manning second base, posting a 0.73 ERA in eight appearances, with one walk and 17 strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched.
The Eagles captured at least 20 wins for the 18th time in the last 19 seasons, including surpassing the 25-win plateau for the eighth straight year. UMW also surpassed the 500-win mark in program history, continuing as one of the winningest programs in NCAA Division III.