Baseball: 2024 Baseball Preview; Bison projected to finish ninth
Written by: Colin Herb
BETHANY, W.Va. - Bethany is predicted to finish ninth in the President's Athletic Conference (PAC) preseason poll. The annual poll collects votes from each of the league's 11 head coaches. The rankings are then based on a point system stemming from your place on the coaches' ballot.
Washington & Jefferson was the clear favorite with 10 first place votes and 100 total points. Grove City was the only other team to receive a first place vote. They came in second with 87 points. Alleghany rounds out the preseason podium with 82 points. The rest of the rankings are as follows: Westminster (72), Saint Vincent (67), Chatham (54), Waynesburg (44), Thiel (33), Bethany (26), Geneva (24), and Franciscan (16).
Although Bethany has a lower predicted outcome, they can be viewed as a dark horse coming into the 2024 season. The Bison baseball team has plenty of experience on the roster. There are 38 returners; much of the starting lineup own conference accolades. There are twelve new faces on the roster, and a new face leading the Bison.
Michael Finlan is the new head baseball coach at Bethany. Finlan comes from NCAA DIII Spalding, as the pitching coach he aided the team to their first conference title, their first NCAA playoff berth, and a 3.60 ERA on 363 strikeouts.
Finlan inherits a pair of pitchers on the PAC 2024 season watch list: Trey Mantle and Zach Pressnell. Both seniors have earned All-PAC Honorable Mentions during their career at Bethany.
Pressnell was set to be one of the leaders on the mound before suffering a season ending injury before being able to step on the mound. Mantle was a workhorse during his junior season. Over the course of 66.1 innings pitched (seventh in the PAC), Mantle led the conference with the fewest walks allowed (12). While he had the most volume out of any Bethany starter, he led the pack in Earned Run Average.
Nick Roell is a notable veteran set to make his return for his senior season. The All-PAC second team outfielder boasted a .409 average with 61 base hits in the 2023 season; placing him fourth in each respective category. Roell's total number of base hits combined with his hit/walk rate being over 1.00 earned him a top ten spot on the conference leaderboard in On-Base Percentage (OBP). He finished eighth with a .477 OBP.
Infielder Josh Speaker and outfielder/pitcher JT Hubert are two juniors on the PAC watch list for the 2024 season.
Speaker is a two-time All-PAC Honorable Mention. He slashed a respectable .360 with 23 RBIs.
Hubert's 2023 unfortunately ended early due to injury. In the nine games Hubert played prior to injury, he collected two wins, 10 strikeouts, and three RBI.
One returner with accolades that wasn't on the PAC watch list, but will certainly be on Bethany fan's list, is outfielder former catcher from last season, CJ Owen. The young slugger entered his first season as a Bison last year and was among the conference's best power hitters. Owen was ninth in Slugging % (.560) and OPS, which combines a player's slugging with their OBP (1.004). Owen hit .360 with a pair of home runs and 26 RBI. The catcher position is traditionally a slower player, but Owen collected six stolen bases and a triple.
The Bison's first series will be at home against Pitt.-Bradford. The series will span two days on the weekend of February 24-25. Saturday will be a double header starting at 1:00 pm. Sunday will be a singular game starting at 1:00 pm.
