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W&L Baseball 2023 Season Preview

The Generals place middle of the pack in ODAC Preseason Poll

2/8/2023 2:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Old Dominion Athletic Conference released its 2023 Baseball Preseason Poll on Wednesday and Washington and Lee placed middle of the pack at sixth of twelve with 69 points.

Shenandoah University, the reigning champions, claimed nine first-place votes and 119 points, followed by the University of Lynchburg with three first-place votes and 105 points.

Randolph-Macon (99), Roanoke (90), and Bridgewater (87) complete the top-5 ahead of the Generals.

Washington and Lee concluded its 2022 regular season with a 20-14 record, the most wins for the team since the 2017 season. This included a 12-8 finish within the ODAC. The Generals plan to bounce back from a First Round Series exit against Bridgewater in the 2022 ODAC Tournament.

2023 ODAC Baseball Preseason Poll

Shenandoah University (9) - 119 pts.
University of Lynchburg (3) - 105 pts.
Randolph-Macon College - 99 pts.
Roanoke College - 90 pts.
Bridgewater College - 87 pts.
Washington and Lee University - 69 pts.
Hampden-Sydney College - 63 pts.
Virginia Wesleyan University - 53 pts.
Eastern Mennonite University - 33 pts.
Ferrum College - 33 pts.
Guilford College - 21 pts.
Averett University - 20 pts.

With last season’s campaign ending in the ODAC Tournament, the guys have been anxiously anticipating the start of the 2023 season. With a large amount of returning players, we have set our sights on another ODAC Tournament bid and feel that we have all the necessary pieces to compete every day for the opportunity to earn the regular season title. Our senior class of Zach, Mitch, John and Derek have done a great job of communicating expectations, providing leadership, and setting the tone for this year’s run. Our sophomore and junior classes, having played such a large role in last year’s success, have not slowed down and have their sights set on leveling up once more to send this senior class out with a season to remember.

We talk a lot about trust, commitment and loyalty, and we are going to need to embody all three characteristics, while playing some high-level baseball, as we play a very challenging non-conference schedule. The highlight of our non-conference slate will be competing in the “U Deserve A Chance” Foundation’s D3 Showcase in Kannapolis, N.C., over Feb. break as we are competing against top-tier regional opponents while raising money for a great cause.

I can’t wait to watch this team write their own chapter in the history book of W&L Baseball.

Head Coach Ted White (Sixth Season)

2023 Schedule Overview

The Generals will play a 34-game regular season schedule, featuring 20 home games and 14 road games, including three games at the D3 Showcase in Kannapolis, N.C., from February 23-26.

The Generals' season opener is against an unfamiliar opponent. W&L will host the Ursinus Grizzly Bears from February 18-19 in the programs' first all-time meeting. Opening weekend will consist of a three-game set against the Grizzly Bears with a single game on Saturday at 5:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at noon.

Following a visit from Castleton University (Feb. 21), the Generals travel out to the D3 Showcase to face Piedmont University (Feb. 23), Marietta College (Feb. 25), and Berry College (Ga.) (Feb. 26), before traveling to Greensboro to take on Guilford College (Mar. 4) in the ODAC opener.

The Generals make their way back home to host Capital University (Mar. 7) and Mary Baldwin University (Mar. 8), then pack up for another five-game road set consisting of doubleheaders at ODAC newcomer Averett (Mar. 11) and Randolph-Macon (Mar. 18), with one game at Eastern Mennonite (Mar. 14) sandwiched in between.

W&L will then begin an 11-game homestand, with nine of the games coming against conference competition. The homestand starts on March 20 with a doubleheader against Trinity College (Conn.). The Generals will then face ODAC opposition for the remaining nine games, with doubleheaders against Lynchburg (Mar. 25), Roanoke (Apr. 1), and Hampden-Sydney (Apr. 15), and single games against Eastern Mennonite (Mar. 22), Bridgewater (Mar. 28) and Shenandoah (Apr. 5).

The Generals will head back on the road to face Shenandoah (Apr. 19) and Bridgewater (Apr. 25) to complete the regular season series, with an April 22 doubleheader at Ferrum College in the mix. W&L will conclude their season at home against Mary Baldwin University (Apr. 27) and a Sunday doubleheader against Virginia Wesleyan University (Apr. 30).

W&L welcomes a familiar face into the conference this season. The Averett Cougars and the Generals have 19 games of history. In those games, the Generals have won 12, including an active nine-game win streak. The two teams most recent meeting was the 2022 season opener where W&L ran away with a 19-2 win.

The Generals are not short on unique non-conference opponents this season. W&L will face three new teams for the first time. Ursinus College, Berry College (Ga.), and Capital University are all fresh competition for the Generals. Additionally, Castleton University travels down from Vermont for the two teams' first meeting since 1968.

The ODAC Tournament will commence the first weekend of May, with Opening Series play held at each of the top-four seeds in the conference. Each opening series will be a best-of-three format and will take place from May 5-7. The four advancing teams from each opening series will then play a double-elimination tournament from May 12-14 at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C., to determine the conference champion.

Key Returners

The Generals’ 34-man roster features a strong mix of first-year talent and returning players. Both junior Thomas Haller (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove) and sophomore Evan Blair (Vienna, Va./James Madison) return as 2022 All-ODAC Second Team selections.

Haller started 12 games for the Generals a season ago posting a 3.80 ERA and 68 strikeouts over 71 innings. Haller set the W&L single-game strikeout record (17) in a dominating 12-2 win against Guilford on April 2.

Blair led the 2022 pitching staff with 16 appearances and totaled 41 innings. Blair ranked fourth in the ODAC with an impressive 2.41 ERA and 51 strikeouts.

Sophomore starting pitcher John Benner (McLean, Va./St. Albans) had a promising first year as a General. In the 2022 season, Benner led W&L with a 6-1 record and was second to Haller in starts (10) and innings pitched (53.2). Among his top performances includes a complete-game win against then-14th-ranked Shenandoah University. In his nine innings of work, Benner allowed only four hits, and no walks and struck out nine in the 5-2 win.

Alongside the pitching staff are multiple threats at the plate. Seniors Zach Perkins (Vienna, Va./James Madison) and Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic), along with junior Ethan Zulueta (Matthews, N.C./Weddington), all return to the Generals' lineup after a strong 2022 campaign.

Perkins hit for a .568 slugging percentage and .432 on-base percentage totaling and even 1.000 OPS. Next to his 40 hits, Perkins tallied a team-high 17 walks.

Zulueta led the team with a .392 batting average across 29 games played and placed fifth within the ODAC for his batting average. His .520 slugging and .475 on-base percentages put him third on the team with a .995 OPS.

Finally, Salvino had a very strong year at the dish. Salvino showed his consistency with a hit in all but three games, with 11 multi-hit performances. In a 15-6 win against Virginia Wesleyan University, Salvino went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Salvino ended the season with a .348 batting average, a .988 OPS, and a team-leading five home runs.

Derek Hughes (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft School) is a key relief pitcher for the Generals.

With 13 appearances in the 2022 season, Hughes earned a 2-0 record while tallying 24 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched. In his career, Hughes owns a 3-0 record, with two saves, in 18 appearances and has struck out 31 hitters in 36 innings.

The Generals leaned on Hughes for extended relief appearance multiple times. Entering a 1-1 game against Randolph-Macon on March 14, Hughes stepped in and completed the final four innings, allowing zero runs and only three hits to help the Generals hang on for a 2-1 win.

Off the field, Hughes has earned several W&L Scholar Athlete and ODAC All-Academic citations. He is a member of the Office of Inclusion and Engagement Greek Liaison Program, the “24” student-athlete group and also worked as a summer 2022 analyst at Medalist Capital.

John Raymond (Frenchtown, N.J./Delaware Valley Regional) has seen time as an outfielder, designated hitter, and relief pitcher for the Generals.

Raymond concluded the 2022 season with a .655 OPS including 16 hits, two home runs, and 14 walks. He also drove in a career-high 18 runs across his 76 at-bats. For his career, Raymond has totaled 12 innings on the mound and 99 at-bats, with a .320 on-base percentage.

Off the field, Raymond is a President's List student, a Physical Therapy Volunteer Aide and a member of General's Leadership Academy. He also serves as a Biology Teacher's Assistant and is a member of the Beta Beta Beta and Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Societies.

Mitchell Salvino (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Catholic) led the team in RBI (30), home runs (5), total bases (70), slugging percentage (.609), and stolen bases (7) a season ago.

Salvino played a key role in leading his team to the ODAC tournament going on an 11-game hit streak to end the regular season, batting an impressive .465 (20-43) with 14 runs scored (at least one in each game) and 19 runs batted in during that span.

For his career, Salvino has appeared in 59 games and holds a .350 batting average on 82 hits in 234 at-bats. He has driven in 49 runs, scored 50 times, and has 29 career extra-base hits, including seven round-trippers.

Academically, Salvino claimed College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors as a junior, and has earned W&L Scholar Athlete status in each semester on campus. A three-time President's List student and ODAC All-Academic honoree, Salvino has earned the Physics & Engineering Departmental Scholarship and is a member of the Development Ambassadors. Salvino was also the creator and a leader of team fundraisers which raised $10,000 in 2021 in support of Covid Relief and $22,000 in 2022 in support of the Angel Fund at W&L.