The Shawnee State University Baseball Team returns 12 players from last year’s 21-20-1 squad.  With the addition of 16 newcomers to the Bear’s program the team should have a mix of experience and young talent.   

Senior Jared Perdue, and sophomores Justin Craft and Nathan Timberlake will lead the team in the 2006 season.  Perdue, an All-American from South Point, OH led the team last season with a .390 batting average, 48 hits, 41 runs, 40 RBI’s, and 9 home runs.  All-Conference player and third baseman Craft, from South Webster, had a .346 batting average, 47 hits, 31 runs, 33 RBI’s and 6 home runs last season.  Timberlake, an All-Conference outfielder from Wheelersburg, tallied a .369 batting average, with 31 hits, 17 runs, 21 RBI’s and a homerun on the season.  “Seniors Ryan Rowland (Circleville, OH), R.J. Niemer (Cincinnati, OH), and Kole Hargrave (Wilmington, OH) will add additional experience on the field and at the plate,” said Shawnee State Coach, Tom Bergan.  Last season, Neimer batted .330 in conference play.  Craft, Rowland, and Hargrave will also see time on the mound. Other returnees include senior Jeremy Jakuowski and sophomore Kyle Royse. 

Also back for 2006 season, are pitchers Jonathan Venters, Aaron Morrison, Kent Kobayashi, Phil Holt, and Nick Collins.  Venters, a sophomore from Xenia, OH started in 8 games last season, striking out 35 in 38 innings.  He tallied a 4-3 record and held opponents to a .257 batting average.  Morrison, returning after missing the entire 2005 season, will add experience and maturity to the mound.  Sophomore, Phil Holt, returns in better shape and is eager to improve on last year’s performance.   

The Bears’ roster includes a core of newcomers, including nine freshmen and five transfers.  “All-American transfer Phil Ashcraft will add power and consistency to our line-up and allow us to shuffle the deck when we need to,” says Bergan.  Zac Shoaf, 5-6 transfer from Columbus State, has the ability to drive the ball in the gaps and utilize speed on the bases. Transfer juniors, Casey Wooddell and Greg Reimer will compete for middle infield duties along with freshmen Jeremy Blackston.  Blackston, was selected MVP of the Tri Valley Conference and led Meigs’ High School to the Conference Championship.  Freshmen Logan Crabtree, Bob Tackett, and Ricky Pollard provide the Bears with depth and solid bats of the bench. Freshmen Randall Scott (Portsmouth, OH) and Brent Russo (Canal Winchester, OH) along with Wooddell will be used on the pitching staff.  Transfer Eric Spille (Cincinnati, OH) and Freshmen Tyler Hollar (Minerva, OH) will provide left-handed stability in the bullpen. 

The Bears face a challenging schedule that includes 11^th ranked Ohio Dominican.  The team will travel to Fort Myers, Florida during spring break to play 8 games in 6 days.  The trip will begin with St. Thomas University of Minnesota who compiled a record of 30-12 last season.  The Bears’ will wrap up the trip with 15^th ranked NCAA III Otterbein College.   

Shawnee State will split its home games between Branch Rickey Park and Doctor Singleton Park.  The Bears open American Mideast Conference play on March 3 at Branch Rickey.

Click for 2005 Outlook.