GAMBIER, Ohio — The Kenyon College baseball team hopes to build on last year’s 23-win campaign as the Owls search for their first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament berth since the 2018 season. A 13-player first-year class will look to help replace the production of eight departed seniors as the Owls shoot for their fourth consecutive season with a plus-.500 record.
2022 Review:
Kenyon finished one game out of the four-team NCAC Tournament in 2022 after posting an overall record of 23-13 and an 11-7 mark in conference action. The win total was the program’s best since tying the all-time mark with 27 victories in 2012, and last year’s team set a new program record with 14 consecutive wins. The team’s postseason hopes came down to their final day of the regular season, but the College of Wooster, the eventual runners-up in the NCAC Tournament, closed Kenyon’s season with an 11-inning win before securing a doubleheader sweep.
Preseason Poll:
The Owls were picked sixth in the nine-team 2023 NCAC baseball preseason poll voted on by the conference coaches. Kenyon, who tallied 35 points in the poll, will look to crack the conference’s top four teams to make it into the NCAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. Denison University (six first-place votes), Wooster (two first-place votes), Wittenberg University (one first-place vote), DePauw University and Wabash College were selected ahead of the Owls in the preseason rankings.
Coach’s Overview:
Head coach Matt Burdette begins his 28th season at the helm of Kenyon’s baseball team. Burdette has been named the NCAC Coach of the Year four times (1998, 2005, 2006, 2009) and has posted winning percentages of .500 or better 12 times over the past 17 seasons, including each of the past three years. Under his tutelage, Kenyon has set single-season team records in nearly every offensive category, established the college record for wins in a season (27 in 2006 and 2012), and achieved the program’s highest national and regional rankings. As a college player, Burdette competed and captained College of Wooster teams that won two conference championships, earned three regional berths and one trip to the Division III Small College World Series. During his playing days with the Fighting Scots, he was a three-time All-NCAC performer and All-Mideast Region honoree.
Coach’s Quote:
“I like the makeup of this team, a good blend of experience and youth, but it’s still a team that leans to the younger side with only three seniors,” Burdette said. “Last year was a good one for us; many first-timers in the lineup got a taste of a playoff-type atmosphere throughout the season, even though we came up just a bit short of our goal of being a top-four NCAC playoff team. We hope that experience will allow us to be a bit more relaxed when those big moments present themselves again. We feel we have a really solid culture to withstand the graduation of a great class a year ago that still allows us to take steps forward as we usher in a new group. Ultimately, we’d like to be considered a team with the makings of a top-tier squad in the ultra-competitive North Coast Athletic Conference. We’ll get our chance to prove it on the field soon enough.”
Key Returners:
The 2023 roster includes 23 returning players and 13 incoming first-years. However, a roster that featured 25 underclassmen last season has a year of experience under its belt to pair with a 2023 senior class of three. Offensively, the Owls welcome back seven of the team’s top-11 run scorers, including their top three in Malcolm Gaynor (33 runs scored, 48 hits, 11 doubles, 23 RBIs), Luke Meister (29 runs, 39 hits, five HRs, 27 RBIs) and Tripper Capps (28 runs, 37 hits, seven doubles, 22 RBIs). The pitching staff will likely lean more on Frank Lynch and Noah Rosenberg, who finished second and third in innings pitched. Lynch, a sophomore, went 4-1 over nine starts with a 4.71 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 13 walks over 36.1 innings, while Rosenberg, a junior, went 3-1 with 29 strikeouts and 11 walks over 31 innings of relief.
Key Departures:
Kenyon will have to navigate 2023 without its two All-NCAC honorees, Alex Gow and Andrew Rabinowitz. Gow was chosen as a first-team pitcher, first-team utility player and the NCAC Pitcher of the Year, while Rabinowitz, a catcher, slotted onto the second team. Gow compiled a 7-1 record in his team-leading 66.2 innings, struck out 99 batters, walked 17 and gave up only 13 earned runs. His 1.75 ERA led the NCAC and ranked 20th in the nation, while his strikeout total ranked first in the NCAC and 16th in Division III. After pairing his pitching prowess with a team-leading five home runs and tying for third in hits, runs, doubles and RBIs, Gow was named to two All-Region teams and was honored as Kenyon baseball’s first All-American. Rabinowitz, who was first-team All-NCAC in 2021, ranked second on the team in batting average, hits and slugging percentage while leading the team in RBIs. Other key departures include Alexander Hoskins (36 hits, 30 RBIs, four HRs), Will Sturgeon (20 RBIs), Joel Biery (20 IP, 14 appearances), Zach Frizzera (19.1 IP, four starts) and Zach Elsawy (18.2 IP, 13 appearances).
Schedule Overview:
After their season-opening doubleheader at Mary Baldwin University was canceled due to weather, the Owls will tee off the 2023 campaign in Fort Pierce, Florida. Kenyon will be down south from March 5-17 for 12 spring break games before their first home game on March 25. Upon returning home, the Owls will host eight of 10 games, including their NCAC opener against Ohio Wesleyan University on April 1. After the regular season wraps up on May 6, the conference’s top four teams will head to the NCAC Tournament, which is scheduled to run from May 11-13 in Chillicothe, Ohio.
