- Bears open against third-ranked team in NJCAA Division II
- Coach Mishler says is players are hungry for the season to begin
- Bears to put an emphasis on hitting the ball hard and using their speed
The DMACC baseball team will open the 2021 season February 5 against Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa (NOT), the No. 3-ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II preseason poll. DMACC, ranked 29th, will face NOT in doubleheaders Feb. 5 and 6.
DMACC is coming off a pandemic shortened 2020 season in which the Bears played just 16 games, compiling a 5-11 record.
"I'm excited for the season," said DMACC baseball coach Nic Mishler. "We have talent and I like our group of guys. So far, they have blended well together and seem pretty close as a group. That's always exciting when you have that."
Mishler said he thinks his players are hungry for the season to begin after their limited play in 2020.
"It's been really cool to see those guys show up for practice," Mishler said. "I can truly say there hasn't been a day this offseason where guys didn't show up ready to practice and are truly hungry to just be out there after having it taken away from them a year ago.
"Early on our pitchers have been throwing strikes and our hitters have had quality at-bats in the cage. We've taken care of the baseball in our practices and that's a big focus for our team. I think our guys look in good shape and we're fairly healthy right now. I like where we're at mentally and physically."
The Bears have had limited practice time outside given the winter weather in Iowa and have been able to take advantage of a new addition to the DMACC gymnasium. The new facility has given them an opportunity to work on hitting, pitching and fielding ground balls in addition to strength training and general workouts. Mishler said assistant coaches Danny Higginbotham and Cam Johnson have spearheaded those workouts.
"I'm lucky," Mishler said. "My two assistants have been doing great and have absolutely killed it with the new facility. The new facility has been phenomenal for us. We've been able to do so much more than before and (Higginbotham and Johnson) have been getting after it with our players every day and have done a good job with those guys."
Key returnees from the 2020 season include pitchers Ray Ray Douglas of Sioux City, Hayden Thomsen of Maple Grove, Minn., Kaden Petersen of Luther, Blake Grevengoed of West Des Moines and Will Casel of Ankeny.
Key position players returning include middle infielder Carter Bornemeier of Elmwood, Neb., infielder Ben Nippolt of St. Paul, Minn., center fielder Cadyn Schwabe of Thompson, N.D., left fielder Kaleb Harrison of Neola, infielder Nolan Kelliher of Middleton, Wis., first baseman Kyle Westhoff of West Des Moines.
Newcomers that have Mishler excited include pitchers Jacob Draeger of Johnston, Kaleb Krier of Altoona and Nick Crandell of Johnston, and position players Jake Thilges of Johnston, Nick Ripa of Papillion, Neb., Trey Mungin of Omaha, Neb., and Jayden Singleton of Des Moines.
"I think one of the most exciting things about this year's team is the amount of depth we have," Mishler said. "There are going to be guys who may not get as many opportunities right away that are really good baseball players and are going to help us a lot this year as the season moves on. We're happy about the depth we have and feel comfortable about guys two and three deep at certain spots who can help our ballclub."
Mishler said his team's emphasis this season will be on speed.
"I think we'll have some guys who will hit some home runs but we're going to be about hitting the ball hard on a line and into the gaps," Mishler said. "We have some guys who can run and we're going to use that. I wouldn't say that we're going to be small ball or swinging for the fences and striking out a bunch. We're going to be a combination of both where we'll hit some home runs but our goal is to get out of the batter's box and be good on the basepaths."
DMACC will return to Oklahoma Feb. 26 and 27 to play Northern Oklahoma College-Enid (NOCE). The Bears are scheduled to open the home season and the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference season March 17 against Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC).