• DMACC will play 16 consecutive road games before opening at home on March 9
• Top returnees include first baseman Reed Stallman, shortstop Brodie Kresser and second baseman Cael Boever
• Freshmen are expected to dominate the pitching staff

The DMACC baseball team will begin the 2023 season with a four-game series against Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa (NOCT) February 4 and 5 at Tonkawa, Okla., playing doubleheaders against the Mavericks each day.

Nic Mishler begins his fourth season as the head coach and is taking an optimistic approach to the team's success this season. The Bears compiled a 36-22 record in 2022, including a 20-13 mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). DMACC won its first two games in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region XI Baseball Tournament before being eliminated behind back-to-back losses to Kirkwood Community College (KCC) and Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC).

"I like the group we have," Mishler said. "I feel good about the talent. We've worked hard in the recruiting process to bring in the right guys and I think we have done that."

The series against NOCT will be the Bears first opportunity to be outside as inclement weather has hampered their early-season practices. Mishler said his team has made good use of Fareway Fieldhouse but it's still not like being outside.

"It factors in more so with the outfielders who haven't seen flyballs in a couple months," Mishler said. "Our infielders have seen groundballs on the turf, but it's still different."

Top returnees from last season include sophomore first baseman Reed Stallman of Alburnett, sophomore shortstop Brodie Kresser of Jesup and sophomore second baseman Cael Boever of Sioux City.

Stallman hit .418 last season with five home run and 40 runs batted in. Kresser batted .337 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs and Boever, playing a reserve role most of the season, batted .266 with one homer and 24 RBIs.

Other first base candidates include redshirt freshman Kannon Coakley of Maquoketa and freshman Matt Rivers of Colfax. Boever has the inside track at second base with freshman Jaicee Foster of Oneida, Wis., also vying for playing time at the position.

Kresser is a fixture at shortstop with Camden Kaufman of Waukee backing him up and sophomore Cy Patterson of Council Bluffs gets the nod at third base ahead of freshman Corey Bantam of Woodbine.

Top outfield candidates include sophomore Mitch Cummins of Chanhassen, Minn., in left, sophomore Gage Franck of Marion in center and freshman Dillon Kuehl of Urbandale in right. Freshmen Aidan Brown of Des Moines and Tomas Lee of Minnetonka, Minn., are other candidates in left, freshman Jaylen Ziegler of Urbandale is behind Franck and sophomore Sergio Lira Ayala of Nappannee, Ind., playing behind Kuehl.

Sophomore Sam Holling of Waukesha, Wis., is expected to be the starting catcher with Coakley and Noah Thein also looking for playing time at the position.

Other freshmen candidates as position players or designated hitters include Evan Behn of Boone and Jai Jensen of Clinton.

The Bears do not return a starting pitcher from 2022 so Mishler will be looking at freshmen to carry the load. Sophomore Drew Scherbenske of Rapid City, S.D., is one of the few returning pitchers from last season and has company in sophomore transfer Joe Husak of Cambridge. Mishler said Scherbenske will be one of the Bears' starters this weekend and that another starter will be sophomore Cooper Smith of Johnston. Freshman J.C. Dermody of Council Bluffs also expected to get one of the starts against NOCT.

Sophomore Zach Hoehn of Waseca, Minn., is another pitching candidate and freshmen expected to get a look are Chance Key of Waverly, Kaleb Gengler of Sioux City, Vinny Mauro of Norwalk and Daniel Lester of Bellevue, Neb.

"We have a lot of freshman who haven't experienced college baseball yet but we think there is a lot of talent in that group," Mishler said.

Mishler said he feels good about his team's offense and defense, adding that the Bears have some players who have the ability to drive the ball more.

"I think the big question mark is how fast these freshmen pitchers come of age," Mishler said. "I feel good about it but making the adjustment from high school to facing the hitters we're going to face in our conference is going to be the question mark.

"We have a good group of guys who work hard so we can win ball games. We have some depth this year so we can get guys off their feet when we're playing doubleheaders but overall, with losing a lot of leadership from last season I think the key is staying together as a group, living on what's on hand and not getting ahead of ourselves or thinking about what is in the past."

Following the series against NOCT the Bears will see North Central Texas College (NCTC) Feb. 17 and 18 at Gainesville, Texas, and then will play Barton Community College (BCC), Northern Oklahoma College-Enid (NOCE) and Seminole State College (SCC) Feb. 24 and 25 at Enid, Okla.

DMACC will also play a four-game series against Butler Community College (BCC) March 3 and 4 at El Dorado, Kan., before opening the home season March 9 against North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS).