Months removed from a deep post-season run which culminated in an appearance in last season’s NCAA Division III College World Series, the Baldwin Wallace baseball team is reflecting on their success while looking ahead to the upcoming season and preparing to make another run.  

For the first time since 2014, the BW baseball team secured their spots in the College Baseball World Series. The group received one of the 18 at-large bids offered to get here, which advanced them into the 14-team Brockport Regional bracket. They won three games before losing two and moved to the Super Regional Series in Beverly, Mass.   

Luke Vonderhaar, a fifth-year senior infielder, said the team finally did it.  

“We came together and put all the pieces together to make a winning team,” Vonderhaar said.  

In a best-of-three series, the team defeated Endicott College with a final score of seven-to-four. The team then traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to play in the Division III College World Series in June of 2022. Ryan Guggenheim, a senior second-baseman, said he still remembers the day they won the Super Regional. 

“Winning the Super Regional was the best day, I remember the whole day clearly,” Guggenheim said. “We were all going crazy.” 

Despite falling short to Trinity University in the first round of the College Baseball World Series, the Baldwin Wallace Baseball Team finished the season with a 37-13 record, ranking seventh in Division III. 

Brian Harrison, BW’s head baseball coach, said he was proud of what the team had accomplished.  

“This winning team had great leadership. The team all worked together, were invested in the game, and played hard and with confidence,” Harrison added.   

Vonderhaar said strong leadership will follow them into next season. The season commences at the beginning of next year with games starting in late February.  

“We have a lot of older guys with a lot of experience and good leadership skills. There isn’t just one good leader. We have so many strong leaders,” Vonderhaar said.   

The team is planning for another successful season by working hard and, most importantly, remaining humble, Guggenheim said.  

“As nice as last year was, that’s last year,” Guggenheim said. “We got recognized, but we don’t have anything this year yet. However, baseball is a funny game: you can have the most talented team but still be a losing team.”  

Vonderhaar said the Yellow Jackets have “an incredible amount of talent” and have all the pieces in place to replicate and improve on last year’s result.  

“We have to develop our team identity, which starts right now and continues into the winter and spring months,” Vonderhaar said. 

Guggenheim said hard work can allow the team to move farther than getting into the World Series. 

“It will take a lot of hard work and wanting more than anyone, and this team can go as far as we want,” Guggenheim said. “We weren’t settled with just getting into the World Series; we wanted to win more and plan on winning more this year.” 

Anna Haberstro, the team photographer, said the team treats each other like family.  

“The number of times I have seen these boys treat each other like brothers is insane,” Habestro said. “Being around the buzz and cheerfulness makes my job so enjoyable.” 

Harrison said for a successful team, motivation must come with a good mindset.  

“If we have to motivate our guys, we don’t have the right guys. You have to have the right mindset to stay motivated and, most importantly, have fun,” Harrison said.