BOCA RATON, Fla. — With the start of the 2023 season just days away, we’ll be breaking down position by position each day this week with capsules and comments from head coach John McCormack. First up is the backstops and the infielders…
CATCHERS
Caleb Pendleton, Andrew Hernandez, John Schroeder, Phoenix Medina
The Owls retain the majority of last year’s starts with the return of Pendleton. Now in his third season behind the plate, the Jensen Beach product hit .268 in 39 games in 2022. Defensively, he shut down 11 of 22 steal attempts and committed just four errors in 314 chances. He was named to the Midseason Watch List for the Buster Posey award as the nation’s best catcher. He’ll compete for time with Andrew Hernandez, a graduate transfer from the University of Pennsylvania. Hernandez hit .356 for the Quakers last season and was named as a first team All-Ivy League selection.
COACH MAC ON THE CATCHERS
“We’re in a good position behind the plate with Caleb handling the bulk of the starts and Andrew backing him up. Catcher is a position of strength for us with the first two guys having played that much college baseball. The challenge for this year will be – for the future – getting Schroeder some time, behind the plate, in the box, at different positions too. We think his offense has a chance to really play when he becomes a full-time player in the near future. Phoenix will be our fourth catcher. He’s a really good kid who walked on in the fall so this will be a developmental year for him, working with the pitching staff and getting to know their tendencies.”
INFIELDERS
Jackson Ross, Armando Albert, Christian Adams, Daulton Frank, Lucas Phelps, Dom Presto, Patrick Ward
With Ross and Albert returning, the left side of the infield remains intact from 2022. The Owls have added junior Christian Adams from nearby Indian River State College to man first base. Adams earned first team all-conference and conference MVP honors last spring after hitting .373 with 11 HR and 51 RBI. Second base is yet to be defined with freshmen Lucas Phelps and Patrick Ward, returner Dom Presto, and redshirt sophomore Daulton Frank all competing for at-bats. Any of the four could see time at shortstop or third base as well.
COACH MAC ON THE INFIELDERS
“Infield is another strength for us when you have two returners who played almost every game last season in Ross and Albert. Ward will start the year backing Armando up. He has really burst onto the scene here in the last couple months and proved he can play Division I shortstop. Right now, at second base, we’re going to ride the hot hand between Presto, Phelps, and Frank. Christian Adams will handle first base. He’s a former shortstop who we’re moving to first. Schroeder will also get some at-bats at first. The wild card, if we ever need it, is to move Nolan Schanuel back in to first and move some other guys around. Overall, we’re in a good position with the infield.”
