Key returning CPC baseball players to watch this season
Knights are looking to capture the ESAC championship again
By Dalton Koller
Knightly News Reporter
dalton.koller@mymail.centralpenn.edu
The Central Penn College Knights baseball team’s season home opener was Tuesday at FNB Field, in Harrisburg, with the Knights sweeping a doubleheader against Penn State Hazleton.
This year’s roster is sprinkled with new recruits who look as though they will have a lasting impact on the season, as well as a large portion of returning players who are looking to retain the Eastern States Athletic Conference (ESAC) championship.
We’re going to be talking about some of those returning players who will be keys in the success of the team.
Let’s begin with three of the four members of the starting infield, who were also all named ESAC All-Conference players – Adam Hoover, Owen Zell and Zach Boyer.
First look
Boyer and Hoover are seniors this year and are the key bats in this season’s formidable Knights’ lineup.
Boyer had an amazing season last year, being named a USCAA Second-Team All-American along with his ESAC All-Conference bid, and he has the stats to back it up. He had a .395 batting average, which was third on the team, had 34 hits, 3 home runs and 28 runs batted in (RBIs), which were all tied for first on the team. He had 12 stolen bases, as well as a .891 fielding percentage at third base. Look for Boyer to have another great year at the plate and the hot corner (third base), as he helps this Knights team go for a second straight ESAC championship.
Hoover also had a great year, with a .481 on-base percentage (OBP), which was third on the team, 15 hits (sixth on the team) and 11 RBIs (fifth). He had 19 walks to 12 strikeouts and a .975 fielding percentage over at first base. Hoover looks to remain a lock in the number-two spot of the order, as well as playing very good defense at first base.
Last, but certainly not least, is Owen Zell, who was also named a USCAA All-American Honorable Mention and an ESAC All-Conference Player. Zell had a .421 batting average, which was second on the team, a .526 on-base percentage (OBP), which was first on the team and 32 hits, which was third on the team. He had 16 walks to 9 strikeouts at the plate, led the team with 22 stolen bases and had only 5 errors at second base last year. Look for Zell to be a spark plug in the leadoff spot, a lightning bolt on the base paths and a defensive wiz at second base.
Unfortunately, the projected starting shortstop Nathan Wise will be out for the season with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, but I simply couldn’t go without mentioning the phenomenal frosh year he had last season. He was named a United States Collegiate Athletic Conference (USCAA) First-Team All-American and was named an ESAC All-Conference player. He led the team with a .425 batting average, was second on the team, with a .510 OBP and was tied with Boyer for the team lead in hits, home runs and RBIs. He also had 16 walks to 9 strikeouts, 16 stolen bases and a .871 fielding percentage at shortstop. Wise will be back next year, when he will, we’re hoping, help the Knights to win their third consecutive ESAC championship.
Next up
The next player I’ll mention was also a first-academic player last year, and he, too, stepped into a big role at the plate for the team, That player is Gabe Kaufman. Kaufman had 18 hits – fifth on the team – hit 2 home runs (third on the team) and was fourth on the team with 13 RBIs. He had 10 stolen bases and a .900 fielding percentage in the outfield. Kaufman will most certainly be one of the key members of the lineup.
Next!
The next two players are pitchers and catchers but at different ends of their college careers. Zachary Haefner is a senior and Cameron Smiley is a sophomore.
Haefner had a .391 OBP, 19 hits and 8 RBIs. He had a .944 fielding percentage behind the plate, caught 4 runners stealing out of 8 and had only 1 passed ball. On the mound, he had a 5.50 earned run average (ERA) in 18 innings pitched while striking out 13 and walking only three. He also threw two complete games. Haefner has a very good fastball/curveball combo and has the stuff to dominate entire lineups.
Smiley had a .420 OBP and 15 walks to only 6 strikeouts. He had a perfect fielding percentage behind the plate, caught five of his 29 runners stealing and had only 7 passed balls. And while he threw only one inning on the mound last year, he will be one of the team’s main starting pitchers, and he already has thrown a complete-game shutout against Penn State Schuylkill. Smiley has pretty good stuff on the mound, but where he excels is limiting walks and drawing weak contact out of opposing hitters.
Look for Haefner and Smiley to have great years at the plate, behind the plate and on the mound.
Three more to watch
The last three players I’ll talk about are pitchers. They are Wyatt Koser, Colten Zerby and Colby Criswell.
Koser is a sophomore and has been named the team’s ace for this season. He had a 6.86 ERA in 19 and two-thirds innings pitched, threw a complete game, was second on the team, with 31 strikeouts, and led the team in strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) with 14.19. He has an electric fastball and very good off-speed pitches, to boot. Look for Koser to start a lot of games this year for the Knights and, we hope, to be dominant in all his outings.
Zerby is a junior, and while he was used fluidly on the mound the last two years, he will mainly be a starter this season. He had an 8.16 ERA in 14 and third innings pitched, 14 strikeouts to only 6 walks and 2 saves. He has amazing control of all his pitches and does a very good job at dissecting hitters and getting outs while limiting the walks. Zerby looks to have another good year on the mound while starting more games than in years past.
Criswell is also a junior and will be one of the team’s main relievers. Last year, Criswell pitched only two innings, but he has already been used way more this year. So far, in six and third innings of work, he has a 1.42 ERA and has been locked steady on the mound. He, too, has an electric fastball and has greatly improved his command from years past. Look for Criswell to be one of the first guys out of the bullpen most games and blow people away with his lively fastball.
More notables
Other notable returning players are seniors Dylan Younghans, Nick Fulton, Kevon Davis and Hunter Finkey; juniors Jefrandy Montero and me; and sophomores Jordan Spadafore, Roniel Morel, Brady Park, Robert Brown, Dominick Bruce, Anderson Bridwell and Harvey McClain III.
Wrapping it up
This Knights roster is loaded with talent, and the guys are looking to again be the ESAC champions, and also maybe even make a run at the Small College World Series, in Du Bois.
If you want to see the whole roster and the 2024 schedule and statistics, you can go to centralpennknights.com. And if you want to watch all the home games, search Knightly News Media Club at Central Penn College on YouTube.
Besides being a member of the Knights baseball team, Koller is vice president of The Knightly News.
Photos courtesy of Central Penn Athletics.
Comments or story ideas? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.
Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
