SALEM, Ore. – The Willamette University baseball team has been picked to finish second in the Northwest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Pacific University (Ore.) was voted by the conference coaches to finish first, earning 61 points and six first-place votes. Willamette was a close second in the poll, receiving 58 points and three first-place votes.
Pacific Lutheran received 52 points for third, while Whitworth takes the fourth spot on the list with 38 points. Whitman received 35 points to rank them fifth and George Fox placed sixth with 29 points. Puget Sound (22 pts), Linfield (18 pts), and Lewis & Clark (11 pts) round out the poll.
The Bearcats have high expectations for the 2022 campaign, finishing third in the NWC standings and reaching the championship game last season. Willamette posted a 30-15 overall record and went 21-11 in the conference. They have a strong corps of returning players after earning seven spots on both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com All-West Region teams. The Bearcats were also well represented in the NCW with nine players receiving postseason recognition, including three First Team selections, four on the Second Team and a pair of Honorable Mentions.
Seven of those All-NWC players return to the line-up this season, including NWC Freshman of the Year, infielder Jeff Hoffman (So., Salida, CA/Joseph A. Grigori HS), who garnered Second Team honors in his rookie season. He was named Second Team All-West Region by the ABCA and a Third Team selection by D3baseball.com. Hoffman hit 15 homeruns in 2021, ranking second on the Willamette single season list and immediately jumped him into the top-20 all-time.
Junior Luke Werkmeister-Martin (IF, Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) returns after a great 2021 season. He was an ABCA Third Team All-American, named First Team All-West Region by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com and Second Team All-NWC. He tied the school record with 64 hits and ranked fifth with 46 runs scored, adding 10 homeruns.
Returning to anchor the Bearcat pitching staff are All-Conference selections Layton Wagner (Jr., RHP/IF, Boise, ID/Timberline HS), Eric Waldichuk (Sr., RHP, San Diego, CA/University City HS) and Brady Joyner (So., RHP, Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge HS). Wagner was a First Team All-NWC pitcher, earning Third Team All-West Region honors (ABCA/D3baseball.com). Waldichuk was Honorable Mention All-NWC, recording 50 strikeouts on the year, including 11 in a game at Whitworth. Joyner also received Honorable Mention in the NWC, adding Second Team All-Region honors from D3baseball.com and Third Team from the ABCA. He posted a 4-1 record while holding opponents to a .147 batting average.
Samuel Daly (Jr., OF, El Dorado Hills, CA/Jesuit HS) broke into the Willamette single season top 10 in numerous categories, earning First-team All-NCW and First Team All-Region honors from the ABCA. He was named Second Team All-Region by D3baseball.com. Rounding out the All-Conference returners is senior shortstop Ethan Fischel (IF, Eureka, CA/Eureka HS). Fischel was also named Third Team All-West Region by D3baseball.com, starting all 45 games last season.
The Bearcats broke numerous program records last season. The pitching staff combined for a Willamette record 288 strikeouts, replacing the previous mark of 268, set in 1998. On offense, they eclipsed marks for runs scored (343), homeruns (68), doubles (97) and runs batted in (315). The team ranked third all-time with 450 hits and tied for fourth with a combined batting average of .313.
The Northwest Conference schedule will feature a three-game series for Willamette against each of the other eight NWC teams. The Bearcats will play their first home games of the season while opening NWC action against George Fox University this weekend. The Bearcats and the Bruins will play a doubleheader on the first day of the series, Saturday, Feb. 19, followed by a single game on Sunday.
