As threads of glistening yellow and bright blue roll through the streets

of Oakland, a new light shines on Pitt. The school’s new color scheme

combined with the wave of bustling freshman would make the campus

unrecognizable if not for the distinctive silhouettes of Towers and

Cathy filling the sky. But the one thing that has stayed familiar is a

group of 18 men that you might see together at any given time. Those men, of course, are Pitt Club Baseball’s returners. Led by senior president Zayne Zalich, the team jumped right into the recruiting process. As the dust of a two-week tryout process settled, eight new members were selected to join PCB’s brigade. They include:

 

Zach Beckman (FR. UTIL/P), Christopher Casapit (SO. P/IF), Brian Chaballa (JR. OF/P),

Trevor Freyvogel (FR. P/IF), Caleb Harrison (FR. OF/1B/3B), Ryan Kasye (SO. P/IF),

Peyton Olinski (FR. IF), Roberto Tan (FR. P)

 

The total roster size this season is 26, down from the usual 28-30. But this isn’t from a lack of interest in the club. This year’s recruiting class is “the strongest I’ve seen in my time here, including my class”, said one veteran PCB member. A large number of cuts had to be made at tryouts to players that in past years would have in all likelihood been elected to suit up for PCB. Head coach Brett Wildfeuer credits a recruitment process that presents the club at as high a level as possible.

 

“Social media makes it easy to reach people who have even a remote interest in playing club baseball, but getting people to buy in and convince them that this is a club worth joining when they have limited familiarity of the team’s culture and mission is much more difficult,” said Wildfeuer. “Furthermore, I believe hosting our tryout game at an independent minor league baseball stadium boosted our profile in the eyes of some prospective players.”

 

The recruitment process paid dividends in the eyes of President Zalich, who believes a lot of the team’s weak spots were addressed with the new players. He promises that “fans will see a lot of new stars on our twitter feed this year” thanks to the high level of talent acquired. An interesting detail about the roster construction that Coach Wildfeuer points out is the breakdown of in-state vs. out of state players.

 

“6 of 18 returning players and 5 of 8 first year players that are on this team’s roster are from states other than Pennsylvania,” said Wildfeuer. “This, along with more individuals participating in this year’s tryout games compared to last year, indicates to me that the pool of talent this year is certainly robust.”

 

With rosters set, PCB has jumped right into full speed practice. On day one alone, offensive and defensive signs were gone over, as well as a full round of hitting for position players and bullpens for pitchers. The squad plans to keep its foot down and approach practice with intensity in order to reach the lofty goals it was unable to last year.

 

“Obviously, goal #1 is to get to the World Series,” said Zalich. “But as with every large goal, it is only achievable if you break it down. At the end of the day, if we play our game and execute, we will win. And each win will get us closer to our goal of a World Series birth.”

 

Coach Wildfeuer believes that the “solid core of returning players and an impressive array of new players will help” PCB reach their high expectations. The returning core certainly has prowess, including 2nd Team All-Region outfielder Mike Ricci, and 1st Team All-Region / 2nd Team All-American catcher Nathaniel Luketich. In addition, Wildfeuer mentioned the numerous non-conference series against solid opponents in both the fall and spring that have been scheduled as a method of preparation for conference play.

One of the biggest issues for PCB last year was the injury bug. Despite playing well against a tough Maryland team, and defeating other ranked opponents such as #8 Ohio State, the team couldn’t put it together in conference play. But Zalich and Wildfeuer along with the other coaches and officers have plans to limit injuries this year, including closely monitored pre- and post-game routines for pitchers, and constant check-ins with position players. This has become feasible because of the new leadership joining the oval office this year.

 

Returning as an assistant coach is veteran leader Rob Perkey, who is going on his eleventh season affiliated with the club. By his side will be new assistant coach Tyler Clark, a familiar name to the PCB family. After serving as the team’s president last year, the freshly graduated mechanical engineer will return in a different leadership role. Along with Tyler Clark, the unrelated Kutchie Clark joins the coaching staff. After playing his freshman season with PCB and pursuing a managerial baseball position last year, Kutchie had hopes of returning to the field for the club in 2019. While he will be held out of action with a lower body injury, the beloved former 3rd baseman will reenter the PCB family as a coaching intern.  The rest of the oval office fills out as follows:

 

Kenny Adkins (JR. Vice President), Mike Ricci (SR. Business Manager), Matt Donenfeld (Sr. Senior Officer), Jake Beckman (SR. Senior Officer), Nathaniel Luketich (Jr. Junior Officer),

Matt Acker (SO. Sophomore Officer).

 

 

When asking Zalich about his transition from Junior Officer to President, he described it as “challenging but rewarding.” With advice from past presidents as well as returning officers, he feels the process has gone well. As a native of Greensburg, PA, Zalich is excited to lead a team in the city that he considers home. Baseball is the passion that connects PCB, but the main reason his players are at school isn't going over his head.

 

“Outside of baseball, we are trying to increase outreach with the Pittsburgh community. We are hoping to add a volunteer day and baseball equipment drive to our list of events. We are really excited to give back to the city that has given us so much over our college careers.”

 

Pitt Club Baseball’s first two exhibition games are on Sunday, the 15th at West Virginia University.