May 8, 2018 4 min read

Forget that “every season is a new season” talk for just a second.

While it is a true statement, it is most difficult for a team that advanced to the national championship game the prior season and came within one victory of winning a title, to leave those thoughts and memories in the dust.

That just does not come easily to anyone with a pulse or the slightest of competitive spirit.

The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team understands just how hard it is to wipe away last year’s NCAA Division III World Series runner-up season and focus on a new challenge.

But these Presidents have done a pretty good job of forging their own identities and making a name for the 2018 version of W&J baseball.

W&J (25-14-1) will begin its quest to defend its Presidents Athletic Conference championship Thursday when it meets No. 4-seed St. Vincent (14-19) at 3 p.m. at Ross Memorial Park in the opening round of the conference tournament.

The Presidents captured the regular season PAC title with a 16-2 conference record. The journey has been one with bumps, slumps, missteps, injury and difficulties. But all in all, W&J responded to veteran coach Jeff Mountain and his staff to play well, for the most part, and put itself in position to win another PAC crown and advanced to the regional tournament.

The PAC’s four-team, double-elimination tournament opens when second-seeded Thomas More (15-21) meets Thiel (15-21), the third seed, at noon.

Three games are scheduled for Friday and the championship game or games will be contested Saturday.

Mountain said early-season trouble was reflective of the difficult schedule and a transition from last season to this year.

“We were sluggish at the start and them thinking about last season is part of the reason,” Mountain said. “It’s natural to have those thoughts and we had to battle through it.

“We were bitten by that and the injury bug. But they came together and found their own identity. We’ve gotten better and that has a lot to do with our senior class and the leadership we have. We feel good about where we are right now.”

Offensively, W&J has been led by junior Mullen Socha, who leads the team in hitting with a .354 average, 49 runs, 51 hits, five home runs, 15 stolen bases, a .457 on-base percentage, .521 slugging percentage and a .978 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). He also has driven in 26 runs.

Other top offensive contributors include: junior Spencer Howell, .340 and 48 hits; senior Mark Merlino, .323, a team-high16 doubles and 35 RBI, and a .963 OPS; senior Ryan Sciullo, .318 and 29 RBI; and senior Dan Trettel, .312, 48 hits and 11 doubles.

Senior starter Bryce Schnatterly is 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA in nine starts and 60 2/3 innings. Sophomore Ben Marisco, who also has made nine starts, is 5-2 with a 2.85 ERA. Senior Matt Heslin, a Fort Cherry graduate, is 3-5 with a 3.61 ERA.

Senior reliever Will Bowser, a Burgettstown resident, is 4-0 with three saves and a 4.67 ERA and has 24 strikeouts in 17-1/3 innings. Junior Clay Martin, a Canon-McMillan product, has an 0.77 ERA in 17 relief appearances with 23 strikeouts in 23-1/3 innings. Junior Mitchell Taufer is 2-1 with a 2.70 in a relief role.

“I definitely think the thoughts about last year and having to stack up to that was there in our minds when the season started,” Schnatterly said. “Not to say how much. But in the beginning it showed a little bit. Early on, we were playing pretty tough competition and I think we al tried dot much and take on too much.

“Once we got through that, established our identity and understood our skills sets, we relaxed and played the way this team is capable of playing. Now, as we prepare for the postseason, our senior class has been involved in a lot of post-season games. We won’t really worry about the other stuff. We’ll just draw from our experiences and take that into each game, just play the game and not worry about wealth is at stake.”

The Presidents are making their 10th consecutive tournament appearance. W&J has won 11 PAC baseball championships and seven league titles since 2004.