After winning a program-record 54 games and reaching Grand Junction, Colo., for a fourth appearance in the NJCAA World Series in its 50th season last spring, the Jefferson College baseball team enters 2019 as the fifth-ranked Division I team in the country.
If the Vikings are to come close to matching last season’s success, they’ll have to do it with a new head coach and without slugger Joey Polak, the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association-Rawlings Player of the Year.
Pat Evers took his record of 172-65 (.726) as Jefferson’s coach to Maryville University, where he’s the new skipper.
Jefferson College hired Kevin Moulder to replace Evers. Moulder played for Murray State University in Kentucky, was an assistant coach at St. Louis University for seven years and returned to Murray State as head coach.
The Vikings (7-6) began their season on Feb. 9 in Poplarville, Miss., where they split two games (a 9-8 loss and 8-2 win) against Mississippi Gulf Coast. They split two more (5-3 win, 5-4 loss) with Pearl River Community College on Feb. 10 and concluded their trip south with a 1-0 victory and 2-0 defeat to Meridian, Miss.
On Feb. 20, the Vikings won two games at Webster University in St. Louis. Jefferson won the first 7-0 after freshman Matt Erwin hit a grand slam and pitchers Adam Link (6 innings, 3 hits) and Nick Logusch (1 inning, 2 strikeouts) combined for the shut out. In the 12-5 win in the nightcap, Adam Parker was the winning pitcher for the Vikings, who used five pitchers. Jefferson’s offense pounded out five doubles. The Vikings crushed 156 two-baggers last year.
Muddy fields and rainouts have halted the Vikings’ season since then. Jefferson canceled last weekend’s games in Hillsboro against Bryant & Stratton College of Wisconsin. The Vikings are scheduled to host Missouri Community College Athletic Conference rival Crowder College in two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
“Like a lot of teams right now, we’re trying to play as much as we can,” said Moulder, who lives in St. Louis. “I’ve been really happy with our defense, which has been remarkable even though we haven’t been outside much. That’s been the best thing. We’re a touch behind offensively because we have not seen much live pitching.
“We’re really excited and feel good about where we’re at. The first six games were against nationally ranked teams and we came out 3-3. We’d probably end up 5-1 or 6-0 against those teams a few weeks from now.”
Polak is continuing his baseball career at Missouri State University in Springfield. He holds the Vikings’ single-season home run record with 32 (the old mark was 18) and had a .459 batting average, .991 slugging percentage, 107 RBIs and 216 total bases.
That kind of loss would leave a 10-ton meteor crater on most lineups, but leave it to Jefferson College to find a suitable replacement.
Sophomore Grant Wood followed Moulder from Murray State, where Wood was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2018. Wood started 52 games, drew a team-high 50 walks and was fifth among Division I players with a .520 on-base percentage. Wood will primarily play second base for the Vikings.
“He’ll be a dynamic offensive player and will have a major impact for us,” Moulder said.
Not only do 10 players return from last year’s record-setting team, but all were starters and each made a significant contribution. Pitchers Jason Rackers (6-7) and Austin Cheeley (6-8) and center fielder Matt Turino are all on track to be drafted by a professional team in June, or will move on to a Division I program.
Rackers won his start in the World Series and struck out 103 batters in 82 innings and had a record of 11-1. He combined with Cheeley for a two-hit shutout against Meridian and Rackers was named the NJCAA Pitcher of the Week last week. About the only thing that’s changed for Rackers this year is his uniform number, which was 29 last year and 12 now.
“We are really excited about him and he’s the bell cow of the pitching staff,” Moulder said. “He carried a no-hitter into the seventh (against Meridian) and gave up a clean infield hit. We’re going to count on him.
“I don’t think he’s gotten any bigger. Quite frankly, he’s plenty big enough. I feel he has gotten better.”
Cheeley throws a live fastball and will fill the same role as last year out of the bullpen. He struck out 48 batters in 44 1/3 innings with three saves and a 2.44 ERA last season and already has a win and a save this year.
“He’s kind of the linchpin of the bullpen,” Moulder said. “You can trust him in a tight spot with the game on the line. His splitter is really tough.”
Sophomores Anthony Green, Dalton Doyle, Austin Hicks and Riley Boyd all pitched last year. Hicks was 10-1 with a 3.14 ERA last season, but a sore back has kept him off the mound early on. This is Green’s third year on the team; he’s been redshirted the last two years because of injuries.
“Riley is one of our more dynamic arms on the staff,” Moulder said. “He’s taken a step forward with his pitch development. He’s on the radar of pro teams.”
Moulder said this year’s pitching staff may be better than the 2018 version.
“I would say so. From the people who’ve been around the program for both years, they say it’s better this year,” he said.
Turino, who is from Toronto, has signed with the University of Tennessee, but he’ll patrol center field for the Vikings this spring. Turino won a Gold Glove last year, bats leadoff and can hit for power. He led the Vikings with 18 stolen bases, smacked 19 doubles, batted .354 and drove home 70 runs from the top of the order.
“He’s arguably our most talented player,” Moulder said.
Other returning starters in the field are catcher Nick Hagedorn, Green at first base and Doyle at third base. Freshman Pate Fullerton steps into shortstop and Moulder said batting Fullerton ninth gives the Vikings essentially two leadoff hitters. Fullerton will be groomed to replace Turino at leadoff.
Catcher Zach Meyer (Festus), infielder Jaden Courtois (Festus) and pitcher Christian Stelling (Imperial) are local players on the roster.