By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Catawba baseball was so good for so long that the last two seasons have felt disastrous, even though they weren’t really all that awful.

There are places where parades would be held for fifth-place and third-place finishes in the challenging South Atlantic Conference, although Salisbury is not one of those places.

Catawba was 31-24 overall and fifth in the SAC in 2022 and 27-24 and third in the SAC in 2023.

Catawba was picked to finish fourth in the 13-team league in last week’s preseason poll of league coaches. That’s understandable. Newberry was 43-15 in 2023 and had a dominant team. Wingate, national Division II champs in 2021, won 32 games in 2023. Lenoir-Rhyne is stout.

“It’s not like we’re insulted to be picked fourth,” Catawba head coach Jim Gantt said. “We haven’t been that good the last two years. Our pitching wasn’t good very often last year. But I do like this year’s team a lot. We’ve got some speed and we’ve got more pitching.”

Catawba has a pair of lineup anchors in right fielder Dylan Driver (Carson) and shortstop Levi Perrell. Offensively and defensively, they’re  two of the best players in the SAC.

“Driver is one of the most unassuming guys around, but he’s one heck of a player,” Gantt said. “We’re going to have an awards presentation for the Gold Glove he won last year at our first home game. That’s a national honor. There’s only nine of those. That’s special.”

Driver, who is listed at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, doesn’t look the part of a slugger, but he led the Indians in just about every offensive category in 2023 in addition to being an incredible right fielder. Gantt said he launched a ball a mile in the Indians’ most recent intra-squad game at Newman Park.

With its expanded dimensions, Newman Park is no longer a paradise for thumpers. Speed players such as Perrell, the leadoff man, and Driver, who will bat second in the lineup, have become more important. The Indians have to create more runs on the bases. There aren’t as many three-run homers as there once were. Driver’s four homers led the team in 2023. There was a time when mashers such as Jerry Sands and Will Albertson were hammering four long-balls a week, but it’s a new day, and the Indians are adjusting.

Ty Hubbard (South Rowan) missed most of last season with injuries, but he’s healthy now. He’ll be the starting second baseman when the Indians head to Florida. He’s a dynamic lefty hitter.

“He gives us another guy who can run and he’s got some power,” Gantt said.

Catawba will have a lot of lefty hitters in the lineup, including catcher Bo Rusher (Salisbury).

Rusher had a nice career at D-I Gardner-Webb, but he wanted to use his final year of eligibility as a Catawba graduate student, playing in front of friends and family at Newman Park. He’ll provide some pop and RBIs and is expected to be the cleanup hitter.

Catawba has depth at catcher, although Rusher will be the No. 1. Jackson Price, freshman Cameron Burleyson (Carson) and Patrick Hogan are part of that crew of backstops.

Gantt has high expectations for lefty swinger Sam Hunter, who will be the starting center fielder and 3-hole hitter when he’s 100-percent healthy. Hunter is a transfer from Queens, where he batted .294 as a freshman against D-I competition.

When Queens coach Ross Steedley resigned (he’s now an assistant at Lipscomb), Hunter decided to transfer, and Steedley, who played for Gantt with the Rowan County American Legion team, put in a call to Gantt and found Hunter a new home.

Drew Robertson, who often played center field in 2023, probably will man left field this season. He batted .312 and is another lefty hitter who can run.

Cole Hales (Carson) is expected to be the starting third baseman. Hales is also an important part of Catawba’s bullpen and can move from third to the mound late in games.

First base could be a strength, but competition for playing time there is fierce and hasn’t been settled yet. Logan Rogers (Carson) has right-handed power. Colby Taylor, a lefty swinger, is a junior college transfer. Jackson Finger, who also can play second base and third base,  has looked good defensively at first base. All three could get chances during Catawba’s early trip to Florida.

Cooper Bryson is an experienced, line-drive hitter who can play left field or second base. He’s also a potential DH.

Zeb Burns (Carson) has a good glove and provides depth at several positions. Caleb Gant is a right-handed hitter who could be in the outfield against southpaws. .

The plan is for Blake Hill (East Rowan) to redshirt.

“We’ve got 10 guys that we plan to redshirt,” Gantt said. “We’ve never done that before, but Catawba having graduate programs has changed some things for us. A guy like Hill who’s a very good student and is likely to be here five years, it makes a lot of sense to redshirt. We didn’t want him to get five at-bats and waste a year when he might make a big impact as a fifth-year player. He’s done very well and we know this year will be hard for him, but we hope it pays off.”

The pitching staff is the area where Gantt expects the Indians to make enough improvement to contend for the SAC title.

Austin Fine, 9-2 and the staff ace a year ago, is back and is a preseason first team All-SAC pick. He’s a horse.

Mason Gwyn (4-2) is a third-team preseason All-SAC pick, although he’s just getting back on the mound after elbow issues. Gantt said he’s been fully cleared and he looks good, but the Indians don’t want to rush him.

Payne Stolsworth (West Rowan) is now a Catawba grad student after dominating the competition last year at D-III North Carolina Wesleyan. He’s being counted on to take on a key role.

“Stolsworth is throwing as well as anyone we have,” Gantt said. “He’s been 90 to 92 with a really good slider. He’s going to pitch the second game of those three-game weekend series. That second game is always pivotal.”

Fine is set to open each weekend series. The third starter will be Gwyn, if he’s ready, or freshman Hayden Simmerson (Carson), who had a dominant high school season as a senior and followed it up with a lights-out American Legion summer.

Mid-week starters (and long relievers) figure to be right-handers Gwyn or Simmerson and lefties Casey Gouge (West Rowan) and Brandon Rodgers. Catawba’s mid-week schedule is normally at least as tough as the SAC games. There aren’t many easy ones.

Harris Jackson, who was a pretty solid outfield option for the Indians, is now focusing entirely on pitching. He’ll get innings.

Hales, Chase Drinkard (Carson) and Chase Johnson will also help get the games into the hands of Griffyn Shelton, who is expected to be in the closer role.

Scout Nichols (West Rowan) is still on the pitching staff but is also helping with a growing baseball analytics effort.

College pitching staffs usually come down to 10 guys the coaches can trust, but Catawba has numerous prospects who could emerge as key hurlers. Gantt said lefty freshman Carson Edmiston throws harder than anyone on the staff, while freshman Trace Aufderhar has made every at-bat uncomfortable for the hitters who have faced him in intra-squad games.

Ryan Street (Carson) is working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

“Maybe we’ll have him in March,” Gantt said. “He’s about 75 percent now. When he’s ready to pitch, it would be a big shot in the arm for us, but we’ll stay with the program. You can’t rush it.”

Former Indians Greg Brown (pitching coach) and Jeremy Simpson (recruiting coordinator) are the lead assistants, with Joel Burgess, Curtis Owen, Brett Mulkey and Zac Almond helping as volunteers.

This will be Gantt’s 28th season as head coach. His teams have won 27 regular-season and tournament championships. He’s coached 944 victories, so his 1,000th victory at the helm of the Indians likely will occur in 2025.

Opening night for Catawba is at Palm Beach Atlantic on Thursday, Feb. 1.