Baseball Starts 2025 Campaign in Greenville, Ill.

First pitch is set for 1 p.m., Sunday

2/20/2025 10:04:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Under the leadership of new head coach Michael Kellar, the Illinois Wesleyan University baseball team gears up to compete in a three-game stint for opening weekend. With a two-day push-back because of cold weather, the Titans will compete in a neutral site doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., against Grinnell College, before taking on Greenville University, Monday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. All three games will be played at Robert E. Morris Field, in Greenville, Ill.

Entering his first season at the helm of the program, head coach Michael Kellar knows the team well after serving as an assistant coach for six seasons. Assistant coach Josh Laurie, a primary fielders' coach, moves into Kellar's former role.

Along with Laurie, the team welcomes 17 newcomers including 16 freshmen and one transfer student. Freshmen Ben Ford (??Naperville, Ill. Waubonsie Valley), Derek Ittner (Bloomingdale, Ill. Lake Park), Evan Les (Tinley Park, Ill. Saint Laurence), Trey Schilling (Lincoln, Ill. Lincoln Community), Michael Gurgone (Mokena, Ill. LincolnWay Central), Jack Wisdom (Bloomington, Ill. Central Catholic), Brennen Tomhave (Pittsfield, Ill. Pittsfield), Matt Hudik (Frankfort, Ill. Lincoln Way East), Morgan Wachler (Palatine, Ill. Palatine), Cole Benson (Oak Park, Ill. Oak Park River Forest) Caden Addis (Fairbury, Ill. Prairie Central), Bradley Crawford (Glenview, Ill. Glenbrook South), Cole McClusky (Maryville, Ill. Collinsville), Patrick Smith (Chicago, Ill. St. Rita), Brandon Cerocke (Lemont, Ill. Benet Academy), and Danny Johnson (Chicago, Ill. St. Ignatius) will all make their collegiate debut on Sunday. Junior transfer Gage Wolfe (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) will make his Titan debut after transferring from Southwestern Illinois last spring.

The Green and White will return five key players that landed All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honors a season ago. Junior Cole Shamhart (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) and senior Justin Gadomski (Schaumburg, Ill.-Shaumburg) return with first-team accolades, while senior Tyler Woltman (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton North), junior Will Davidsmeier (Virginia, Ill.-Beardstown), and sophomore John Philip Ferraro (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) each earned second-team honors. Shamhart also received an all-region nod at the end of the 2024 season.

Davidsmeier finished the season with the lowest earned run average with a 1.82 over 29.2 innings pitched. He accumulated a 6-1 record last season. Senior Dalen Banks (Springfield, Ill.-Springfield) followed not far behind with a 2.53 ERA in 67.2 innings and a record of 5-3 while Shamhart rounds out the top-three with a 2.97 ERA in 63.2 innings and a perfect 8-0 record.

Ferraro and Gadomski sit at the top of last year's leaderboard finishing the season with a .388 and a .382 batting average, respectively. Ferraro played most of his innings last season at first base while Gadomski was the veteran shortstop for the Titans.

The Titans and the Pioneers have only played each other twice before, dating back to the 2017 season. Illinois Wesleyan takes the overall record of 2-0 to Grinnell, after both games finished in extra innings with a 6-5 win for the Titans on both occasions.

IWU and GU have a more dated history, going back to 2001. The Titans hold the overall record of 13-6, but the Panthers have taken the last three wins against the Green and White. Most recently, the teams met exactly two years prior on Feb. 24, 2023, where IWU fell 10-0 in its season opener to the Panthers and finished the game in seven innings.

Sunday's first game will see the first pitch at 1 p.m. Live stream can be found on IWUsports.com under baseball's schedule page.

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