Senior outfielder Spencer Cable (3) by Michael Wilson
2022 at a Glance
- Record: 9-4 overall
- Roster Size: 35
- Returners: 26
- Head Coach: Stu Fritz, 29th season
- Captains: Kainan Bayn, Spencer Cable, Tucker Fritz, Sean Hoey, Brant Kym, Evan Maday
- MIAA Preseason Poll: Second Place
Pitcher Sean Hoey (29) by Carol Fritz
2021 Review
- Record: 25-15, 14-8 MIAA (third place)
- Regular Season: While playing mostly MIAA opponents, the Flying Dutchmen won 22 of 35 games during the regular season. Hope finished the regular-season on an 11-game winning streak, then extended their streak to 14 games with three victories to start postseason play. On May 7, the Flying Dutchmen gave head coach Stu Fritz his 600th career victory with a 6-4 victory against Trine University at Boeve Stadium.
- MIAA Tournament: The Flying Dutchmen advanced to the best-of-three championship series of the MIAA Tournament before falling, 6-5 in 13 innings, and 19-6. Hope reached the series by defeating Trine University, 4-2, Calvin University, 6-1, and Albion College, 24-14. The 24 runs set an MIAA tournament single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 18 scored by Calvin University in an 18-2 win over Hope in 2017.
- Postseason Honors: On the field, center fielder Evan Maday earned All-Mideast Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association. Maday was joined on the All-MIAA First Team by teammate and left fi4elder Spencer Cable. Right fielder Kainan Bayn was an All-MIAA Second Team selection. Off the field, the Flying Dutchmen claimed the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2021 season. A total of 14 Flying Dutchmen made the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
Nolan Gardner (6) by Michael Wilson
2022 Roster
The Flying Dutchmen’s roster features 11 seniors, six juniors, 10 sophomores and eight freshmen.
“I think we have a pretty good offense, but you can’t rely on that on every single game. It still comes back to pitching and defense. We have to have all three phases. Once you start league play, we know we have to play every single game. I like the parity that’s in our league. We’re excited to get going in a little different environment.” — Head Coach Stu Fritz
2022 Schedule
The Flying Dutchmen are off to a 9-4 start to the season, including a 13-5 victory against then 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins University (Md.) on March 18 to start Hope’s six-game spring break trip to Florida.
In MIAA play, the Flying Dutchmen will play three-game series with a single game at one site and one doubleheader at the opposite site. The top finishers in the MIAA regular-season standings advance to a four-team tournament that determines who receives the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
“Our Florida schedule was formidable; we knew it would be. We have a pretty veteran group, and offensively we performed really well against quality people. We pitched pretty well at times.” — head coach Stu Fritz
Evan Maday (1) by Michael Wilson
Coaching Staff
Head coach Stu Fritz is in his 29th season leading the Flying Dutchmen. He has a career record of 604-452-2. His teams have won nearly two-thirds of their MIAA conference games (425-233, .656) while winning nine league titles. In 2020, Fritz was the president for the American Baseball Coaches Association after serving the organization as a Vice President. He also previously chaired the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships committee. In January, 2020, Fritz was an instructor at an International Sports Group baseball clinic in Switzerland for the second time in four years.
Stu Fritz is an associate professor of kinesiology at Hope.
Head coach Stu Fritz is assisted by pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Jonathan Newman, associate head coach Chad Rudy, and assistant coach Devin Schaefers.
By the Numbers
- 0 — Hits allowed by five pitchers during a 22-0, seven-inning victory against Grace Christian University on March 14 at Davenport University. It was Hope’s 10th all-time no-hitter.
- 3 — School records already set by Evan Maday: 191 hits, 139 runs scored and 91 stolen bases.
- 10 — Hope baseball players with 100+ career RBIs. Mason Apple holds the record of 125 from 2017-20. Evan Maday has 102.
- 25 — School record for career pitching wins, set by Adam Clements from 2009-12. Clements finished with a 25-7 record.
- 167 — Runs scored by the Flying Dutchmen through 13 games for an average of 12.8.
- 1872 — Year that Hope played its first baseball game.
Credits:
Michael Wilson, Carol Fritz, Jon Lundstrom