Baseball 10/23/2020 5:00:00 AM Brian Kortz

Baseball seniors seize opportunity to have another crack at their final seasons

MONMOUTH, Ore. – While the season certainly didn't end the way many thought it would, it gave the opportunity for the seniors to reconsider a chance to come back and play one more time. For eight of the Western Oregon University baseball seniors, they will return for another year. In this release, Mitch Hulse, Tyler Brandenburg, Connor McCord and Blayze Arcano chat about what made them decide to come back for another season. We will also catch up with fellow returners Alan Vasquez, Hunter Johnson, Logan Hatley and Nathan Bonck on returning for another year in a later release.

For most, the love of the game and the chance to play with your teammates one last time was just too much to pass up.

"I think the main reason for me wanting to come back is my love for the game of baseball. It was very hard for me to accept that the game I fell in love with 20 some years ago was taken away from me with so much unknown in the process," Hulse said.

"The main reason I wanted to come back for a fifth year is mostly because we will have the same group of guys. I feel like we were just coming together as a team. We overcame a lot of adversity in the fall with multiple coaching changes from the year before and during the fall. Right before the season got cancelled, I felt like our team chemistry was really coming together. On a personal level, my college baseball career has been a long grind and I felt like I put in way too much work to not play a full senior season. Coming out of junior college and going through many struggles through my college baseball career, I really want to end my baseball career on a high note," Brandenburg said.

"One of the main reasons I have chosen to come back to Western for my last year is simple, I love baseball and the people I have met throughout my career. Baseball has always been a passion of mine and I can't wait to get back with my teammates and coaches for the upcoming year," McCord said.

"The biggest reason for me to come back was that I didn't want to potentially end my baseball career that way. Baseball has been a big part of my life for so long and for it to end that way would have just been unacceptable," Arcano said.

Now heading into this offseason, which would've been out of college and looking at a career possibly outside of baseball, now has the players focused back on the task at hand, one they didn't get the chance to finish out in the spring of this past year.

"I could not be more excited to come back for another year. With everything that has happened, I feel like I have had a lot of time to think and reflect and I can't wait to put those thoughts into action," Hulse said.

"I'm very excited to get back with the guys and start doing what we can to get ready for the upcoming season. I'm looking forward to getting an extra year with a roster full of guys who have experience and know what our program is all about," Brandenburg said.

"Going off of last season, I think we had great potential. We had some bumps along the way, but I think we would have overcome many obstacles and found a way. This upcoming year will be a good test for our team because I feel with the whole COVID-19 pandemic we will come back hungry and ready to hone in on our craft as a whole. Last season didn't start how we wanted it to after not being able to play at Lewis-Clark State and ending up at .500 for the shortened season. I feel that we were better than what our record had shown and I feel we could've surprised a lot of people if we put our heads down and played hard the whole season," McCord said.

"I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to come bac and play baseball here. I believe that many of our guys will be fired up and eager to get on the field after sitting around for a few months," Arcano said.

Expectations were high heading into last season and despite a 6-6 start to the season, WOU had picked up a big split against Montana State Billings and a road split at Central Washington. With the whole Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule still ahead of them, the Wolves were poised to make noise. They will now look to move that momentum from 2019 into the 2020 season.

"My main focus this year is to have fun and make everyone around me better. I am so grateful to be where I am in my life and to continue to play a game while there are so many people who will never have the opportunity again," Hulse said.

"I have very high expectations for this upcoming season because of the experience everyone gained from last season. As a team that lost a lot of senior leadership the previous year, it took awhile to really come together as a team this season. Now with a full fall and a 12-game spring season behind us, I truly feel we will have a lot stronger team chemistry this upcoming season and will be a team that can compete for a GNAC title and a regional championship," Brandenburg said.

"My expectations are the same as they always have been during my college years, win a conference tournament and be able to compete in a regional. I want my teammates to be able to look at me as a role model and continue to be someone that can set examples and play for the guy next to me. I think if we play our cards right this upcoming year and try to perfect our game during the fall and portion of the winter we will end up on top. I love this game of baseball and will give my team and coaches all that I can give to succeed," McCord said.

"As far as expectations go, I can't really say I have a lot except for winning and having fun," Arcano said.

Let's not forget that while baseball was put on hold, life was still moving forward. That meant learning remotely and also doing workouts remotely while trying to get the chance to play some baseball if possible over these past few months.

"I enjoyed rolling out of bed five minutes before class, but I do miss the social interactions of an on-campus life," Hulse said. "While I had an opportunity to play baseball this summer, I thought it was in my best interests to hit and workout at an indoor facility back home in Colorado."

"The last few months have been filled with a lot of uncertainty, but I've been just planning mentally and physically that we will have fall practice and a full season," Brandenburg said.

"Classes that have been online have gone well, it can be hard for some people to succeed in an online setting because some people do a lot better when they are in person and retaining information. I think overall the system we have regarding online work is as good as it could be at this point in time. Regarding workouts, it has been good for me because I have a place to get my work in and do what I need to get better," McCord said. "Looking at baseball this summer, most people were expecting not to play at all. One of my old high school coaches Pat Kelleher was kind enough to ask if I wanted to play ball for a summer league down here in Arizona. We played roughly 30 games and we had a blast playing the game we love. I was just excited to be able to get some work in while all of this craziness is going on around us."

"Over these past few months with no baseball, I have been able to get some workouts done with some bands I ordered and dumbbells that mysteriously showed up at my front door one day, but later found out they were from Griffey (Halle)," Arcano said. "Unfortunately, I was unable to find a summer baseball team that was still playing during COVID, so I just went fishing."

While the game brings them together, the bond that comes from playing together resonates well past the playing field and has lasted a lifetime. Getting the chance to return to campus to play is one thing, but the chance to be around teammates and continue the journey together is something that's hard to say no to.

"My teammates are like my second family and I think my first family is sick of me being home, so I can't wait to get back and start grinding again," Hulse said.

"I'm very excited to get back together with the guys. For most of my teammates, I haven't seen them since the season was shut down in March. It will be nice to feel some normalcy when we get back into the swing of things," Brandenburg said.

"I'm excited to get back to my teammates and my friends. Being around the people that love the game as much as I do, it is really fun. I know this year is going to be different regarding our practices and probably having to be tested for COVID when we return. It may be a challenge, but it's just another bump in the road for us to overcome. I love being at Western and being around teammates, coaches and friends that I am going to remember forever. This game of baseball has given me such a great life and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world," McCord said.

"I am stoked to be able to see everyone again. I've been here in Monmouth since quarantine started, so it is nice to see familiar faces showing up again," Arcano said.

Having an extra year on the field also means a chance to possibly add a minor to a degree already earned or finish up a few classes that might help in the future.

"I have one class left to take in my exercise science degree, then I am starting a minor in psychology," Hulse said.

"My education plan is to add a minor in entrepreneurship and finish up a few classes to finish my business management degree," Brandenburg said.

"After finishing a few credits towards my degree, I am thinking about minoring in something, but I'm not sure what to do yet. Possibly thinking of graphic design because I think it could be something useful with my business degree," Arcano said.

"I have 16 credits to complete for my bachelor's degree this fall and then I will be able to just focus on baseball in the spring," McCord said.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Blayze Arcano: OF; 5' 11"; Senior; R-R

#11 Tyler Brandenburg: INF; 5' 10"; Senior; R-R

#27 Logan Hatley: LHP; 6' 6"; Senior; L-L

#3 Hunter Johnson: INF; 6' 1"; Senior; R-R

#21 Connor McCord: LHP/1B; 5' 9"; Senior; L-L

#31 Nathan Bonck: P; 6' 6"; Senior; L-L

#13 Alan Vasquez: P; 6' 0"; Senior; R-R

Players Mentioned

#6 Blayze Arcano
: 5' 11"; Senior; R-R
: OF

#11 Tyler Brandenburg
: 5' 10"; Senior; R-R
: INF

#27 Logan Hatley
: 6' 6"; Senior; L-L
: LHP

#3 Hunter Johnson
: 6' 1"; Senior; R-R
: INF

#21 Connor McCord
: 5' 9"; Senior; L-L
: LHP/1B

#31 Nathan Bonck
: 6' 6"; Senior; L-L
: P

#13 Alan Vasquez
: 6' 0"; Senior; R-R
: P