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Rockhurst University Athletics

Hoyt Bennett

Baseball

Hawks open baseball season with challenging schedule

Catcher Hoyt Bennett is the Hawks' top offensive returnee.
Gary Burns begins his 30th season as the Rockhurst baseball coach with a strong group of returnees and several promising newcomers.

"It's a great group of young men who had a great fall and we look forward to the start of the season," said Burns, who is one win away from 800 career victories heading into Friday's season opener at Rogers State.
 
The Hawks will be led offensively by junior catcher Hoyt Bennett, who was the team leader in home runs (six), RBIs (40) and slugging percentage (.596) last year.

The other returning starters include senior second baseman Malik Stevenson, sophomore shortstop Austin Murray, along with sophomore outfielders Adonis Forte and Cole Wagner.

Stevenson hit .318 with nine stolen bases. Murray started 40 games at short as a freshman. Forte batted .400 with 11 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs in 30 games. Wagner drove in 30 runs with a .295 batting average.

The top returning pitcher is senior Thomas Jones, who held opponents to a .201 batting average with 46 strikeouts in 46 innings in 2022. Senior Clayton Medlin also returns after posting four wins and 64 strikeouts last year.

Joining those two in the rotation will be freshman Sawyer Allen and Landon Carr. Jake Canent, Gavyn Dockery, Derrick Evers, PJ Loucks and Kellan Shilt will carry the bullpen load.

"We would like to blend the old and new early in the season. We start out with some challenging games with Rogers State, Central Missouri and non-conference games with Drury," Burns said.

According to Burns, the biggest rule change this year in Division II baseball is a pitch clock, which will be kept by the umpire in the field.

The Hawks will play 32 conference games this year with eight four-game series, culminating with a weekend series at home against Quincy May 5-7. Illinois Springfield and Quincy were picked first and second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
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Players Mentioned

Hoyt Bennett

#22 Hoyt Bennett

C
6' 1"
Junior
R/R
Jake Canent

#14 Jake Canent

P
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Derrick Evers

#40 Derrick Evers

OF / P
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Adonis Forte

#30 Adonis Forte

OF
6' 0"
Sophomore
L/R
Thomas Jones

#38 Thomas Jones

P
6' 3"
Graduate Student
R/R
Clayton Medlin

#17 Clayton Medlin

P
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Austin Murray

#1 Austin Murray

SS
5' 11"
Sophomore
R/R
Kellan Shilt

#39 Kellan Shilt

P
5' 10"
Junior
L/L
Malik Stevenson

#26 Malik Stevenson

2B
5' 8"
Senior
L/R
Cole Wagner

#8 Cole Wagner

OF
5' 8"
Sophomore
L/L
Gavyn Dockery

#28 Gavyn Dockery

P
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
PJ Loucks

#3 PJ Loucks

P / UT
5' 10"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Hoyt Bennett

#22 Hoyt Bennett

6' 1"
Junior
R/R
C
Jake Canent

#14 Jake Canent

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
P
Derrick Evers

#40 Derrick Evers

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
OF / P
Adonis Forte

#30 Adonis Forte

6' 0"
Sophomore
L/R
OF
Thomas Jones

#38 Thomas Jones

6' 3"
Graduate Student
R/R
P
Clayton Medlin

#17 Clayton Medlin

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
P
Austin Murray

#1 Austin Murray

5' 11"
Sophomore
R/R
SS
Kellan Shilt

#39 Kellan Shilt

5' 10"
Junior
L/L
P
Malik Stevenson

#26 Malik Stevenson

5' 8"
Senior
L/R
2B
Cole Wagner

#8 Cole Wagner

5' 8"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
Gavyn Dockery

#28 Gavyn Dockery

6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
P
PJ Loucks

#3 PJ Loucks

5' 10"
Junior
R/R
P / UT