By Ryan Murphy ’24, staff writer
After many years of struggles, LVC’s baseball team has been on the climb to the top.
The team has proven over the past three years to be turning the page towards becoming a powerhouse. A main ingredient in the success of the Dutchmen has been the hiring of head coach Jonas Fester in 2019. Since Fester has been the coach of the Dutchmen, all he has known is winning.
After finishing 16-23 and placing second to last in the conference in the 2019 season, the program has taken off. In 2020, the Dutchmen finished 10-2 due to the COVID-19 outbreak but gave a glimpse of what was to come. Since then, LVC baseball has made three straight appearances to the MAC Commonwealth Championship, winning the championship in 2022 and 2023 — the first two times since 2002 — and even making a strong appearance in the NCAA regional tournament in 2023.
When asked about the future of the program, Fester shared his outlook.
“The goal is to continue the upward trajectory of the program, but the main goal is to make it to the College World Series,” Fester said.
So far, the Dutchmen have been on the right path to do so. They have made two straight regional tournaments and were one win away in 2023 from reaching a super-regional.
The success starts with Fester but also lies with the talent that has been recruited to LVC. Fester’s strategy when recruiting has shown success in a very short amount of time.
“We like to recruit players who are great teammates,” Fester said. “We look for someone who is a good person and if they can add value. There is talent everywhere but it’s hard to find talent and great character.”
Because of the success of the Dutchmen baseball team over the past two years, Fester has earned MAC Commonwealth coach of the year in both 2022 and 2023. The Dutchmen look to keep improving and are looking forward to the 2024 season on the other side of the MAC conference, after moving from the Commonwealth to Freedom.
“I am excited to keep building and believe this team can really make a deep run in the national playoffs,” Blair Shaffer, a senior pitcher, said.
The team will start the 2024 campaign in January with their first games beginning at the end of February.