1. Webster Gorloks

Third baseman Ben Swords has slashed .359/.437/.537 over his first three years as a Gorlock and earned such accolades as First Team All St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, ABCA/Rawlings First Team All Central Region and All American honors. He will be back to lead the offense once again. On the other side of the infield, Kyler Kent will be playing his fifth year as a regular. Kent has hit .338 over 136 games at Webster. His best season was as a sophomore when he hit .428 and slugged .608. Matt Staker is another experienced starter with 111 games under his belt as the team’s shortstop. He provides excellent defense and offense for the team. Outfielder AJ Smith is a sixth-year senior. He was second on the team among regulars in batting with a .342 average in 2019 and hit .304 last season. Aron Hopp, who also plays on the Webster basketball team, started all 50 games in center field and stole 23 bases in 2019. 

Matt Mulhearn and Sean Beaver are the aces of the Webster staff. Mullhearn has thrown 246 innings over four seasons and earned a 2.60 ERA. Last season he held opposition to a .180 batting average over 28 innings. A big chunk of those innings came courtesy of what was technically one outing split over a week’s time. He was credited with throwing 12 innings as he completed a suspended game which he started. Beaver has been a regular in the rotation for three seasons and has earned a 2.00 ERA over 162 innings on the mound. He has thrown four complete games, stuck out 146 batters and limited opposition to a .234 batting average. Hard-throwing Andrew Padilla has 30 2/3 innings of experience and is penciled in for a starting role. He has been hit around a bit and has struggled with control historically, but also puts up good strikeout numbers. Cooper Hake, who pitched at UI South Bend before transferring to WU, should round out the staff. Jake Anderson and Jordan Smevoll will be looked upon to close games out in the later innings. Transfer Deven Shulstad made 24 appearances out of the bullpen at Florida A&M in 2018 and made eight appearances at Harris-Stowe State in 2020.