LAKER LIFE: Lake Baseball | Photo by Nick Wenning | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University Lakers will begin their 2022 season in March hoping for a sixth consecutive year in the Small College World Series.
Passion for the game
The Lake Campus baseball program does not offer scholarships for its players. Rather than playing at the collegiate level because of funds, the team is motivated by their passion for playing.
“I can speak for a lot of people here [...] everyone is here to have fun and play baseball; it’s really just a love for the game,” Ryan Barker, senior pitcher and business major, said.
The Lake baseball team, part of the USCAA conference, will be playing several other small colleges beginning March 4 with their away game against Asbury University. Their first home game will be against Clark State Community College at Celina’s Montgomery Field located at 322 Grand Lake Road.
Last year, the Lakers made their fifth consecutive appearance at the USCAA Small College World Series and hope to do so again in the 2022 season despite this year’s team being largely underclassmen with only three seniors out of 39 players total.
The passion for the game lives in these players as shown by senior center fielder and business major Cory Cottrell’s aspiration to participate in the baseball community by coaching in the future if he has the opportunity.
“I’d like to coach at some point, once I get settled down and figure out what I’m doing with my life,” Cottrell said.
Community and campus support
Although student attendance is low at most of their games, the community is active in supporting the Lakers. P
layers’ friends, families and local community members fill the stands. In past years, there was mutual support between the baseball and basketball teams, but the Lake Campus basketball program has since been disbanded.
“This year might be different because we did inner-squads in the fall and there were a good handful of people from the dorms,” Barker said.
The campus community also has opportunities in the fall and spring to support the baseball team financially by supporting their annual golf outing and raffle.
Experienced leadership
The Lakers are led by their coach Chad Geier who has been the head coach for the past seven years after spending three years as an assistant coach.
“He’s a cool guy, and he expects you to be present; he has high expectations,” Barker said.
Geier, a Coldwater native, spent two years in the Sinclair Community College baseball program before transferring to Indiana Tech where he played in two consecutive national championships while pursuing a degree in business administration with a focus on sports management.
“I moved back to Coldwater and the head coach, Bob Howe, was from Coldwater, and he was coaching out there at the time [...] and he asked me to join the coaching staff to be the infield coach, so I couldn’t turn that opportunity down,” Geier said.
Keep up with the Lakers
To keep up-to-date on the Lakers’ schedule, you can follow their Twitter and check out their homepage.
