2022 VCU Rams baseball team explained

Mode:	baseball
Year:	2022
Team:	VCU Rams
Conference:	Atlantic 10 Conference
Short Conf:	A-10
Record:	42–20
Conf Record:	19–5
Head Coach:	Shawn Stiffler
Hc Year:	10th
Asst Coach1:	Rich Witten
Ac1 Year:	5th
Asst Coach2:	Seth Cutler-Voltz
Ac2 Year:	3rd
Asst Coach3:	Andrew Llewellyn
Ac3 Year:	2nd
Mvp:	Tyler Locklear
Captain:	Tyler Locklear
Captain Year:	3rd
Captain2:	Logan Amiss
Captain3:	Edwin Serrano
Stadium:	The Diamond
Champion:	Atlantic 10 tournament champions
Bowl:	NCAA Chapel Hill Regional
Bowl Result:	2–2

The 2022 VCU Rams baseball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Rams played their home games at The Diamond as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They were led by head coach Shawn Stiffler, in his 10th season at VCU.

VCU earned their first 40-win season since 2015, and repeated as Atlantic 10 Tournament champions. The reached the Regional Final of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional before losing to North Carolina in game 7.

Previous season

The 2021 VCU Rams baseball team notched a 38–16 (13–3) regular season record. Due to ongoing issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rams began their season on February 20, about a week later than usual, due to the pandemic. VCU won the 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament over Dayton, and qualified for the NCAA Division I baseball tournament for the first time since 2015. They were seeded number two in the Starkville Regional, their highest seeding since 2003. There, they defeated Campbell in the opening round, before losing to Mississippi State, the eventual National Champions, and Campbell for a second loss, causing their elimination.

Freshman Tyler Locklear won the Atlantic 10 Player and Rookie of the Year. Locklear earned a number of allocades including national recognition from ABCA, Baseball America, NCBWA, and Collegiate Baseball.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Coaches poll

The Atlantic 10 baseball coaches' poll was released on February 15, 2022. VCU was picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10.^[2]

Coaches' Poll

1	VCU	143 (11)
2	Dayton	122 (1)
3	Rhode Island	101
4	Saint Louis	94
5	Davidson	91
6	Fordham	83
7	George Washington	80
8	Richmond	76
9	Saint Joseph's	73
10	George Mason	33
11	UMass	26
12	St. Bonaventure	14

Preseason Atlantic 10 awards and honors

Tyler Locklear was named the Atlantic 10 Preseason Player of the Year, while Locklear, Mason Delane, and Michael Haydak were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Preseason team.^[3]

A-10 Preseason Player of the Year
Player	No.	Position	Class
Tyler Locklear	28	3B	RS Sophomore

Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Team
Player	No.	Position	Class
Mason Delane	33	RHP	RS Sophomore
Michael Haydak	2	UTL	RS Junior
Tyler Locklear	28	3B	RS Sophomore

Preseason All-Americans

First Team All-Americans
Player	No.	Position	Class	Selector(s)
Tyler Locklear	28	3B	RS Sophomore	Collegiate Baseball^[4] D1Baseball^[5] Perfect Game^[6]

Second Team All-Americans
Player	No.	Position	Class	Selector(s)
Tyler Locklear	28	3B	RS Sophomore	NCBWA^[7]

Personnel

Coaching staff

2022 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff
Name	Position	Seasons at VCU	Alma Mater
	Head Coach	10	George Mason University (2001)
Rich Witten	Assistant Coach	5	Coastal Carolina University (2012)
Seth Cutler-Voltz	Assistant Coach	3	Virginia Commonwealth University (2012)
Andrew Llewellyn	Assistant Coach	2	Wingate University (2020)

Offseason

Departures

VCU Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
	1	INF		185		Quinton, Virginia,	Graduated
	8	UTL		200		Virginia Beach, Virginia,	Did not return
	9	RHP		205		Sewell, New Jersey,	Transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson
	12	OF		185		Reynoldsburg, Ohio,	Graduated
	13	INF		200		Richmond, Virginia,	Transferred to Longwood
	17	C		195			Graduated
	22	INF		190		Naples, Florida,	Graduated
	30	RHP		170		Troy, Virginia,	Graduated
	34	RHP		200		Charlotte Court House, Virginia,	Drafted by Texas Rangers
	38	RHP		235		Nassau, New York,	Drafted by New York Yankees

Transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
	2			190		Tampa, Florida,	Pasco-Hernando State
	8			190			Everett CC
	9			195		Jamesville, New York,	Niagara County CC
	10			165		Haines City, Florida,	South Florida State
	13			165		Tampa, Florida,	Eastern Florida State
	14			185		Cudjoe Key, Florida,	Boston College
	15			175		Charleston, South Carolina,	Randolph–Macon
	16			215		Lebanon, Ohio,	Lincoln Trail College
	22			185			Everett CC
	34			165		St. Paul, Minnesota,	Des Moines Area CC
	38	RHP		215		Atlanta, Georgia,	Virginia Tech

Signing Day Recruits

The following players signed National Letter of Intents to play for VCU in 2022.

Pitchers
Cade Dressler		Mifflingburg Area
Nick Frazier	Vienna, Virginia,	Bishop O'Connell
Chase Hungate	Abingdon, Virginia,	Abingdon (VA)
Ethan Mishra		St. John's College
Virot Siharath		Crothers
Brendan Wilkinson		Kielburger
Hitters
Casey Gibbs		St. John's College
John Lucas	Midlothian, Virginia,	Trinity Episcopal (VA)
Marcus O'Malley	Naples, Florida,	Collier
Ryan Recio	Boca Raton, Florida,	Boca Raton Community
Jesse Robinson	Henrico, Virginia,	Deep Run

2021 MLB Draft

See main article: 2021 Major League Baseball draft.

7	194	Bradford Webb	RHP	Texas Rangers^[8]
15	453	Danny Watson	RHP	New York Yankees^[9]

Game log

2022 VCU Rams baseball game log (42–20)
Regular season (36–18)
February (2–4) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Atlantic 10 Sources February 18 2:00 p.m. vs. * Ernie Shore Field L 6–7 Kirwin (1–0) Davis (0–1) Stalzer (1) 64 0–1 — Box Score Recap February 19 10:00 a.m. vs. * Ernie Shore Field W 13–3 Hungate (1–0) Morr (0–1) Delane (1) 103 1–1 — Box Score Recap February 20 4:00 p.m. at * Ernie Shore Field L 4–6 McGraw (1–0) Griffin (0–1) Alder (1) 841 1–2 — Box Score Recap February 22 5:00 p.m. at * Bolding Stadium W 8–3 Davis (1–0) Gunn (0–1) — 312 2–2 - Box Score Recap February 25 4:00 p.m. at No. 3 Ole Miss* Swayze Field L 4–10 Diamond (1–0) Masloff (0–1) — 9,209 2–3 - Box Score Recap February 26 12:00 p.m. SECN+ at No. 3 Ole Miss* Swayze Field Canceled (inclement weather) Report February 27 12:00 p.m. SECN+ at No. 3 Ole Miss* Swayze Field L 3–14 McDaniel (2–0) Ellis (0–1) — 8,926 2–4 - Box Score Recap
March (11–6) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Atlantic 10 Sources March 1 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 24 Old Dominion* The Diamond L 1–3 Gomez (1–0) Hungate (1–1) Dean (2) 456 2–5 - Box Score Recap March 4 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ Lafayette* The Diamond L 0–3 Benneche (1–2) Ellis (0–2) Yoder (1) 299 2–6 - Box Score Recap March 5 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 2–1 Wilson (1–0) Rabin (0–2) — 527 3–6 - Box Score Recap March 6 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond L 0–8 Florence (2–0) Davis (1–2) — 532 3–7 - Box Score Recap March 8 4:00 p.m. at No. 22 Maryland* Turtle Smith Stadium L 6–8 Orlando (1–0) Serrano (0–1) Glock (1) 627 3–8 - Box Score Recap March 9 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 22 Maryland The Diamond Postponed (inclement weather), makeup date TBD Report March 11 3:00 p.m. The Diamond W 9–6 Griffin (1–1) Jarosz (1–2) Wilson (1) 340 4–8 - Box Score Recap March 12 2:00 p.m. The Diamond W 4–2 Hungate (2–1) Barker (0–1) Serrano (1) 287 5–8 - Box Score Report March 13 1:00 p.m. Monmouth* The Diamond W 3–0 Furman (1–0) Hensey (0–3) Masloff (1) 311 6–8 - Box Score Report March 15 3:00 p.m. No. 12 Liberty* The Diamond W 2–1 Nolan (2–0) Fluharty (2–1) — 424 7–8 - Box Score Recap March 18 6:00 p.m. The Diamond W 8–2 Hungate (3–1) Garcia (2–3) Serrano (2) 437 8–8 - Box Score Recap March 19 2:00 p.m. Quinnipiac* The Diamond W 14–4 Griffin (2–1) Seitter (0–3) — 453 9–8 - Box Score Recap March 20 1:00 p.m. Quinnipiac* The Diamond W 17–6 Masloff (1–1) Copeland (0–2) — 389 10–8 - Box Score Recap March 22 6:30 p.m. Longwood* The Diamond W 6–5 Serrano (1–1) Karlinchak (0–2) — 565 11–8 - Box Score Recap March 23 3:00 p.m. at * Marty L. Miller Field 3–3^3 Postponed (inclement weather) Report March 25 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ at East Carolina* Clark–LeClair Stadium L 2–8 Kuchmaner (3–1) Ellis (0–3) Yesavage (1) 3,362 11–9 - Box Score Recap March 26 4:00 p.m. ESPN+ at East Carolina* Clark–LeClair Stadium L 5–7 Giles (1–0) Delane (0–1) — 4,752 11–10 - Box Score Recap March 27 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ at East Carolina* Clark–LeClair Stadium W 5–2 Griffin (3–1) Saylor (2–3) Serrano (3) 2,676 12–10 - Box Score Recap March 29 6:30 p.m. at * Plumeri Park Williamsburg, VA W 4–2 Ellis (1–3) Knowles (1–2) Wilson (2) 194 13–10 - Box Score Recap
April (11–7) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Atlantic 10 Sources April 1 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ Spuhler Field L 6–7 Lyons (3–3) Hungate (3–2) Gartland (2) 133 13–11 0–1 Box Score Recap April 2 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ at George Mason Spuhler Field W 9–2 Tyler (2–2) Shields (0–2) — 226 14–11 1–1 Box Score Recap April 3 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ at George Mason Spuhler Field W 15–5 Masloff (2–1) Posey (0–2) — 207 15–11 2–1 Box Score Recap April 5 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond L 1–4 Lopez (1–1) Serrano (1–2) — 668 15–12 - Box Score Recap April 8 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 7–6 Wilson (3–0) Fenton (3–2) — 394 16–12 3–1 Box Score Recap April 9 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ Davidson The Diamond L 2–7 Hely (4–0) Dressler (0–1) — 634 16–13 3–2 Box Score Recap April 10 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ Davidson The Diamond L 2–7 Feczko (7–0) Hungate (3–3) — 557 16–14 3–3 Box Score Recap April 12 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ at * Gray–Minor Stadium W 6–4 Masloff (3–1) Inskeep (0–2) — 143 17–14 - Box Score Recap April 15 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Malcolm U. Pitt Field L 0–7 Weirather (4–2) Hungate (3–4) — 555 17–15 3–4 Box Score Recap April 16 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Richmond Malcolm U. Pitt Field W 13–11 Chenier (1–0) Allen (0–1) — 487 18–15 4–4 Box Score Recap April 17 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Richmond Malcolm U. Pitt Field W 13–2 Davis (3–2) Larson (0–1) — 430 19–15 5–4 Box Score Recap April 19 7:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 6 Virginia* The Diamond W 9–7 Wilson (4–0) Hodorovich (0–1) — 3,392 20–15 - Box Score Recap April 22 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 7–2 Furman (2–0) McCole (1–4) — 945 21–15 6–4 Box Score Recap April 23 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ Saint Joseph's The Diamond W 13–9 Davis (4–2) Smith (4–3) — 725 22–15 7–4 Box Score Recap April 24 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ Saint Joseph's The Diamond L 3–6 Falco (6–2) Ellis (1–4) Devine (3) 711 22–16 7–5 Box Score Recap April 26 6:00 p.m. William & Mary* The Diamond L 6–11 Lovasz (2–1) Serrano (1–3) — 338 22–17 — Box Score Recap April 29 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ Day Air Ballpark W 7–0 Hungate (4–4) Steinhauer (3–4) — 2,500 23–17 8–5 Box Score Recap April 30 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Dayton Woerner Field W 6–4 Masloff (4–1) Majick (4–2) — 77 24–17 9–5 Box Score Recap
May (12–1) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Atlantic 10 Sources May 1 12:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Dayton Woerner Field W 9–8 Furman (3–0) Serwa (2–5) — 87 25–17 10–5 Box Score Recap May 3 6:00 p.m. at No. 12 Virginia* Davenport Field L 6–12 Kosanovich (3–0) Serrano (1–4) — 2,549 25–18 — Box Score Recap May 7 10:00 a.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 5–1 Ellis (2–4) Cohen (6–6) — 319 26–18 11–5 Box Score Recap May 7 1:15 p.m. ESPN+ George Washington The Diamond W 11–3 Delan (1–1) Harris (2–7) Masloff (2) 385 27–18 12–5 Box Score Recap May 8 6:05 p.m. ESPN+ George Washington The Diamond W 7–2 Humenay (1–0) Solt (3–4) Griffin (1) 337 28–18 13–5 Box Score Recap May 10 6:00 p.m. CUSA.tv at No. 24 Old Dominion* Bud Metheny Baseball Complex W 8–2 Frazier (1–0) Nielsen (0–2) Serrano (4) 274 29–18 — Box Score Recap May 13 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Earl Lorden Field W 26–2 Ellis (3–4) Dow (6–4) — 85 30–18 14–5 Box Score Recap May 14 3:00 p.m. ESPN+ at UMass Earl Lorden Field W 18–3 Furman (4–0) LeSieur (4–1) — 90 31–18 15–5 Box Score Recap May 15 12:00 p.m. ESPN+ at UMass Earl Lorden Field W 6–1 Delane (2–1) Clevenger (1–3) Masloff (3) 90 32–18 16–5 Box Score Recap May 17 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 4–3 Frazier (2–0) Keough (2–2) — 385 33–18 — Box Score Recap May 19 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ The Diamond W 17–1 Ellis (4–4) Knox (3–4) — 369 34–18 17–5 Box Score Recap May 20 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ Fordham The Diamond W 4–2 Furman (5–0) Karslo (3–5) Masloff (4) 396 35–18 18–5 Box Score Recap May 21 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ Fordham The Diamond W 12–5 Humenay (2–0) Sahler (2–3) — 425 36–18 19–5 Box Score Recap
Post-season (6–2)
(4–0) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A10T Record Sources May 24 7:00 p.m. ESPN+ vs. (7) Richmond First round (2) Wilson Field Davidson, NC W 4–3 Hungate (5–4) Weirather (6–5) — 291 37–18 1–0 Box Score Recap May 25 3:30 p.m. ESPN+ vs. (6) Saint Joseph's Quarterfinals (2) Wilson Field W 8–4 Furman (6–0) McCole (3–6) — 394 38–18 2–0 Box Score Recap May 27 12:00 p.m. ESPN+ at (1) Davidson Semifinals (2) Wilson Field W 14–6 Chenier (2–0) Hely (9–2) — 825 39–18 3–0 Box Score Recap May 28 12:00 p.m. ESPN+ vs. (7) Richmond Finals  - Game 1 (2) Wilson Field W 10–7 Hungate (6–4) Balducci (1–1) Masloff (5) 455 40–18 4–0 Box Score Recap
Legend:      = Win      = Loss      = Canceled Bold =VCU team member Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.^[10]

Tournaments

Atlantic 10 tournament

See also: 2022 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament.

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NCAA Chapel Hill Regional

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Statistics

Statistics current through May 20, 2022.^[11]

Team batting

Team
VCU	1814	.304	552	133	14	78	417	.522	305	463
Opponents	1710	.217	371	79	5	39	186	.337	194	509

Team pitching

Team
VCU	463.2	371	215	186	194	509	15	3.61
Opponents	441.0	552	450	411	305	463	6	8.39

Individual batting

Note: leaders must meet the minimum requirement of 2 PA/G and 75% of games played

Individual pitching

Note: leaders must meet the minimum requirement of 1 IP/G

Player	GP	GS	W	L	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	SV	ERA

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	AB	At-bats
H	Hits	Avg.	Batting average	2B	Doubles
3B	Triples	HR	Home runs	RBI	Runs batted in
IP	Innings pitched	W	Wins	L	Losses
ERA	Earned run average	SO	Strikeouts	BB	Base on balls
SV	Saves	SB	Stolen bases	High	Team high

Awards and honors

Weekly honors!style=

Honors	style=	Player	style=	Position	style=	Date awarded	style=	Ref.
Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week	Campbell Ellis	LHP	May 9, 2022	^[12]
Atlantic 10 Player of the Week	Tyler Locklear	3B	May 16, 2022	^[13]

Rankings

See main article: 2022 NCAA Division I baseball rankings.

External links

• VCU Baseball

Notes and References

1. News: USA Baseball Announces 2022 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. USA Baseball. February 15, 2022. February 15, 2022.
2. Web site: Defending Champion VCU Selected to Repeat for A-10 Baseball Title . atlantic10.com . February 18, 2022 . February 15, 2022.
3. Web site: Denny . A.J. . Conference Preview: Atlantic 10 . Perfect Game USA . May 15, 2022 . February 4, 2022.
4. Web site: Collegiate Baseball 2022 All-Americans . Collegiate Baseball . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220215035811/http://baseballnews.com/collegiate-baseball-2022-all-americans/ . February 15, 2022.
5. Web site: 2022 D1Baseball First-Team Preseason All-Americans . d1baseball.com . May 15, 2022.
6. Web site: Cozart . Craig . Preseason Collegiate All-Americans . Perfect Game USA . May 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220106064500/https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=20330 . January 6, 2022 . January 5, 2022.
7. Web site: NCBWA Announces 2022 Preseason Division I All-America Team . . sportswriters.net . May 16, 2022.
8. Web site: Bradford Webb Drafted in Seventh Round by Texas Rangers . vcuathletics.com . January 26, 2022 . July 12, 2021.
9. Web site: Danny Watson Drafted by New York Yankees in 15th Round . vcuathletics.com . January 27, 2022 . July 13, 2021.
10. Web site: 2022 Baseball Schedule . vcuathletics.com . January 14, 2022.
11. Web site: VCU - Season Statistics Overall Statistics . stats.vcuathletics.com . May 21, 2022.
12. Web site: Kopack, Genther Double Up for Rhody as #A10BASE Player, Rookie of the Week, VCU’s Ellis Secures Pitcher Laurels . Atlantic 10 Conference . May 15, 2022 . May 9, 2022.
13. Web site: Redding, Locklear Split #A10BASE Player of the Week Honors, Mason’s Peterson Collects Pitcher Laurels, DePino Captures Third Rookie Distinction . Atlantic 10 Conference . May 28, 2022 . May 16, 2022.