Trio of Juniors Represent Jackets on HCAC’s Watch List

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference released its 2013 preseason coaches' poll and Players-to-Watch list on Tuesday, with juniors Darin Waterman, Brad Kremer and Aaron Helland receiving preseason honors for Defiance College.

Waterman will enter his third campaign on the diamond with the Yellow Jackets looking to add his third-straight All-HCAC honor, after taking a Second-Team nod as a pitcher and first baseman following last season and earning Honorable Mention All-HCAC status as a rookie.

The Celina, Ohio, native started all 39 games for DC last season, leading the squad with a .345 batting average, .514 slugging percentage, 18 extra-base hits, three home runs and 76 total bases. Waterman topped the HCAC with 11 doubles against league competition and turned in the fifth-best, single-season hit total in program history with 51 knocks.

For as good as Waterman was with the bat, the rising junior was even more impressive on the mound in his nine starts as the Yellow Jackets' ace. Waterman logged a 3.51 earned-run average and held foes to a .254 batting average over his 51.1 innings of work. The physical education and health major also racked up 46 strikeouts and ranked fourth in the HCAC among pitchers with at least six conference starts by posting a 2.82 ERA in league action.

Kremer excelled after moving across the infield to the third-base position, starting all 39 games on his way to earning Honorable Mention All-HCAC status. Kremer led Defiance with a .443 on-base percentage, .923 OPS, 29 runs scored, 27 runs batted in, four triples and 21 walks, while also registering a .320 batting average, a .480 slugging percentage and 12 extra-base hits. The business administration major tied for the second-highest, single-season total of triples during his sophomore campaign and enters his third season ranked fourth in program history in that statistic with seven.

Helland battled injury throughout his second season with the Purple and Gold but closed the year by hitting .455 with 11 runs batted in, five runs scored and eight steals over his final six contests. The Defiance, Ohio, native and business administration major ended the season with a .243 average, four doubles and 13 RBI, while doing most of his damage on the base paths with 11 steals in 23 games played. Helland did not get caught stealing once and ended the season ranked third among all HCAC performers with nine thefts in his 17 conference outings.

Defiance will lean on Waterman, Kremer and Helland to continue the improvement it showed with a 15-24 overall mark in 2012. The Jackets hit their stride down the stretch, posting a 7-6 clip over their final 13 games to log a nine-win uptick over the 2011 campaign. DC also left several more potential victories on the table, with 13-of-24 losses coming by one or two runs.

The Jackets will return six starters on offense and nearly 80 percent of their innings pitched from one year ago, including the entire starting rotation.

Despite the promising group of returners and the momentum built in 2012, the Jackets were surprisingly picked by the HCAC head coaches to finish 10th in the league for the upcoming 2013 campaign.

Manchester was selected as the preseason favorites in the poll with 94 points and seven first-place votes, while Franklin (85), Rose-Hulman (76) and Anderson (75) also garnered one first-place vote each.

Defiance will open its 2013 season on March 1 with a doubleheader against Calvin in Florence, Kentucky. The Jackets will also compete in the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, before playing their home opener at Craig A. Rutter Field against Ohio Northern on March 19.