EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University is listed No. 20 in the Division II baseball preseason rankings by Perfect Game, the top PSAC school ranked, which was released this week.

The Warriors were 14-1-2 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and return all but three players from that team as they enter 2021 under 14th-year head coach John Kochmansky. ESU has a 354-244-4 record (.591) since 2008, including 12 straight winning seasons, PSAC Tournament appearances in seven of the last 10 years, and three trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Last year's team outscored opponents 153-33 – producing a .347 batting average, .459 on-base percentage and 61 extra-base hits, including 19 home runs, in its 17 games.

The numbers on the mound might be even more impressive, notching a 2.01 ERA, .140 opponents batting average and a staggering 210 strikeouts in 139.0 innings.

Left-hander Cam Voss, a fifth-year senior, earned a spot on Perfect Game's DII Top 25 for his 2020 campaign. He went 3-0 in five starts, allowing one earned run (0.43 ERA), with 42 strikeouts, two hits allowed and 13 walks in 21 innings. That followed his 2019 season in which he went 5-1 in 10 starts, struck out 80 and yielded just 30 hits in 52.1 innings. He has compiled an 8-1 record, 3.07 ERA, .132 opponents average and 122 strikeouts in 73.1 career innings.

Redshirt junior Chase Nowak was also 3-0 in five starts last season with a 1.23 ERA, 33 strikeouts, four walks and 11 hits allowed in 22 innings. His career line includes an 8-3 record, 3.93 ERA, .229 opponents average and 86 strikeouts in 71 innings across 22 games (14 starts).

Fifth-year senior Connor Johnson is ESU's most experienced pitcher, logging a 13-10 career record with five saves entering the 2021 season. He has appeared in 47 games, including 28 starts, with a 4.37 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 154.1 innings.

Fifth-year senior Nate Fiala also returns after an injury-shortened 2020. He has posted a 10-3 record, 3.43 ERA, .219 opponents average and 92 strikeouts in 89.1 innings, appearing in 31 games with 14 starts. He was a second team All-PSAC East selection in 2019 (4-2, 2.89 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 46.2 innings).

Junior JP Nolan allowed just one hit in 9.0 innings last year. He has tossed 32.1 innings in two seasons with a 1.95 ERA and .195 opponents average in 14 games, making five starts.

The Warriors have a pair of veteran relief pitchers in fifth-year senior CJ Gonzales and junior Justin Guidos. Gonzales has pitched in 25 games (3.19 ERA, .191 opponents average, 51 strikeouts, 36.2 innings), and Guidos has made 31 appearances (2.84 ERA, .228 opponents average, 57 strikeouts, 50.2 innings), including a school-record 23 appearances with three saves as a freshman in 2019.

Sophomore Brent Francisco had a sparkling first season, throwing 13 innings without allowing a run, going 2-0 with 22 strikeouts, seven walks and six hits allowed in four games (two starts).

Fifth-year senior Tyler Guidos was also impressive in his first year with a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 innings, 22 strikeouts, three walks and two hits allowed in six appearances.

Offensively, the Warriors should be carried by six veterans, including three who have earned All-PSAC East honors.

Senior infielder Brock Kauffman was first team All-PSAC East in 2019 after second team honors as a freshman. He hit .419/.439/.710 with 27 RBI and 13 runs in 2020, and has a career line of .331/.393/.497 with 43 extra-base hits, 93 RBI and 81 runs in 108 games in his first three seasons.

Fifth-year senior Anthony Torreullas, also named first team All-PSAC East in 2019, hit .400/.465/.800 with a team-high five home runs, 26 RBI and 17 runs in the middle of last year's order. He's a career .342/.460/.639 hitter with 39 extra-base hits, including 11 homers, 66 RBI and 56 runs in 66 games since joining the Warriors in 2019.

Fifth-year senior outfielder Carson Freeman, whose career has been interrupted by injury, was second team All-PSAC East as a utility player (P/OF) as a sophomore in 2018 and returned to hit .302/.436/.535 in 14 games last season, after playing in just 20 of 50 games the previous year. In 107 career games, he has slashed .291/.370/.537 with 46 extra-base hits, including 14 homers, 80 RBI, 71 runs and 36 stolen bases.

Senior infielder Brainy Rojas led the Warriors with a .453 batting average and .592 on-base percentage last spring. He's a career .301 hitter with a .428 on-base percentage, 48 RBI, 87 runs and 44 stolen bases in 106 games.

Junior first baseman/outfielder Logan Stirr hit .304 last year. Including his sophomore season, he has a .301/.409/.479 batting line with 21 extra-base hits in 55 career games.

Fifth-year infielder Joey Paolini is the most experienced Warrior with 141 career games. He has 16 career home runs, tied for seventh-most in school history, a .250 average and .380 on-base percentage. He hit .277 with a .469 on-base percentage last spring.

Senior outfielder Tommy Dunleavy had a solid first season in 2020, starting all 17 games and hitting .288/.368/.525 with four homers, 14 RBI, 16 runs and nine stolen bases.

Two catchers, senior Derek Stento and sophomore Tim Haverstick, shared time behind the plate last spring. Stento hit .435/.552/.565 in eight starts, while Haverstick handled 115 chances without an error and threw out four of nine base stealers.


Perfect Game DII Preseason Top 25
1. Angelo State (Tex.)
2. Central Missouri
3. Colorado Mesa
4. Tampa (Fla.)
5. North Greenville (S.C.)
6. Mount Olive (N.C.)
7. Catawba (N.C.)
8. Augustana (S.D.)
9. Columbus State (Ga.)
10. Minnesota State
11. Georgia College
12. West Texas A&M
13. North Georgia
14. Southern Arkansas
15. Delta State (Miss.)
16. Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
17. Texas Tyler
18. Ashland (Ohio)
19. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)
20. East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
21. Newberry (S.C.)
22. UNC Pembroke
23. Wingate (N.C.)
24. Millersville (Pa.)
25. Davenport (Mich.)