The Muskingum baseball team are locked in and ready for the new 2021 spring season after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Muskies begin the year in a non-conference doubleheader home/home series against Mount Union starting on Saturday, March 13, with Muskingum hosting the Purple Raiders.

The Coach: The Muskies are led by head coach Gregg Thompson, who is entering his 26th season in charge of the program. During Thompson's tenure, the Muskies have had numerous first-team All-OAC selections, both for athletic and academic accomplishments. The baseball program has also produced five Clyde Lamb nominees, the highest award given to a scholar-athlete in the OAC. Thompson has gained the reputation as one of the top offensive coaches in the game. Under Thompson's tutelage, his players and teams have amassed a record of achievements.

The Players - In The Field: Muskingum will be led several players in the field this season that include junior outfielder Brett Carson, senior outfielder Matt Stewart, junior infielder Chayce Lundell, and sophomore infielder Devin Ryan. 

In the 2019 season, Carson played in 37 games with 144 at bats and recorded a career-high 46 hits, nine doubles, and 27 RBIs. He ended the season with a .319 batting average and was coined All-OAC Honorable mention. In the shortened 2020 season, Carson was named OAC Baseball Hitter of the Week after his outstanding play in the Florida spring games. Stewart played in 37 games in 2019 and logged in 41 hits, six doubles, three triples, one homerun, and 16 RBIs. He ended the year with a batting average of .283 and earned Academic All-OAC Honor Roll accolades.

Lundell played in 27 games with 92 at bats in the 2019 campaign securing a career-high 27 hits, five doubles, one triple, one homerun, and 18 RBIs, while Ryan competed in 11 games in his shortened freshman season and notched 14 hits, five doubles, three triples, one homerun, ten RBIs, and stole four bases.

The Players - On The Mound: The Muskies will be looking for contributions in the pitchers circle from senior pitcher Holden Martin, junior pitcher Jake Norris, junior pitcher Craig Nixon, and sophomore pitcher Brayden Bush.

Martin pitched in 4 games with 4 starts in the 2020 season and recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts, while in 2019 Norris pitched a total of 63 innings with 11 starts and recorded a career-high 32 strikeouts on the year. He ended the season with a 3.29 ERA.

In the 2019 campaign, Nixon earned seven starts with two wins and one save while notching a career-best 12 strikeouts. Bush appeared in three games with one start in his shortened freshman year and recorded 11 strikeouts. He finished with an ERA of 1.80.

The Schedule: The schedule features a 40-game season followed by the OAC Tournament. Muskingum will play all OAC schools in doubleheaders in a home/home series on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The opening weekend of play against Mount Union on March 13 and 14 are non-conference contests. Game times are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Spectator Policy: Beginning on March 8, the following policies and protocols will be in place at Muskingum. 

• The home team shall receive two admissions per dressed student-athlete and coach. The visiting team shall also receive two admissions per student-athlete and coach, per established "Travel Squad Limits. 
• These admissions may not exceed 30 percent of spectator area capacity.
• There will be no public sales of tickets, and no passes will be issued for entry.
• Attendees at events will be required to wear masks and abide by social distancing guidelines.

Broadcasts: All home games will be played at Mose Morehead Field and will feature an HD video stream accessible through the OAC TV app and on fightingmuskies.com.