Simpson baseball honors senior duo
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Due to the Simpson baseball season being cut short, the Storm were set to honor their two lone seniors, Josh Breitbarth and Truman Schmitt, at the conclusion of the season.
Breitbarth appeared in 34 games as a junior and did not see action in a game this season due to an injury. Schmitt is the only senior that has played all four seasons for head coach Nathan Roling. During that span, Schmitt tallied 109 hits in 104 outings, including 24 doubles and 12 home runs for 66 runs batted in.
The Storm were seven games into the season when it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Simpson held a 3-4 record and was one game into its Florida spring break trip.
Josh Breitbarth | Catcher, 2019-20
• Senior from Hilo, Hawaii
• Appeared in 34 contests as a junior after transferring to Simpson
• Tallied 34 hits for a .284 batting average with 11 doubles for second on the team in 2019
• Started his career for the Storm with five hits in three contests during the spring break trip in Florida
• Had a string of four-straight games with a hit last season
• Threw out 17 runners from behind the plate to lead the American Rivers Conference
• Had a perfect fielding percentage in 164 total chances with 132 putouts in his time for the Storm
• Majoring in physical education and sports administration
• Plans to teach physical education and hopes to become an athletic director after graduation
Comments from head coach Nathan Roling
"I have had a great pleasure coaching Josh in his time as a member of this program. As a player, he brought leadership, maturity and toughness every time he competed. On the field, he was a strong thrower as a catcher, a well-rounded and tough hitter, and acted as a coach on the field. This season being cut short didn't allow him to play as he was still coming back from an early season injury, but he still brought so much to this group in the time we had. I am thankful for the relationship that we built, his hard work and countless contributions he made to improve this program."
Truman Schmitt | Catcher, 2017-20
• Senior from Hinton, Iowa
• Second player in program history to be named D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-Region in the same season
• Landed on the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team in 2019 for the Storm's first all-region first team honoree since 2013
• Placed on the American Rivers All-Conference Second Team in 2019
• Tallied 109 career hits in 104 games, with 53 coming as a junior
• Connected on 24 doubles, 12 home runs and three triples
• Led the league with 14 doubles and five homers in 2019 to bat .390
• Batted in 66 runners with a career-best 25 last season
• Finished with a career batting average of .314
• Was batting .407 with 11 hits and three home runs in the team's seven games this year
• Majoring in actuarial science and economics, with a minor in computer science
• Will work at Transamerica as an actuary after graduation
Comments from head coach Nathan Roling
"Seeing Truman grow as a player and person over the past four seasons has been very special. As a player, he was smart, tough and had a work ethic that was second-to-none. On the field, he was a great receiver and blocker as a catcher, an instinctual baserunner, and turned himself into one of the most feared hitters in our conference and region. For everything he did on-the-field, we will miss the most is the example he set as a member of the Simpson Baseball program. I am thankful to Truman for the relationship we built, the sacrifices he made, and for his hard work and dedication over his four years in this program."
