The Ursinus Baseball Squad is off to a hot start in 2026! With a fresh new offense in the infield, a surging pitching staff led by Senior Dan Bass, and a bunch of key wins, the team is poised to make a run at a Centennial Conference playoff spot this year for the first time in nine years. Here is a recap of the best games of the season so far.
A highlight early this year was a decisive 18-7 victory over Widener University on the road to earn the team’s 6th win. The team scored in each of the first six innings in the game.
Luke Kopec ‘28 powered the Bears’ offense on the day, finishing 4-for-6 at the plate with his first home run of the season and a career-high six RBIs. Matthew Callahan ‘28 and Brett Barrett ‘29 each added three hits, three RBIs, and combined for six runs scored. George Nestor and Kyle Rosenfeld ‘26, along with Brandon Sullivan ‘27, each tallied two hits to round out the Ursinus lineup.
When asked about the effort of the Bears’ offensive attack, Coach Kyle Lindsay said, “I’ll take the top of our lineup over anyone.”
Kopec, a D2 transfer from East Stroudsburg University, is hitting .376 overall so far this season, with two homers and 19 RBIs.
On the mound, Senior Dan Bass has thrown 2 complete games this year, with his most recent one coming against Swarthmore. Bass pitched a complete game in game one of a double header, tossing seven innings while allowing one unearned run, striking out six and scattering two hits. Bass’ complete game marked the fourth of his career, and at the time of this writing he hasn’t allowed an earned run over his last three appearances, spanning 16.2 innings pitched.
The game against Swarthmore didn’t start pretty, as the Bears found themselves in early trouble. The Garnet capitalized on two walks, a hit, and a passed ball to plate an unearned run on the righty and take a 1-0 lead. Bass stranded a runner in scoring position with a strikeout to keep the deficit at one.
Ursinus responded in the second inning,though, scoring two runs on one hit and a walk to take a 2-1 lead. Barrett led off with a walk, advanced to second on a stolen base and moved to third on a wild pitch. Next, Rosenfeld followed with an RBI single to center to tie the game. A sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch moved Rosenfeld to third before an RBI groundout by Mitchell Garber ‘26 gave the Bears a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Bass allowed a one-out walk, but a caught stealing and a groundout ended the threat. He carried that momentum into the third, striking out two batters and stranding a runner to keep Ursinus ahead by one.
The Bears added an insurance run in the fourth inning as Barrett led off with a double before Nestor doubled to extend the lead to 3-1. In the bottom half, Bass recorded his fourth and fifth strikeouts while retiring the side in order.
Ursinus broke through in the fifth, scoring three runs on one hit, three walks and a defensive error to extend the lead to 6-1. Callahan drew a leadoff walk before Kopec singled, and Shane Beaver ‘26 was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. After a pitching change, Barrett walked to force in a run, and Rosenfeld reached on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-1. A wild pitch brought in another run before a flyout ended the inning.
Bass retired the Garnet in order in the fifth, his second consecutive 1-2-3 inning, extending his streak to seven straight batters retired. The Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, native recorded two groundouts and a popout to maintain the lead.
Ursinus added a run in the sixth on a Kopec single, before erupting for six runs in the seventh to take a 13-1 advantage. In the seventh, Kopec recorded an RBI single, while Isaac Gesford ‘28 drew a bases-loaded walk. Ursinus then capitalized on a Swarthmore throwing error to score two runs, before Rosenfeld added an RBI infield single.
Bass returned for the seventh and final inning, opening with his sixth strikeout. After allowing a single, he needed just four pitches to induce a flyout and a groundout to close out the victory.
The win was huge for the Bears, coming against a Centennial Conference opponent. They now sit 3-3 in conference play.
Overall this has been a pretty successful season for the Bears Baseball team! It remains to be seen if this team can be the first team since 2017 to make the big dance. However, signs are pointing in a positive direction, with a bright future for the young squad
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