Rebuilding the Rams

MOUNT VERNON - Cornell College plans to renovate the Ash Park baseball field for its next upgrade to athletics facilities.

Seth Wing has already started the program's rebuilding process.

In his third season as Rams head baseball coach, Wing has guided Cornell within one win of matching the combined total of his first two years at the helm. The Rams improved to 19-9 with a home doubleheader sweep Saturday over Illinois College.

Effort and attitude have been a driving force, resulting in a tie atop the Midwest Conference South Division with a 7-3 league mark.

'They show up every single day and work hard,” said Wing, a baseball and football standout in high school and college. 'It doesn't matter if it's the last guy on the bench or our star player. They are all in together and it's been really fun to be a part of and watch.”

Wing, a Maquoketa native, took over after eight years as an assistant at Winona State; including the final three as associate head coach. He helped lead the Warriors to the 2011 NCAA Division II finals, placing second.

Winona State averaged more than 30 wins a season with Wing on staff. His first task was to change the expectations. Cornell managed just three wins in 2011, but increased that total to eight in Wing's first season and 12 last year.

'They had to trust me and getting them to believe in the culture,” said Wing, noting his appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship with Winona State before arriving Mount Vernon and the benefit of a strong group of assistants. 'They saw that I did that and believed in what I was talking to them about and that was half the battle.”

Sophomore Max Freilinger, who drove in the game-winning run against rival Coe, recognized the potential in the program when the former Muscatine standout chose to play at Cornell.

'He changed it from accepting losses to expecting to win,” Freilinger said. 'He's done a good job getting the right guys in the right positions.”

Cornell leads the Midwest Conference with a 3.61 earned-run average, which is almost a whole run better than No. 2 Beloit. The successful turnaround, however, started at the plate. Cornell has continued to make offensive strides, lead the conference with a .320 batting average. The Rams are second in hits, doubles and total bases. They rank third in runs.

'Coach Wing has us working really hard,” said Cornell catcher Buddy Mattern, who leads the team in RBIs. 'We do a lot of hitting drills.

'One thing is people see we do a lot of execution with two outs. That is really important.”

Wing has done it with mostly his own players. Twenty-eight players on the Rams' 34-man roster are freshmen and sophomore. Resilience and finishing games strong have been emphasized. The mentality has allowed them to overcome mistakes.

'We have been up and down, which shows we are still young,” Wing said. 'If we can be consistent, we have a bright future ahead of us this year.”

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