By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

As Aaron Shackelford stood outside a batting cage at Herwaldt Stadium this fall, something grabbed the shortstop’s attention.

He watched as Nick Tuttle swung with consistency and power he hadn’t regularly seen in 2018 when Tuttle impacted the game more with his legs than his bat.

“He’s gotten so much better,” Shackelford said.

The same, really, could be said of a lineup that struggled to produce runs last year, one of several issues that hampered the Mustangs’ ill-fated pursuit of a sixth straight trip to the NAIA national tournament.

The good news: Tuttle, a left fielder, and third baseman Kameron Quitno, both of whom started 40-plus games as a freshman last season, have taken decisive steps forward, and the team added punch with the arrival of two powerful transfers.

It all works to complement Shackelford and center fielder Max Maitland, seniors who stand on the edge of personal milestones as the season opens Wednesday at TMU.

The Mustangs were voted fifth in the Golden State Athletic Conference’s preseason coaches poll, but the group expects to ride veteran pitching and an improved offense back to the postseason.

“Our guys, one-through-nine, are capable of doing something great,” said Shackelford, TMU’s lone All-GSAC selection in 2018 after hitting .303 with team highs of 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.

He’ll bat near the top of the order along with Maitland, who enters the year 49 hits shy of becoming the program’s all-time leader.

Shackelford needs three homers to match TMU’s all-time mark (34), something he says doesn’t have his attention.

“I’m more excited about trying to get back to the World Series,” said Shackelford, who sees similarities between this team and the squads that advanced to the NAIA World Series in 2016 and 2017.

The 2017 team had a gritty two-way player in Jason Karkenny. This club has junior Kyle Adkins, who catches, pitches and likely will bat fifth.

The 2017 team had a power-hitting catcher in Jonah Jarrard. This team has Anthony Lepre, a transfer catcher from NCAA Division 1 UC Riverside who figures to hit in the middle of the lineup alongside Oklahoma Baptist transfer Roy Verdejo.

Another similarity: 2019’s camaraderie reminds Shackelford of 2016, when the club won 42 games and finished eighth at the series.

Last year, the Mustangs needed time to mesh and went 28-25, ending the season without a trip to the NAIA tournament for the first time since 2012.

Starting pitcher Robert Winslow says that hasn’t been on the team’s mind.

“We didn’t dwell on it,” the righty said. “We’re thinking about this year. We have a short-term memory.”

Winslow headlines a starting rotation that remains fluid. For now, the group extends to senior Eric Williams and juniors Adkins and Aidan Stout.

Winslow, a senior, has All-GSAC ability and is one season removed from posting a 2.95 ERA in 113 innings as a sophomore. Over the offseason, he fine-tuned his mechanics, integrating his legs more into his delivery and focusing on pitching to contact rather than relying on strikeouts.

For Williams and Stout, the season will be one of transition. Williams was a part-time starter a year ago, splitting 50 innings between starting and relieving. He had a 3.06 ERA.

Stout started five games as a freshman in 2017 but none last year, instead working as one of the team’s most-trusted relievers (3.76 ERA in 55 innings). Still, Brooks believes the high-leverage situations have prepared Stout to start.

“He’s been in the thick of the storm,” said Brooks.

The bullpen is led by another player who’s been in the thick of it. Caleb Jaime pitched 32 innings last season as a freshman, many of them in crunch time. Eleven of his 17 outings were scoreless.

He’ll be joined this season by righties Nick Brooks, Quitno and Byron Smith (a transfer from Point Loma Nazarene), among others. Each will have the benefit of pitching in front of a defense that regularly has been among the nation’s best in recent years. This year the unit will be particularly flexible.

Junior Ryan Bricker, who caught most of last season, will start the year at second base, with speedy freshman Will Batz seeing time in the outfield. Smith, Adkins and Adam Rubio, all three of which can catch, are expected to see time at first base.