The overcast skies last Friday afternoon over Kirchhoff Field at Gettysburg College may have been an indicator of the 13-10 close loss vs. Johns Hopkins, but they have not been an indicator of the Gettysburg Bullets’ 2025 baseball season. I was able to catch up with fellow Biglerville alum and friend Logan Reever, Strength and Conditioning coach for Gettysburg Baseball.
“Our guys showed great resiliency coming back from 5-0; it was a little back and forth for a while.” Reever continued, “Sometimes when you face outstanding pitching, like we did today, they’re going to get your number, but then you’re going to get their number sometimes. The key for us moving forward is to continue to play the game clean.” Despite recent setbacks, this team is built perfectly to bounce back and make a deep run in the Centennial Conference.
The Bullets are 23-5 (splitting a doubleheader at Haverford on Saturday) and having their best season in over a decade. Already with more wins than all of last season, they have surpassed the win totals of teams from 2015, 2016, & 2017, the winningest records for Gettysburg baseball. After starting the season 16-0, the Bullets were ranked number 21 in the nation, according to D3baseball.com.
“We were playing every day when we were down in Florida,” said Reever, “Eight games in eight days is a challenge, but that speaks to the depth of the team.” The team of 45 men was putting out entirely different lineups during the trip to Florida and returned from that eight-day trip 8-0. “That start is a testament to their resiliency and confidence. This team is much more confident than last year, and when a team can play with confidence and is gelling well, it’s a lot easier to play the game. This is a very chemistry-oriented and momentum-driven sport.”
Coach Reever is in the second year of his Bullets tenure and has impacted this team in terms of both off-season and in-season workout regimens. He was modest but said, “I have my part to play in developing their athleticism, but these kids are extremely talented and extremely intelligent, and it’s just a matter of giving them the right ingredients to build their own recipes.” Head Coach Cory Beddick and his staff are the real heroes, hitting the recruiting trails up and down the East Coast during the summer months. Finding players that fit their dynamic play style has been paramount in this team’s success. Reever said, “The level of commitment that these coaches have, from the scouting reports to the player development, it’s a blessing to be a part of a program that takes care of the whole athlete both on and off the field.”
Head coach Cory Beddick is in his third season at the helm and a former Gettysburg College baseball player, playing under all-time coach John Campo and graduating in 2010. When asked about his fellow coaches, Reever said, “The camaraderie that has come in is really refreshing.” He continued about his head coach, “A former player coming in and taking over for a longtime coach, there’s that transition of that old legacy, and he understands the tradition of excellence and the expectations. He has done a great job meeting those expectations; he has a history of success, and this ain’t his first rodeo.” Coach Beddick has had success before Gettysburg at Hood College and then Washington College.
One of the most significant factors in the success of Gettysburg College Baseball is the complete buy-in from all 45 guys on the team. From what I saw at Friday’s game, the entire team was up either along the fence or standing in the dugout all game long, cheering on their teammates. The constant positive reinforcement from teammates was also adamantly clear throughout the game. “These kids are bought into their development, starting with the captains. Those guys have some of the best work ethics on the team, and it trickles down to the younger athletes. They set a precedent for what we expect from them,” Reever said about his team. He also said, “These guys respect when you are firm with them, when you have to get real with one and pull them aside and talk to them man to man and tell them, hey you’re not finishing your workouts, I need more from you, they immediately make a change. Then we get to celebrate them stepping up and changing.”
Gettysburg is currently ranked #16 in the country, and with just under three weeks left of the season, all that remains is the gauntlet of Centennial Conference games. After a week of conference play, the Bullets will look to regain their early-season momentum against Dickinson College today, April 9th, at Kirchhoff Field in Gettysburg and then up the road on Friday, April 11th, at Dickinson.
Gettysburg College baseball has a chance to write itself into history this season and bring Bullets baseball back to its rightful place atop the Centennial Conference. This team certainly appears to have the pieces and the mindset to do some damage in their conference and make a postseason run. They are holding the pen in their hand; they just have to decide how to write their ending.
