St. Scholastica is coaches pick in UMAC baseball preseason poll
2013 UMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. 49 Points - College of St. Scholastica (7 First Place Votes)
2. 40 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
3. 37 Points - Northwestern College (1)
4. 32 Points - Northland College
5. 23 Points - University of Minnesota Morris
6. 18 Points - Martin Luther College
7. 15 Points - North Central University
8. 10 Points - Crown College
ST. PAUL -- The College of St. Scholastica, winner of every UMAC regular season championship since 1997, is the favorite to win the league again in 2013 according to a poll of the league’s coaches.
1. College of St. Scholastica Saints
2012 Overall Record: 35-11
2012 UMAC Record: 21-0
2012 UMAC Finish: 1
Starters Returning: 12
Starters Lost: 4
The St. Scholastica baseball team advanced to the final day of the NCAA Regional Tournament for second straight year in 2012. The 2013 squad will be deeper and head coach Corey Kemp hopes will be healthier as it looks to get over the hump and advance to the NCAA Division III World Series. The Saints, who are ranked 22nd in the D3baseball.com preseason poll, made the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight year and won its 16th consecutive UMAC regular season title and 15th straight UMAC Tournament championship in 2012. The Saints ran the table in UMAC play with a 21-0 record for the first time since the 2006 season. As the Saints cruised through UMAC play into the NCAA Regional Tournament in Whitewater, Wis. for the third straight year, they won their first two games, both in dramatic fashion, for the first time in program history. Unfortunately, CSS lost back-to-back games vs. eventual regional champion St. Thomas and host UW-Whitewater.
Back from last year’s squad is first team ABCA All-Midwest Region selection and UMAC Player of the Year senior Kyle Flagstad. Flagstad had a team-high .424 batting average, .698 slugging percentage, 38 runs scored, eight triples, 96 total bases and 12-for-12 in stolen bases in 2012. Other key cogs back in the infield for CSS are senior Kyle Jensen, senior Andy Schwantes, senior Jake Casareto, junior Parker Olson and sophomore John Hietpas. In the outfield, the Saints will have a lot of speed as David Vogelgesang returns from injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season. Sophomore Jesse Heaton also returns and newcomers Padraic Getchell and Austin Colvard will make an instant impact. Behind the plate, the Saints will have to replace 2011 UMAC Player of the Year Kyle Moody. Junior Tyler Henderson has seen a lot of action his first two years, but lookout for freshman Jake Kuschke to get a lot of looks as well.
CSS returns most of the arms from last season, with exception of setup man Ben Grieger. 2012 Co-UMAC Pitcher of the Year senior Jake Nystrom leads the staff. The aforementioned Jensen and Vogelgesang are also back. Mickie Keuning, who tossed a no-hitter last season, returns as does Andy Davis, who missed most of last season due to injury. Junior Thomas Rogers had one of the best seasons in CSS history as a reliever in 2012. Rogers, who was the closer for the Saints, had a minuscule 0.28 ERA in 16 appearances. He was 2-0 with four saves and allowed only 17 hits in 32.2 innings. At the Whitewater Regional, Rogers allowed only four hits in 11 innings and recorded a win and a save.
2. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
2012 Overall Record: 22-17
2012 UMAC Record: 14-5
2012 UMAC Finish: 2
Starters Returning: 5
Starters Lost: 6
The Bethany Lutheran baseball team brings back a strong contingent, including two UMAC award winners, from a second place regular season finish a year ago. UMAC Co-pitcher of the year, Garrett Benson, returns for his senior season. In 12 appearances and ten starts, he led the Vikings in wins with seven while striking out 50 batters in 71 innings and allowing an opposition batting average of just .200. UMAC Rookie of the Year, Adam Geiger, returns to the Vikings infield after batting .311 in his freshman season, hit three home runs and led the team in RBIs with 35.
Sophomore Lucas Herd was also worthy of rookie of the year honors as he batted .370 and knocked in 27 runs to garner First Team All-Conference honors. Former UMAC Rookie of the Year, Dylan Gass hopes to come back into form after a stellar freshman campaign. Freshman Matt McPartland brings a lot to the table and will help offensively. Sophomore outfielder Joe Tuholsky is expected to have a big year as well.
Defensively, junior Mitch Sellers will help fill the void left by First Team All-Conference performer Tommy Kramer. Herd will move from right field to his more natural position of center field. Pitching figures to be the strength of this team with the return of Benson. Senior Jordan Sinell struck out 39 batters in 48 innings while allowing an opposition batting average of .265. The rotation will be rounded out with a trio of transfers in Aaron Page from Minnesota State, Mankato and a pair from Iowa Central Community College in Cory Ferm and Brady Collison.
Head coach Ryan Kragh is looking to get his team back into contention for both the UMAC regular season championship and tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA regionals. He feels like he has a good group of guys to accomplish it, if they stay healthy.
3. Northwestern College Eagles
2012 Overall Record: 26-16
2012 UMAC Record: 15-6
2012 UMAC Finish: 3
Starters Returning: 9
Starters Lost: 5
Northwestern returns to the field in 2013 with much success to build off of from the 2012 campaign after the Eagles’ 26 wins were second-best in program history. Head coach Dave Hieb recorded the 300th win of his career in the UMAC Tournament prior to being named the conference coach of the year after turning a 14-25 team into 26-16 a year later. A strong core of Hieb’s players from last season return, but of the five starters lost, three of them were starting pitchers.
All three of Northwestern’s UMAC All-Conference first teamers from 2012 are back in Andy Peterson, Cody Kielsa and Zach Markwith. Peterson, a starting pitcher who plays first base on his off-days, maintained a 3.66 ERA to go with 10 wins and 47 strikeouts last season. The now-junior saw plenty of time on the hill with 64 innings pitched and four complete games. Kielsa, who saw most of his time at third base last year, had the Eagles’ strongest bat with a .374 batting average and 41 runs on 52 hits, 18 of which went for extra bases. Markwith, a senior, has been strong on both offense and defense since arriving on campus from Hawaii four years ago. The center fielder, who will see more time on the mound in 2013, hit .312 last year with 11 stolen bases and a team best-31 runs batted in. Control pitcher Josh Balzer is another leader who will join Peterson and Markwith on the rubber this season. Balzer, another senior on Hieb’s roster, posted a 5.53 ERA last year while going 5-2.
Other reliable names on last season’s lineup card return in 2013 including Taylor Kauweloa, David Joseph and Andy Haagenson. Kauweloa and Joseph hovered around the .300 mark in the batter’s box in 2012 while Haagenson saw a majority of his 34 games played at the shortstop position. Cody Durkee (31 hits, 20 RBI) is also back at second base for his senior campaign.
4. Northland College LumberJacks
2012 Overall Record: 16-25
2012 UMAC Record: 9-12
2012 UMAC Finish: 4
Starters Returning: 11
Starters Lost: 0
Northland returns 17 of 19 players from their 2012 roster along with 12 new players to the program. After making the UMAC Tournament in 2012 the LumberJacks have high expectations of themselves in 2013. If Northland wants to continue to trend upwards they will need to improve in a few key areas. Offensively, the Jacks need to cut down on their strikeouts and make more consistent contact. Defensively, they must make all the routine plays to help support a pitching staff that lacks strikeout arms. Finally, from the pitching aspect Northland must limit walks and throw quality strikes early in the count.
Individually, Junior Peter Aerts and Senior Travis Hendrickson are returning First Team All-UMAC players from last season. Along with Honorable-Mention pick Matt Lennon they will lead an offense that has potential to be above average. Junior Brandon Bodart returns as an Honorable-Mention pick from 2012 and he will be charged with leading a pitching staff that must improve dramatically if the LumberJacks are to be considered a legitimate threat in the UMAC.
5. University of Minnesota Morris
2012 Overall Record: 6-30
2012 UMAC Record: 6-13
2012 UMAC Finish: 6
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 6
The Cougars will have a new man at the helm this year as Grant Harding takes over for Mark Fohl. This is the first time since 1986 the Cougars will have a new man in charge on the diamond. Harding will lead a team that returns the likes of Eric Terres and Logan Orazem from the 2012 squad. Terres led the team in hitting last season hitting at a .368 clip. Terress also led the team with a .443 on base percentage. Orazem is one of top arms returning for the Cougars in 2013.
Minnesota Morris is excited for newcomers Jason Hodson, Jake Schmitz and Dallas Coleman. All three will add depth to the new look Cougars and Hodson and Coleman provide depth on the mound.
6. Martin Luther College Knights
2012 Overall Record: 8-23
2012 UMAC Record: 6
2012 UMAC Finish: 7
Starters Returning: 8
Starters Lost: 1
The MLC baseball team is looking to take the next step as a program in 2013, hoping to secure a finish in the top half of the standings and a bid in the UMAC Postseason Tournament with a roster that returns a number of experienced players.
The Knights return eight players from their 2012 line-up, led by Honorable Mention All-UMAC honoree Aaron Stokke at catcher. Stokke led the Knights with 17 RBI and six doubles last season. He will be joined in the middle of the order by outfielder Andrew Nemmers, who led the team in batting average (.338) and slugging percentage (.408) as a freshman in 2012, while outfielders Jake Ziel and Joe Schmudlach, and infielders Galen Holzhueter, Brad Essig, Ben Edmundson and Tyler Dorn also return after starting last season. Newcomers Matt Olson, Wyatt Weimer and James Hemmelman could see time in the infield this season, while William Jensen and Dillon Rannow are options for Coach Randy Cox in the outfield.
MLC will also get a boost from a pair of experienced players who were not on the roster a season ago. Joe Janke was named All-UMAC in 2010 and honorable mention all-conference in 2011, and returns this season in the infield and on the mound. Joel Hering finished second on the team in batting average (.303) in 2011 before sitting out last season, and figures to see time at catcher and in the outfield.
The Knights return a group of experienced pitchers, led by junior Jake Ziel. Ziel led the Knights in innings (59.2), strikeouts (54), wins (three) and ERA (4.83) in 2012, and received honorable mention all-conference recognition for his efforts. He’ll be joined in the rotation by sophomore Andrew Nemmers, who showed promise throughout last season and finished with a record of 2-5, as well as Janke, who was the Knights’ top pitcher in 2010 and 2011. Hard-throwing freshman Matt Olson will join the rotation this year with the hopes of giving the Knights four solid arms at the front of the staff. Travis Kretsch, Hemmelman, Weimer, and Dorn will also see time on the mound this season.
7. North Central University Rams
2012 Overall Record: 17-20
2012 UMAC Record: 0-0
2012 UMAC Finish: N/A
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 6
The 2013 season will be the Rams' first season competing in the UMAC. Devin Lehnhof (P), Gary Ramos (OF/C/P), Ben Freitag (OF/C), Ian Andrews (IF) are four guys that return to help North Central continue taking forward steps in the first decade of the program's history. Devin is the ace, that will anchor a staff that has 9 pitchers. Devin has great control and keeps pitch count down. Gary will be his battery mate he has a plus arm that will slow down the running game. Ben will lead the outfield and continue to add a
spark at the top of the lineup. Ian will provide a big bat at first base and help stabilize a young infield.
Freshman Cody Van Sickle,will be penciled as the starting shortstop but will also be a major contributor to the pitching staff. He also has a plus arm that will help in the field and on the mound.
8. Crown College Storm
2012 Overall Record: 3-23
2012 UMAC Record: 3-19
2012 UMAC Finish: 8
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 6
This year’s Storm team marks the beginning of the rebuilding process. With 14 of 17 players being freshman, the success of the season will be determined on how the young players adjust to college baseball. This will be a trial by fire for many of them. Crown will be leaning to the few upperclassman on the roster to provide stability, leadership, and to help pave the way for the young guys for the future. As a team, the Storm is beginning to lay a foundation for the future with solid athletes who are quality young men.
The team will be thin on the mound, yet will hopefully make up for it with athleticism and hard work. The players hope to make great strides at the plate. Many are being rebuilt for the college game, and the progress is beginning to take shape. The Storm players are ready to compete, learn, and grow.
Following a full slate of nonconference games to start the season, all eight UMAC teams will begin their league schedules on Friday, March 29. After conference play, the top four teams will gather at Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minn. on May 9-11 for the UMAC Tournament, with the winner earning an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament. Prior to each team’s conference-opening weekend, all eight coaches will participate in an online chat on Wednesday, March 27 to talk about their team and individual performances to date. More details about the chat session will be available in March.