St. Scholastica trio leads UMAC baseball awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After the College of St. Scholastica compiled its fourth-straight 30-win season and won a 21st-consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) baseball title, the champion Saints took three of the top four postseason honors and headlined the all-conference field with a best nine selections, the UMAC announced Tuesday.
Corey Kemp earned his third-straight UMAC Coach of the Year title as voted by his peers after leading the Saints to a perfect 16-0 record in the regular UMAC season, while junior Steven Neutzling was selected Player of the Year and first-year Joey Zwak was named Rookie of the Year. Runner-up Bethany Lutheran College saw senior star Brandyn Olsen picked as Pitcher of the Year.
Under Kemp's direction, the Saints recorded their first undefeated conference season since 2013 and went on to win their 20th-straight UMAC postseason title with three wins in the conference tournament last week. The Saints are currently ranked No. 23 in the nation and will make their 13th-straight and 14th-overall appearance in the NCAA tournament beginning Thursday as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
This season, the Saints were among some of the best teams in the country in several statistical categories. The Saints currently rank second in Division III for shutouts (10), sixth in scoring (9.1 runs per game), ninth in slugging percentage (.502) and 12th in batting average (.335). Outside of the UMAC, the Saints went 5-1 against teams from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and hold a 4-2 record against teams in the upcoming regional – that includes a split with No. 1 seed Wisconsin-Whitewater and a sweep of No. 5-seed and first-round opponent University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
In conference games, the Saints dominated nearly every hitting and pitching category this season. They were first in average (.383), runs (206), hits (215), doubles (55), triples (7), home runs (13), RBI (183), slugging (.575), walks (99), fewest strikeouts (46), on-base (.481) and sacrifice flies (15). On the mound, the Saints' pitching staff led the UMAC with a earned run average (ERA) of 1.80 – the next best ERA was over 3.50. They also compiled five shutouts and held opponents to a conference-low average of .208.
The Saints talented lineup helped spur yet another successful season, but Neutzling took the top individual honor after another outstanding season at the plate for the champs. The junior outfielder ranked in the top five in UMAC games this season in runs (23), RBI (21) and home runs (4). He was in the top 10 for doubles (6) and slugging (.614) and boasted 17 hits and a .420 on-base percentage. Neutzling also had two or more hits in four conference games this season.
Overall, Neutzling was even more impressive – his 47 runs rank first in the UMAC and 48th in Division III, while his 46 RBI and nine home runs were also best in overall games. The three-time All-UMAC selection was third in slugging (.636) and fifth in hits (52). He also was a clutch player all season, especially in big games for the Saints. In a week where the Saints went 5-1 against WIAC teams, Neutzling recorded at least one hit in 6-of-7 games that week and earned a spot on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week.
As valuable as Neutzling was for the Saints, Olsen was just as important for a Bethany Lutheran squad that surged to s tie for second place after missing the postseason in 2016. The Vikings' senior was unbeatable during the regular season earning a UMAC-best four conference wins and overall-best eight wins on the mound. His lone loss of the season didn't come until Friday in the UMAC tournament against the Saints. His eight wins rank 26th in the nation, while his UMAC-best 6.04 hits allowed per nine innings is 21st in the nation. The senior hurler also compiled 89 strikeouts which ranks 15th in Division III. Olsen also compiled a 2.34 ERA in 73 innings pitched this season.
In conference play, Olsen pitched 33 innings of solid baseball where he earned a 2.45 ERA and posted a league-best three complete games. He allowed just 17 hits to UMAC foes in the regular season and held opponents to an impressive .152 average. His 42 strikeouts were also tops in the league and he recorded 10 or more in conference games twice this season including a 17-strikeout performance against Northland College. In addition to his pitching, Olsen led the UMAC in conference average (.53), hits (35), RBI (26), slugging (.848), and on-base (.588). He was also a D3baseball.com Team of the Week performer this spring.
As a rookie, Zwak made quite an impression on the UMAC as the Saints' lead-of man. He ranked fourth in conference play for batting average (.438) and compiled 28 hits – third most in league play. He was also in the top five for runs (23), triples (3), total bases (40), walks (13) and on-base percentage (.531). In overall play, he finished with a .333 average, 36 runs, 53 hits, 10 doubles, 32 RBI and a .434 slugging percentage.
Neutzling and Zwak were two of nine Saints and 26 total players to claim All-UMAC First-Team honors. They were joined by senior Brian Minks who earned his third-straight First Team selection after being last year's Player of the Year. Trevor Bernsdorf earned his fourth all-conference accolade and third First Team selection of his career which includes the 2015 Player of the Year award. Fellow senior Tyler Duex was a First Team performer for the third time in his career after missing last season due to injury.
Senior pitcher Martin Alcoverde was a repeat First Team honoree for St. Scholastica, while senior Grant Rindal and sophomores Riley Bernsdorf and Ben Christofferson were All-UMAC honorees for the first time in their careers.
Tyler Osborn of the University of Northwestern was the lone player on the All-UMAC list to be recognized First Team all four years of his collegiate career. Other back-to-back First Team honorees include Alex Elliott (Northland), Chandler Erickson (University of Minnesota Morris), Chad Patko (University of Wisconsin-Superior) and Ryan Sutterer (University of Northwestern).
Runner-up Bethany Lutheran had six first team selections headlined by Olsen who was an Honorable Mention last season. All five others including Alex Babcock, John Brown, Jordan Grams, Cody Leitner and Trent Saharek earned recognition for the first time in their careers. Minnesota Morris tied Bethany Lutheran for the runner up spot and had three First Team selections in addition to Erickson including senior pitcher Michael Dockendorf who was Honorable Mention in 2015, Tyler Hannan who was Honorable Mention in 2016 and rookie Lucas Luedtke.
The First Team list was rounded out by first-time honorees in Anthony Corrado (Northland), Jake Morris (Northland) and Brett Reinhart (Northwestern).
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. North Central University earned the honor this season. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Steven Neutzling, Jr., St. Scholastica
Pitcher of the Year Award^ – Brandyn Olsen, Sr., Bethany Lutheran
Rookie of the Year Award# – Joey Zwak, Fy., St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year Award – Corey Kemp, St. Scholastica
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Martin Alcoverde |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Pitcher |
Tucson, Ariz./Sahurita |
| Alex Babcock |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Pitcher |
Ramsey, Minn./Elk River |
| Riley Bernsdorf |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Catcher |
Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood |
| Trevor Bernsdorf |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
Elmer, Minn./Floodwood |
| John Brown |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Outfield |
Lake City, Minn./Lincoln Secondary |
| Ben Christofferson |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Pitcher |
Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo |
| Anthony Corrado |
Jr. |
Northland |
Utility |
Joliet, Ill./Minooka Community |
| Michael Dockendorf |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Pitcher |
Howard Lake, Minn./Howard Lake-Waverly |
| Tyler Duex |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Infield |
Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls |
| Alex Elliott |
Jr. |
Northland |
Infield |
Middleton, Wis./Middleton |
| Chandler Erickson |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Catcher |
Chokio, Minn./Chokio-Alberta |
| Jordan Grams |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Infield |
Mankato, Minn./Mankato East |
| Tyler Hannan |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Pitcher |
Delano, Minn./Delano |
| Cody Leitner |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Pitcher |
Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing |
| Lucas Luedtke |
Fy. |
Minnesota Morris |
Utility |
River Falls, Wis./River Falls |
| Brian Minks |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Infield |
St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral |
| Jake Morris |
So. |
Northland |
Pitcher |
Valparaiso, Ind./Boone Grove |
| Steven Neutzling* |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral |
| Brandyn Olsen^ |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Utility |
Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area |
| Tyler Osborn |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Outfield |
Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Christian |
| Chad Patko |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Infield |
Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward |
| Brett Reinhart |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Infield |
Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian |
| Grant Rindal |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Pitcher |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Trent Saharek |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Outfield |
San Clemente, Calif./Saddleback Valley Christian |
| Ryan Sutterer |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Infield |
Anoka, Minn./Anoka |
| Joey Zwak# |
Fy. |
St. Scholastica |
Infield |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Cory Albertson |
Fy. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Outfield |
Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater |
| Harry Ballantyne |
Sr. |
Crown |
Outfield |
Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South |
| Caleb Christopher |
Fy. |
Martin Luther |
Infield |
Sharpsburg, Ga./Michigan Lutheran Seminary |
| Drew Colvard |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Outfield |
Little Canada, Minn./Roseville |
| Jakob Freele |
Jr. |
Northland |
Outfield |
Grass Valley, Calif./Nevada Union |
| Nathan Ehnstrom |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Utility |
Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin |
| Jackson Gessell |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Outfield |
Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids |
| Nolan Grose |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Infield |
Waterville, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown |
| Joe Gonrowski |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Pitcher |
Elk River, Minn./Elk River |
| Kevin Harris |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Outfield |
El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa |
| Cory Kukkola |
So. |
North Central |
Infield |
Fountain Hills, Ariz./Fountain Hills |
| Sam Lehman |
So. |
Northland |
Catcher |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
| Jason Lindemann |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Catcher |
Egg Harbor, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Braxton Lindow |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Utility |
Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls |
| Donnie Mavencamp |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Outfield |
Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake |
| Tanner Pruett |
Jr. |
Crown |
Pitcher |
Newman, Calif./Orestimba |
| Brandon Scott |
Jr. |
North Central |
Utility |
Chicago, Ill./Timothy Christian |
| Richard Vanden Branden |
Sr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Pitcher |
Neenah, Wis./St. Mary's Central |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – North Central
Bethany Lutheran – Walker Linde, Jr., Wells, Minn./United South Central
Crown – Luke Meyer, Jr., Willmington, Ohio/Willmington
Martin Luther – Jonathan Kock, Sr., Mequon, Wis./Luther Prep
Minnesota Morris – Mitch Reller, Sr., Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area
North Central – Bryce Reige, So., Marshall, Wis./Marshall
Northland – Sam Lehman, So., Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon
Northwestern – Braxton Lindow, Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls
St. Scholastica – Trevor Bernsdorf, Sr., Elmer, Minn./Floodwood
Wisconsin-Superior – Brady Stocker, Jr., River Falls, Wis./River Falls