DULUTH, Minn. – For the first time ever the St. Scholastica baseball team will be competing in an eight-team NCAA Regional Tournament when action begins Wednesday at Prucha Field in Whitewater, Wis.
Game Time:
Wednesday vs. North Park – 4 p.m. (Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium)
GameDay Media:
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Last Action:
The Saints went 3-0 at the UMAC Tournament to win the title for the 15th straight year. The Saints defeated Northland College 8-1 and then Bethany Lutheran College 10-8. In the championship game, the Saints fell behind 4-0 before scoring nine unanswered runs to win 9-5.
No. 6 Seed-St. Scholastica Saints (33-9, 21-0 UMAC)
The Saints are coming off their 16th straight UMAC regular season title and 15th consecutive UMAC Tournament title … The Saints enter the regional on a 12-game winning streak and winners of 27 of their last 28 games … This is CSS's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance overall and its eighth consecutive … This will be the first 8-team NCAA regional the Saints have competed in in program history … CSS is ranked 23rd in this week's D3baseball.com poll … It is the first time they are ranked since the week 1 poll … Junior
Kyle Flagstad (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson HS) leads the Saints at the plate with a .451 batting average and a .746 slugging percentage … He is second on the team with 48 RBIs and seven triples and tied for the team lead with three home runs … Flagstad is also 12-for-12 on stolen base attempts and has reached base in the last 28 consecutive games … Senior
Kyle Moody (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) leads the team with 54 RBIs and 16 doubles … His .393 batting average is second on the team … Freshman
Parker Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minn.-Duluth)) has come on strong at the plate as of late as he has recorded three or more hits in four of the last six games … Olson had three hits in each of the last two games of last week's UMAC Tournament and also recorded three RBIs in each game…Another freshman
Jesse Heaton (Heyworth, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic HS ) enters the regional on a 13-game hitting streak … On the pitching staff,
Jake Nystrom (Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) leads the team with seven victories and 55 strikeouts …
Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) had five wins and a 2.55 earned run average … Jensen is second on the team with 45 strikeouts …
Thomas Rogers (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS ), the closer for the Saints, has a 0.42 earned run average and opponents are only hitting .176 off of him … CSS lost two of its top five pitchers this season due to injury in
Andy Davis (Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell HS ) and
David Vogelgesang (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) … Davis was lost for the season at the beginning of the season and Vogelgesang was lost mid-year.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 3rd in Batting Avg. (.345), 4th in Slugging Pct. (.501), 5th in Doubles per game (2.51), 9th in Triples per game (0.56), 10th in Triples (22); Kyle Flagstad (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson HS): 7th in Batting Avg. (.459), 7th in Triples per game (0.21), 9th in Triples (7), 11th in Slugging Pct. (.780), 13th in On-Base Pct. (.530); Kyle Moody (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ): 15th in RBIs per game (1.32).
No. 3-North Park University Vikings (32-12, 14-7 CCIW)
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Conference: Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
Notables: The Vikings won the regular season ad tournament championship of the CCIW to capture the automatic qualifier … It was the first time since 1990 that the Vikings captured the tournament championship … Tony Sanchez leads the team with a .390 batting average, six home runs and 58 RBIs … Ryan Javech is second on the team with 42 RBIs … Matt Rice is 22-for-25 on stolen base attempts … On the mound, Steve Kuligowski is 11-2 overall with a 2.57 earned run average … Nick Soldano has a 3.00 ERA with a team-high 93 strikeouts.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 2nd in Double Plays (53), 2nd in Double Plays per game (1.36); Steve Kuligowski: 2nd in Victories (10); Nick Soldano: 13th in Strikeouts (86).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. North Park: 0-0)
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
No. 1-University of St. Thomas Tommies (34-8, 19-1 MIAC)
Location: St. Paul, Minn.
Conference: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Notables: The Tommies won the regular season title in the MIAC, but fell in the tournament championship to Saint John's on Sunday and received an at-large bid … St. Thomas is in the regional tournament for the 17th time in the last 18 years and the 18th time overall … The Tommies are ranked fourth in this week's D3baseball.com poll … Dylan Thomas leads the Tommies at the plate with a .390 batting average … Thomas is also 6-2 on the rubber with 64 strikeouts … Charles Bruchu has a team-high 13 doubles, five home runs and 39 RBIs … Steve Maher is 11-1 on the year with a 2.18 ERA and 84 strikeouts … Bryce Gapinski is 8-0 with a 1.68 ERA.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 1st in Fielding Pct. (.980), 1st in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (3.3); Steve Maher: 2nd in Victories (10); Dylan Thomas: 15th in Strikeouts per nine innings (10.73).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. St. Thomas: 14-21)
The Tommies swept the Saints to begin the season in the Metrodome winning game one 3-2 and game two 4-3. The Saints led by two runs in each game, before the Tommies rallied, including winning the nightcap on a walk-off.
No. 2-University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles (33-9, 21-2 WIAC)
Location: La Crosse, Wis.
Conference: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Notables: The Eagles won the WIAC regular season and tournament championship to receive the automatic qualifier … It was the second tournament title in program history (2000) … The Eagles are ranked 13th in this week's D3baseball.com poll … Jay Fanta leads the team with .420 batting average … Four Eagles have 30 RBIs or more on the year … Brooks Braga had nine home runs and Cole Cefalu has 36 RBIs … On the mound, Kevin Johnson has a 5-0 record with a 0.83 ERA … Tim Verthein has a team-high 58 strikeouts.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Kevin Johnson: 4th in Earned Run Avg. (0.95).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. UW-La Crosse: 3-0)
The Saints swept the Eagles in the Metrodome this season, winning game one 5-4 in eight innings and game two 5-3. The Eagles committed four errors in the first game as
Parker Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minn.-Duluth)) had the game-winning single.
Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) scattered four hits to earn the win in game two.
No. 4-University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (29-15, 16-8 WIAC)
Location: Whitewater, Wis.
Conference: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Notables: The Warhawks received an at-large berth after finishing second in the WIAC in the regular season and fell in the tournament championship to UW-La Crosse on Saturday … The Warhawks advanced to the Division III World Series a season ago after defeating CSS in the regional final … The Warhawks are making their fifth straight NCAA Regional Tournament appearance and 14th overall … Marty Herum leads the Whitewater offense with a .412 batting average and 57 RBIs … On the pitching staff, Eric Schmitz is 8-2 with a team-best 2.72 ERA.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 6th in Home Runs per game (0.85), 7th in Home Runs (33), 9th in Slugging Pct. (.484); Marty Herum: 8th in RBIs per game (1.38), 9th in RBIs (51).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. UW-Whitewater: 2-7)
The Saints split a doubleheader with the Warhawks in Whitewater this season. CSS won the first game 5-4 in 10 innings.
Tom Juberian (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids HS) had four hits and the game-winning RBI. The Warhawks took the nightcap 4-2.
No. 5-Concordia University-Chicago (33-12, 17-5 NAC)
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Conference: Northern Athletic Conference
Notables: The Cougars received an at-large bid out of the Northern Athletic Conference … The Cougars finished tied for second in the conference during the regular season and then fell in the NAC Tournament championship to Aurora … Anthony Even leads the team with a .442 batting average and 22 doubles … Dan Eichholzer has a team-high 43 RBIs and seven triples … On the mound, Ryan Thorsen has a 6-2 record with a 1.75 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 1st in Hits (526), 2nd in Batting Avg. (.360), 2nd in Runs per game (9.1), 2nd in Sacrifice Flies (37), 6th in Fielding Pct. (.971); Anthony Even: 1st in Hits (79), 6th in Batting Avg. (.465), 13th in Total Bases (108), 15th in Doubles (19); Shawn Miller: 4th in Toughest to Strikeout (53.3), 15th in Hits (68); Dan Eichholzer: 9th in Triples (7), 15th in Triples per game (0.18); Nick Scala: 15th in Hit by Pitch (17).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Concordia-Chicago: 0-1)
The one and only time the Saints played Concordia-Chicago was 1996 and the Cougars won 8-5.
No. 7-Aurora University Spartans (36-8, 18-4 NAC)
Location: Aurora, Ill.
Conference: Northern Athletics Conference
Notables: For the third straight season, the Spartans earned the automatic qualifier for winning NAC Tournament and will be making their 20th NCAA Regional appearance overall and third straight … Aurora is ranked 17th in this week's D3baseball.com poll … Tim Mackey leads the team with a .400 batting average and 18 doubles … The Spartans have three players with over 50 RBIs on the year … Cory Walden has a team-high nine home runs … On the mound, Brad Warnecke is 7-0 with a 1.18 ERA and 55 strikeouts.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 4th in Batting Avg. (.344), 4th in Runs per game (8.7), 5th in Home Runs per game (0.85), 6th in Doubles (100), 6th in Doubles per game (2.5), 6th in Home Runs (34), 6th in Earned Run Avg. (2.53), 7th in Slugging Pct. (.497); Brett VanAsdlen: 4th in Sacrifice Flies (7), 4th in RBIs (55), 10th in RBIs per game (1.38); Ryan Adams: 4th in Runs (56), 5th in Runs per game (1.4); Tim Mackey: 7th in Runs per game (1.38), 10th in Runs (54), 15th in Stolen Bases (32); Josh Davidson: 12th in Stolen Bases per game (0.9); Brad Warnecke: 8th in Earned Run Avg. (1.19).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Aurora: 0-0)
The two programs have never met.
No. 8-St. Norbert College Green Knights (26-11, 14-2 Midwest)
Location: De Pere, Wis.
Conference: Midwest Conference
Notables: The Green Knights won the North Division in the Midwest Conference during the regular season and captured the conference tournament title and the automatic qualifier … This will be the third NCAA Regional Tournament appearance for the Green Knights … Matt Hannon leads the team with a .388 batting average … Garrick Fisher has a team-best 13 doubles and 43 RBIs … On the mound, Kevin Hutley is 4-3 with a 2.69 ERA and 43 strikeouts.
Notable NCAA Leaders: Team: 7th in Runs per game (8.5); Jordan Powers: 3rd on Base on Balls per game (1.09), 8th in Base on Balls (35), 9th in Runs per game (1.34).
Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. St. Norbert: 1-0)
The only time these two programs met was at the 2009 NCAA Oshkosh Regional when the Saints defeated the Green Knights 7-6 in 10 innings in an opening round matchup.
Brandon Peterson (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) was the only current Saint to play in that game.
