DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team will open its 2014 season on Friday when it takes on ninth-ranked and regional rival University of St. Thomas at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla.
Game Schedule: (Changes to Original Schedule)
Friday's games:
10:00 am: St. Thomas vs. St. Scholastica
1:00 pm: St. Thomas vs. Buena Vista
4:00 pm: UW-La Crosse vs. Buena Vista
7:00 pm: UW-La Crosse vs. St. Scholastica
Saturday's games:
10:00 am: St. Thomas vs. Buena Vista
1:00 pm: St. Thomas vs. UW-La Crosse
4:00 pm: St. Scholastica vs. UW-La Crosse
7:00 pm: St. Scholastica vs. Buena Vista
- The Saints are coming off their 17th consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship and 16th straight UMAC Tournament title in 2013.
-2013 proved to be an interesting year for the Saints as they did not play a single regular season home game at Wade Stadium. The only games played in Duluth were the UMAC Tournament.
-The conference schedule was also reduced from 21 games to 14 games to get all contests in on time. That ultimately resulted in the Saints' streak of consecutive 30-win seasons to end at 14.
-CSS made the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year and once again made noise at the Whitewater regional. For the third straight year, CSS was amongst the final three teams at the regional and were two wins away from a regional crown. The Saints defeated two top five teams at the regional in second-ranked St. Thomas and fifth-ranked UW-Whitewater. The win over the Warhawks was the first in program history in postseason play.
-Gone from last year's team is two-time UMAC Player of the Year
Kyle Flagstad (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson HS), along with all-region performers
Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) and
Jake Casareto (International Falls, Minn./Falls HS).
-The Saints have been picked again to win the UMAC, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
-CSS welcomes back a strong pitching corps from starters thru relievers. Junior
Mickie Keuning (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Angelo State)) returns after being named a third team ABCA All-Midwest region choice last year and a second team selection by D3baseball.com. He led the UMAC with a 1.19 earned run average.
-Fellow junior
Andy Davis (Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell HS ) is also back. Davis finished third on the team in strikeouts last season after missing the 2012 season due to injury.
-Sophomore
Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) pitched in big games as a freshman, including going 6.1 innings at the NCAA Regional against eventual regional champion UW-Stevens Point.
-Senior
Thomas Rogers (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS ) holds the program record for career saves () and has been more than reliable on the backend of the staff the past two seasons. Rogers had a program record nine saves last season, including a three-inning save in the regional victory over St. Thomas.
-The pitchers will also be throwing to familiar catchers as senior
Tyler Henderson (Chisago Lakes, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) and sophomore
Jake Kuschke (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS ) are both back. Henderson recorded at least one hit in three of the four NCAA Regional games last season, while Kuschke threw out a team-best nine base runners on 18 stolen base attempts
-The 2013 UMAC Rookie of the Year
Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) is back in the outfield for the Saints, but will miss time early in the season due to injury.
Padraic Getchell (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS (North Dakota) ) and
Jesse Heaton (Heyworth, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic HS ) also are back in the outfield.
-The infield will see a lot of new faces. The lone returner is senior
Parker Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minn.-Duluth)) at second base. The left side will be entirely new.
-As far as newcomers, this year's class includes two 2013 All-State selections in
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ), St. Cloud Cathedral High School, and
Trevor Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS (Doane) ), Floodwood High School. Minks and Bernsdorf earned their honors during senior seasons where they helped lead their respective high schools to state tournaments.
-Two transfers join the Saints for 2014.
Ryan Burmeister (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS (Augustana, S.D.) ) transfers in as a junior from DII Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D. Burmeister played in 48 games over his two years at Augustana. He is joined by UW-Superior sophomore transfer
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ), who started 28 games as a freshman.
-Since the Metrodome has been torn down, teams around the Midwest have had to find alternatives for early season games. Two years ago St. Thomas coach Chris Olean got ahold of Tulsa and the Saints, Eagles and Beavers jumped on immediately. The Saints will also play four games down in the Chicagoland area at the end of March.
-This year will also see a new broadcaster for the Saints as recent grad and 2013 Co-Team MVP
Thomas Jezierski (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) joins the booth. Jezierski's father, Steve Jezierski, broadcasts the CSS men's and women's hockey games.
-The Tommies dominated the MIAC a season ago, going 19-1 in league play and winning the conference by eight games.
-After capturing the MIAC Tournament title, the Tommies finished 1-2 at the Whitewater Regional, falling to CSS and Case Western Reserve (Ohio).
-St. Thomas has been projected to win the MIAC again this season as the unanimous favorite, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
-St. Thomas welcomes back 2013 MIAC MVP Tim Kuzniar to the outfield along with all-region catcher J.D. Dorgan.
-Ben Podobinski has 102 hits, 39 walks and 42 steals from the leadoff spot in his first two seasons as a Tommie.
-On the mound, the Tommies lose two-time Region Pitcher of the Year Dylan Thomas, but bring back All-American Steve Maher. Also Colin Wendinger will enter the 2013 season with a scoreless innings streak at 30.
-In the infield, the Tommies lost all-region shortstop Jon Kinsel.
