Minnesota Club Baseball

10/26/2013 - At Lakehead/Fall Recap

Minnesota capped off their fall portion of their schedule in Thunder Bay, Ontario against Lakehead University. The weekend did not go as planned. Game one MN fell 6-5. They made a late charge in the 6th and 7th inning but just fell short. Game 2 went in MN's favor from inning one. The offense put up 13 runs and Austin Ridl tossed four solid inning only giving up one run. He helped his own cause by going 3-3 at the plate as well. Game 3 was a nail biter. Sam Elliott pitched five strong innings giving up three. The game headed into extras where MN was shut out in the top of the eighth. In the bottom Lakehead started off the inning with a single, sac bunt moved him to second. A single had runners on first and third. An intentional walk loaded the bases. The next batter hit a ball just out of the reach of both diving middle infielders. The final was 5-4 in eight innings. It was a game that was fought hard by both sides and MN just came up short. MN was lead by Aaron Grossman at the plate this weekend. He went 5-8 in the three game set. In game two he went 3-3 with three runs scored. Austin Ridl was announced pitcher of the week for our conference. In the past two weekends we have had the pitcher of the week. It is great to see our pitchers getting the recognition they deserve. Congrats Austin!!!
 
 
With the fall portion over we figure we would give you a fall wrap up. MN was the only team in the conference to play three series against conference teams, leaving Winona State in the spring to cap off their conference schedule. Rumors are circulating that other non-conference teams have showed interest in having a weekend series in the spring.
 
 
The pitching staff has been a huge improvement from last year. With so many arms MN has to choose from, it makes the team that much more effective in the later innings and even come Sunday when the team still has some innings to get through. The staff has been led by second year starters Marshall Dalziel and Derek Plath. The Right-Left Combo has eaten up 22 innings recording a 1-1 with 18 strikeouts in 5 starts combined. The duo has shown signs of being extremely effective, in the spring series they will be looked upon to lead the team to the promise land and advance to the teams first playoff appearance in a long time. Freshmen sensation Sam Elliott has paved his way into the teams starting rotation after this past weekend. Sam made his presence known out of the bullpen in the first two series that showed he is ready for the big stage. Sam has tossed 9 strong innings, scattering 4 hits and 2 earned runs along the way. Sam will be an arm that will be used to get the team that game 3 victory in the spring.
 
 
The run production has been split up between the team. Each game there seems to be someone different getting on base and driving runs in. In the heart of the line up there is senior catcher Cody Anderson. He leads the team with 7 RBI's and 6 walks. The two speedsters of the team and always seem to see them on base are first year players Austin Ridl and Aaron Schwecke. They have a combined 4 stolen bases and a staggering .400 average together. Speed kills in this league and if you have guys getting on base and then advancing into scoring position without the use of a bat is always helpful. Other guys who have slipped through the cracks are Chris Sticha and Zach Pohlkamp. Chris has accumulated a .271 batting average with 7 RBI's. In Canada Chris really solidified himself as a solid fielder and a reliable hitter. Zach has managed to hit .364 with 2 RBI's. It took him a game or so to get back in the groove of things but he has hit the ball hard and good things have happened. The team is hitting a smooth .296, with an OBP of .405 and a slugging percentage of .342. In 9 games the team has only struck out an incredible 24 times. With striking out so little the team has made teams have to field the ball and the team has forced 13 errors. Like they always say put the ball in play and good things happen.
 
 
Over the winter we will do our best to keep the site up to date with updates and other non-sense info to keep you guys coming back. We would also like to thank all the fans that have shown up to home and even the away games. We really appreciate all the support you have given us so far and hope to keep that trend up this spring. You can always follow us on twitter @umnclubbaseball
 
 
-Staff-