MSOE baseball 2011 season preview
|
Published: 02/27/2011 |
|
|
The 2011 MSOE baseball team is young, but not without talent and players who have been through the battles of the Northern Athletics Conference. Seniors Ben Hansen and Emery Hull are the most experienced Raiders and will be looked upon to set the tone for the rest of the team. Hull led the Raiders with 52 runs and 19 doubles last season while he was second with 34 RBI, a slugging percentage of .615 and an on-base percentage of .514.
"Both are seniors who lead by example," said head coach Troy Doering. "Hull put up phenomenal numbers last year and I look for him to anchor our offense. Hansen will be our ace on the mound. He has a quiet confidence about himself. He's healthy so I'm excited to watch him compete this year."
In addition to Hansen, the rotation will be made up of sophomores Sam Matthies and Ben Falls and freshmen Luke Yogerst, David Miklosi and Adam Vlaj.
"Our team will be successful if pitchers can command the strike zone and eliminate walks," Doering said. "Our defense has to play solid and we will have to execute offensively. If we can put these three facets of the game together, we will do well."
MSOE's bullpen will include sophomores Michael Bergstrom, Wes Stasik, Christopher Luckey and Bradley Brossard as well as freshmen Kelvin Hall and Christian Card.
"There is a lot of competition this year," Doering said. "Essentially the lineup will be determined by who can produce."
In the infield for the Raiders, Hull will share time at first base with freshman Jake Roberts as Hull will also be the team's designated hitter. Freshman Alex Luna and Vlaj will make up the team's double play combination at shortstop and second base while sophomore Walter Ziller will also play second base.
Heavy competition will take place for third base amongst junior Mike Ricciardi, sophomore James Heinritz and freshman Tyler Magyar. Behind home plate, freshman Max Poeske will
make his presence felt right away while Luckey will also spend some time catching.
The Raiders' outfield will consist of Stasik starting in left field with sophomore Jacob Hilgendorf getting playing time as well. Senior Jordan Opalewski and Hall will battle for the starting spot in center field while freshman Derek Jordan will start in right field and freshman Zane Witt will back him up.
MSOE will start its season at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Feb. 27-March 4. The Raiders begin their NAC schedule against Wisconsin Lutheran April 2 with the NAC Tournament taking place May 13-14.
"The NAC will be very competitive this year," Doering said. "I think every weekend is going to be a battle with the new bat regulations. The teams that can pitch, play defense and execute offensively are going to be successful."
