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RIPON, Wis. – The Midwest Conference will be a race to the finish as five different teams received first place votes in the 2011 Midwest Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. Reigning MWC Champion Ripon is the favorite in the North Division while Illinois C. is the narrow favorite in the South Division.
In the North Division St. Norbert received a lone first place vote after finishing the 2010 season with a 13-3 conference mark, best in the North. Beloit, Carroll and Lawrence round out the North Division, which is how those three team’s faired during the regular season in 2010. Grinnell and Knox also received first place votes in the South poll, with Grinnell edging out Knox for the MWC Tournament spot. Monmouth rounds out the South Division ballot after finishing third last season.
This year in the MWC there are 15 returning All-MWC players (North-9, South-6) which are headlined by Ripon’s Nick Beaman and the Grinnell duo of Mike Nodzenski and Ben Pope. Beaman was recently recognized by D3Baseball.com as a preseason All-American after hitting .439 with 53 RBI a year ago. Nodzenski and Pope were the South’s Player and Pitcher of the year, respectively, as they led Grinnell to a perfect 12-0 mark in league play.
2011 MWC Baseball Preseason Poll
North
1. Ripon (3)
2. St. Norbert (1)
3. Beloit
4. Carroll
5. Lawrence
South
1. Illinois C. (2)
2. Grinnell (1)
3. Knox (1)
4. Monmouth
NORTH DIVISOIN PREVIEW
Ripon Red Hawks
2010 Record: 24-17, 12-4 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 4
Ripon aims to return to the NCAA Tournament after finishing with 24 wins and the MWC Tournament Championship last season. Head coach Bob Gillespie starts his 22nd season as skipper and returns three-time MWC First Team selection Nick Beaman for the 2011 season. Beaman finished third in the conference with a .439 average and also led the league in hits (69), RBI’s (53) and doubles (17). Kyle Bosquez hit .378 in his freshman season with 12 doubles and 23 RBI to go along with a team-high seven stolen bases. Taylor Koth (.336, 2 HR, 20 RBI) and Zach Bayreuther (.328, 9 2B, 22 RBI) will contribute an offense that finished second in the MWC, hitting .331 as a team last season. The Red Hawks posted the third lowest team ERA last season (5.47) and welcomes back MWC North Pitcher of the Year Kurt Roeder. Roeder finished in the top four of the MWC in ERA (2.54), opposing batting average (.252) and innings pitched (71.0) to go along with a 5-3 record and five complete games.
St. Norbert Green Knights
2010 Record: 24-12, 13-3 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 4
Tom Winske aims for the Green Knights first MWC Championship since the 2003 season and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. St. Norbert will have to replace 2010 NCAA batting champion Tony Jandron, who was also the top arm in the rotation for the Green Knights. Despite the loss of Jandron the offense still has a talented trio of juniors in Matt Hannon (.392, 58 hits, 28 RBI), Garrick Fisher (.363, 15 2B, 3 HR, 37 RBI) and Jordan Power (.331, 21 RBI) that were a part St. Norbert team that hit a MWC best .357 last season. Three-time MWC First Team selection comes back after hitting .326 with six home runs and 40 RBI to further supply the SNC offense. Bryan Stoppenbach returns after a 6-1 mark in 2010 where he supported a 4.30 ERA. David Schneider went 3-2 with a 5.53 ERA last season and will solidify the rotation in 2011 for St. Norbert.
Beloit Buccaneers
2010 Record: 21-12, 9-7 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 0
Dave DeGeorge enters the 2011 season looking for a berth in the MWC Baseball Tournament after a 21-12 record last season, which includes a 9-7 mark in the MWC North Division. DeGeorge brings back his top RBI man, designated hitter Mike Ross, who drove in 41 runs while hitting five home runs for the Bucs last season and also hitting .319. Utility man Mike Kovach brings back his .362 average, 22 RBI and a team-high 16 stolen bases to the Beloit offense along with third baseman Jordan Jaenicke who hit .349 and drove in 20 runs. The Bucs starting rotation returns its top starter, Alex Norman. Last season Norman started 11 games with a 4-1 mark and had the best ERA of any pitcher with eight or more appearances (3.62). Kovach also was 3-0 on the mound for Beloit in 34.1 innings pitched.
Carroll Pioneers
2010 Record: 8-25, 4-12 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 0
Carroll looks to bounce back from an 8-25 season under the direction of first year head coach Derek Hassell. The Pioneers return their top five hitters from a year ago, headlined by Drew Vokmann who batted .365 with three homeruns and 25 RBI. Jordan Stephans collected a team-high 44 hits a year ago and finished just behind Vokmann with a .349 average. Nich Sobrilsky (.328, 7 2B), George Simmons (.314, HR, 24 RBI) and Mike Karpinki (.386, 5 HR, 24 RBI) also return to round out a formidable offensive lineup. Jason Pattengale returns to a youthful rotation after winning a team-best two games last season in four starts, including one shutout.
Lawrence Vikings
2010 Record: 7-29, 2-14 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1
Third-year head coach Jason Anderson graduated only four players from a Lawrence team that finished the 2010 season 7-29. The Vikings return five of their top seven hitters from a year ago, including top hitter and center fielder Robert Rashid. Rashid collected 48 hits (10 doubles), hitting .366 with one home run and 23 RBI, and infielder Zach Owsley hit .348 with four doubles and 16 RBI. The Vikings also welcome back two of their four starters from a year ago with Andrew Wilt (1-4, 8.66 ERA) and Owsley (1-5, 9.23 ERA) leading the returning arms. Youth will again be the calling card of the Vikings. Lawrence has 12 freshmen and 10 sophomores among its 26-man roster.
SOUTH DIVISION PREVIEW
Illinois College Blueboys
2010 Record: 15-16, 8-4 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1
Blueboys skipper Jay Eckhouse is coming off a second place finish in the MWC South with an 8-4 mark, 15-16 overall, and will push for the school’s first conference championship since 1995. Infielder Brandon Hott, the team’s second leading hitter, comes back after hitting .348 in 2010 with three homeruns, driving in 21. Ian Vandeford (.311, 11 2B, 19 RBI) and Ryan Howard (.279, 7 2B, 11 RBI) will sure up the offense for Eckhouse and will replace the graduation of Adam Baran and Matt Smederovac who were two of the Blueboys top three hitters last year. Brian Davenport returns to lead Illinois C. on the mound after a 4-3 record in 2010, with a 5.36 ERA. Davenport will be looked upon to carry the load after the Blueboys three other starters in the rotation were lost to graduation while the team’s best reliever, Josh McManus (2.81 ERA, 12 app, 2 saves), will return to stabilize the bullpen.
Grinnell Pioneers
2010 Record: 23-16, 12-0 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 4
Grinnell will look for a repeat performance from the 2010 season as they won the MWC South Division with a perfect 12-0 record and set a school record with 23 wins. Beginning his 17th season, head coach Tim Hollibaugh will field a young lineup, comprised of only two seniors, in the 2011 season. Two-time MWC Player of the Year Mike Nodzenski returns to the middle of the Pioneers lineup where he hit .403 with 11 homeruns, 53 RBI (1st in MWC) and a .758 slugging percentage (3rd in MWC). The Pioneers top hitter, Greg Suryn, will solidify the lineup further as he hit a team-high .433 (5th in MWC) with 52 hits, 26 RBI and a .527 on base percentage (4th in MWC). Reigning MWC Pitcher of the Year Ben Pope (10-2, 1.82 ERA) returns to headline a staff that topped the MWC in ERA a season ago. Pope will be joined by Mike Bogard, who missed most of last season due to a knee injury, and Drew Myers to solidify the rotation.
Knox Prairie Fire
2010 Record: 8-25, 0-12 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 0
Jami Isaacson welcomes back an experienced lineup for the Prairie Fire in 2011 as he looks to improve on the 8-25 campaign last season. Knox welcomes back eight of their top nine hitters from a year ago, headlined by team batting champion CJ Foster. Foster hit .314 last season with a team-high OPS of .805 while collecting six doubles. Ryan Hoffman (.282, eight RBI) and Michael Schroeder (.264, 3 HR, 17 RBI) will compliment Foster for a Knox team that hit .258 as a team last season. Colin Davis returns after registering a rotation low 4.39 ERA last season in 53.1 innings last season. Nick Juarez will once again be the top option out of the pen after 19 appearances a year ago and a 5.68 ERA.
Monmouth Fighting Scots
2010 Record: 12-23, 4-8 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1
Monmouth will field a youthful squad in 2011 with only five seniors under the watch of head coach Roger Sander, who begins his 18th season as bench boss. The Fighting Scots return three of their top six hitters from last season’s team that went 12-23 overall. Mitch Comstock had a successful freshman campaign where he hit a team-best .339 with six RBI while Robbie Hinkle tied for the team in home runs (5) and led the team in RBI (23) while hitting .309. Hinkle (2-6, 5.79 ERA), along with teammate Corey Gruber (5-5, 4.34 ERA, 83.0 IP) will anchor the pitching staff again this season after they combined for seven wins last season.