Midwest pitchers come from all corners
By Ricky Nelson for D3baseball.com
When talking about the Midwest Region, the WIAC trio of UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh, MIAC powers St. Olaf and St. Thomas, and UMAC perennial champion St. Scholastica get most of the headlines. And deservedly so. Those six, with some hiccups along the way, are regular regional participants with long resumes. But when it comes to top pitchers in the region, the praise-worthy players come from a diverse range of programs. It stands to reason that the "Usual 6" is home to many of the region's top pitchers, but they don't have a monopoly.
| UW-Whitewater senior Riley Tincher is 17-2 over his
last two seasons. UW-Whitewater sports information |
WIAC: UW-Whitewater senior Riley Tincher is on
pace to have an even better year than last, when he went 13-1 with
a 3.87 ERA in 102.1 IP. This season Tincher is 4-1 with a 1.32 ERA
while allowing just four extra base hits in five starts. Fellow
Whitewater senior Jeff Donovan was a D3baseball.com Preseason
All-American at the utility position. Donovan has earned the
offensive side of that accolade with a .439 AVG and 1.161 OPS in
the Warhawks' first 17 games, but it's his success on the mound
this season that's been most impressive. Donovan is 5-0 with a 2.84
ERA while holding opponents to a .202 average in five starts for
the ranked Warhawks. If the raw numbers aren't enough, Donovan also
has wins over UW-Stevens Point and St. Olaf this season.
UW-Oshkosh has six pitchers with at least 15 innings pitched and
an ERA at or below 2.12, leading the Titans to a 2.15 team ERA.
Heading the Oshkosh staff are senior Jeremy Rubens (2-2, 1.83 ERA,
21:2 K/BB ratio, two shutouts, two extra base hits allowed in 34.1
IP) and junior Phil Schreiber (3-1, 1.84 ERA, .229 OBA). Oshkosh's
No. 3 starter, junior Luke Westphal, is 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA and 24
K's in 24.1 IP.
The top four UW-La Crosse starters have gone a combined 9-3 with a
2.85 ERA and have 88 strikeouts and 27 walks in 98 innings.
Comprising the rock-solid rotation are sophomore Tim Verthein (2-0,
one save, 2.08 ERA, .194 OBA), sophomore Mitch Running (3-1, 2.86
ERA, .207 OBA), senior Bryant Rude (2-1, 2.88 ERA, 3 CG in four
starts, 32 K in 25 IP) and junior Garrett Scray (2-1, 3.60 ERA, 4
BB, 24 K, 25 IP).
UW-Stevens Point's top starting pitchers, seniors Scott Williams
and Joel Delorit, are off to so-so starts, but the pair remain
among the top talents in the region. Williams is 3-2 with a 4.94
ERA while Delorit is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA. But there's a reason why
Delorit is climbing the all-time WIAC rankings in strikeouts
(currently 12th) and wins (currently 23rd), and there's a reason
why Williams was First Team All-Region last season. Those two may
be among the best statistically in the end.
| St. Olaf junior Ben Hughes has 50 strikeouts on the
season. St. Olaf sports information |
MIAC: One of the leading stories in the MIAC
has been St. Olaf's ascension in the polls. The Oles owe much if
their success to an offense that's hitting .317, but St. Olaf's
pitching, with its 17-6 record and 4.00 ERA, deserves equal praise.
Leading the way on the mound for St. Olaf are junior Ben Hughes and
sophomore Anders Dzurak. In one of St. Olaf's signature wins this
season, Hughes (5.1 IP) and Dzurak (3.2 IP and the win in relief)
combined to beat UW-Stevens Point. For the season Hughes is 4-0
with a 2.91 ERA, 50 K and 8 BB in 34 IP, and a .203 OBA. Dzurak is
4-1 with a 2.33 ERA, 23 K and 1 BB in 27 IP, and a .198 OBA.
St. John's senior Brett Kramer and sophomore Connor Kline are not
only hitting over .350 as infielders, they are also the Johnnies'
top two starting pitchers. Kramer is 2-2 despite a 2.02 ERA and 32
K's in a team-leading 30.1 IP. One of Kramer's two wins was against
St. Olaf. Cline is 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA and 18 K's in 20.2 IP.
Eric Robinson and Alex Ingram are both off to 4-0 starts for Macalester (13-9). Robinson has a .63 ERA in 28.2 IP, covering seven games and three starts. Ingram sports a 2.73 ERA in a team-leading 33 innings. In 61.2 combined innings, Robinson and Ingram have walked nine and struck out 50. The seniors both won their starts in a doubleheader sweep over ranked St. Olaf. Robinson's win over the Oles was a complete-game shutout.
| Eric Robinson (pictured) and Alex Ingram, a potent
1-2 pitching combination is a combined 8-0 in the 2011
season. Macalester photo by Christopher Mitchell/Sport Shot Photo |
Northern AC: Concordia Chicago's team ERA is
3.14 through 21 games. The top five Cougar starters all have ERA's
at or below 3.13. Leading the way are senior Micah Buss (2-0, 2.40
ERA, team-leading 30 IP in five starts) and freshman Brenden Schulz
(3-0, 3.00 ERA, .200 OBA, one extra base hit allowed in four
starts). Also pitching well for the Cougars are freshman Dan Kluss
(2-0, 3.13 ERA, 25 K's in 23 IP, two CG in four starts) and senior
Anthony Collaro (3-0, 1.86 ERA, .211 OBA in three games and 19.1
IP).
Sophomore Drew Gay leads Aurora with a 4-1 record with a 2.16 ERA,
a .223 OBA and 34 K's in 41.2 IP over six starts. Aurora freshman
Brad Warnecke has also been solid, going 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA, a
.224 OBA and 27 K's in 26 IP.
Two Marian pitchers have helped lead the Sabres to a 9-7 start.
Junior Mitchell Gardner (2-0, one save, 1.98 ERA, .198 OBA,
team-leading 27.1 IP) and senior Dustin Andrus (3-1, 2.29 ERA, .155
OBA) have accounted for more than half of Marian's wins.
Wisconsin Lutheran freshman Alex Raver has helped the Warriors to
a surprising 13-10 start. Picked to finish tied for 10th in the
12-team conference, WLC is currently tied for fourth in the early
going. Raver is 3-2 with a 2.65 ERA, 40 K's in 34 IP, and two
shutouts in five starts.
|
Senior Justin Kohls is 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA in seven
games for the Vikings. |
UMAC: St. Scholastica's team ERA is 2.62, so
it's hard to not mention the entire staff. But we'll start with the
ace, senior Matt Lewis. Lewis is 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA in five starts
and a team-leading 29.2 IP. Lewis has notched wins over St. Thomas
and conference rival Bethany Lutheran in the early going. The
Saints' No. 2, sophomore David Vogelgesang, is also 4-0 to go along
with a 3.28 ERA in five starts. Sophomore Kyle Jensen has been the
hard-luck pitcher for the CSS. Jenson is 1-2 in 18.2 innings,
spanning five games and two starts, despite a 1.45 ERA and a .138
opponent batting average. Sophomore Jake Snyder also makes the CSS
mention list for beginning the season with a 3-0 record and a 1.37
ERA in four games (three starts).
Bethany Lutheran has a quartet of starting pitchers with sub 3.50
ERA's, highlighted by the pedigree of senior D3baseball.com
All-American Cody Hallahan, who is 2-2 with a 3.08 ERA. But two
other BLC pitchers are perhaps outperforming the staff ace
statistically. Senior Justin Kohls is 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA in seven
games and three starts, and junior Aaron Siefken is 2-1 with a 3.10
ERA in a team-leading 29 IP. One of Siefken's wins was over
perennial UMAC champion and Top-25 team St. Scholastica. Senior
Darin Hendley rounds out the quartet with a 2-0 record and a 2.38
ERA in four games (three starts).
Northwestern has two pitchers with ERA's under 2.00 while holding
batting averages below the Mendoza Line. Freshman Cory Larson is
2-0 with a .69 ERA, a strikeout per inning and a .156 OBA in five
games while junior Mark Meredith is 0-2 in three starts but sports
a 1.89 ERA and a .183 OBA.
| Ryan Iverson, UW-Stevens Point, is one of the best
relievers in the nation. UW-Stevens Point photo by Mark Kinslow |
Relief pitchers: The list of leading bullpen
contributors in the WIAC starts with UW-Stevens Point junior Ryan
Iverson, who has held opponents to a .079 batting average in
collecting six saves in eight appearances to go along with a 1.50
ERA. Elsewhere in the WIAC, UW-La Crosse junior Zach Lauersdorf is
2-1 with three saves, a 1.50 ERA and 18 K's in 18 IP. Lauersdorf
also pitched a complete game in his only start. UW-Oshkosh junior
Troy Mrkvicka fills the utility pitcher role, which the Titans
adopted several years ago. Mrkvicka, who has tossed the second most
innings for the Titans this season despite starting only one game,
could start in a pinch, put out fires in the fourth inning or save
a game. To date Mrkvicka (2-0, four saves, 2.12 ERA, .200 OBA, 29.2
IP) has appeared in 10 of Oshkosh's 18 games.
St. Olaf's Erik Olson leads the relief pitcher conversation in the
MIAC. Olson has appeared in 10 of the Oles' first 23 games and is
0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and five saves in 13 IP. Other top MIAC
relievers in the early going include Bethel junior David Anderson
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 IP, 11 K, .111 OBA) and St. John's freshman Joey
Long (2-0, 1 SV, .96 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K in five games). St. Thomas
senior Kris Edwards has made four starts and leads the Tommies in
innings pitched, but he's included in the relievers because of his
other numbers and his relative success while coming on in relief.
Edwards is 1-3 with three saves, a 4.11 ERA, a .221 OBA and 35 K's
against 6 BB in 35 IP.
The top reliever in the UMAC is St. Scholastica sophomore Jake
Nystrom, who is 1-0 with three saves and a 1.00 ERA in five games
and nine innings.
In the Northern AC, Concordia Chicago sophomore Pat Conlin is 1-1
with a 2.35 ERA and three saves in seven relief appearances. Aurora
has yet to record a save this season, but Spartan senior Jorge
Hernandez's work out of the pen deserves a mention. Hernandez has 8
K's in 6.2 IP while holding batters to a .167 average and zero runs
in five appearances. No Rockford starter has more than one win in
the Regents' first 19 games this season, but junior reliever Jake
Nicholson is more than making up for that. Nicholson is 3-1 with a
2.31 ERA, four saves and a .185 OBA in 15.2 IP, spanning nine
relief appearances. Nicholson has been credited with a win or a
save in seven of Rockford's nine wins.
