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RIPON, Wis. – After winning the Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship for the second straight season Ripon will look for the three-peat in 2012. However, the Red Hawks were edged out by St. Norbert as the favorite in the North Division while Grinnell was the slight favorite in the South Division in the 2012 MWC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll.

The Green Knights picked up three of the five first place votes and finished with 14 points while Ripon collected the other two first place votes and is predicted to finish in second with 13 points. Beloit was a clear cut favorite for the number three spot in the North with 12 points while Carroll (seven points) and Lawrence (four points) round out the division. Grinnell was one of three South Division teams to pick up first place votes as they captured two of them along with eight points while Illinois C. (seven points) and Knox (five points) also picked up a first place tally. Monmouth was picked fourth in the division with four points.

The MWC welcomes back 17 All-MWC award winners from a year ago (six in the North, 11 in the South) which is headlined by MWC South Division Player of the Year Mike Nodzenski and MWC South Division Pitcher of the Year Ben Pope. Nodzenski earned All-American honors from D3baseball.com and ABCA after the 2011 season and is a preseason All-American candidate from D3baseball.com this season.
 

 

2012 MWC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll

 

North
1	St. Norbert (3)	14
2	Ripon (2)	13
3	Beloit	12
4	Carroll	7
5	Lawrence	4
South
1	Grinnell (2)	8
2	Illinois C. (1)	7
3	Knox (1)	5
4	Monmouth	4

Notes: first place votes in paranthesis...In the North it is four points awarded for first place, three for second, etc. and in the South it is three points for first place, two for second, etc.

 

North Division Preview

St. Norbert Green Knights
2011 Record: 16-15, 10-6 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 3

St. Norbert missed the MWC Tournament for the first time since the 2001 season and looks to get back in the mix in 2012 under 14 year head coach Tom Winske. The Green Knights welcome back three All-MWC performers from last year headlined by Jordan Powers. Powers finished second in the league with a .455 average while leading the league with an on base percentage of .567 and 42 runs scored. Three-time All-MWC selection Garrick Fisher led the team with five home runs to go along with a .367 average and a slugging percentage of .550 which was sixth best in the league. Chad Ljunggren had a nice freshman season hitting .351 with 34 hits and three doubles to round out a St. Norbert offense that finished tops in the league in average (.326) and on base percentage (.422). St. Norbert also brings back its top four arms from a staff that finished third in the league in ERA (5.53) and second in runs allowed (198). Josh Honzik was an All-MWC selection and posted a 4-2 record with a 4.10 ERA in 48 innings and held hitters to only a .243 average. Kevin Nutley (4-1, 2.78 ERA, .246 opp batting average) and Chris Hillesheim (1-3, 6.66 ERA, 24.1 innings) will compliment Honzik to form a solid pitching staff for the Green Knights.

Ripon Red Hawks
2011 Record: 21-20, 11-5 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1

Bob Gillespie led Ripon to its 19th MWC Championship in 2011 defeating host Beloit in a decisive MWC Championship game to move on to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time and aims for a repeat performance in 2012. The Red Hawks only return one of their four All-MWC performers to a team that finished in the top three of the MWC in average (.300, third), runs (271, second), hits (413, first), extra base hits (112, first), ERA (5.23, second), strikeouts (208, first) and wins (21, second). Kyle Bosquez is the lone All-MWC player coming back after hitting .345 with 50 hits, 11 doubles and 32 RBI while Dave McFarland will add punch to the offense after hitting .306 and doubling eight times in 2011. Gillespie has to replace two All-MWC pitchers and will lean on Steven Blader to pick up the slack. Blader posted three wins and a 6.08 ERA in over 60 innings of work that included a pair of complete games and one of the team’s three shutouts. Tom Albrecht also picked up three wins in 10 appearances while holding a 5.76 ERA and picking up a complete game of his own.

Beloit Buccaneers
2011 Record: 27-12, 12-4 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1

Beloit will take the field in 2012 looking to avenge a loss in the 2011 MWC Tournament under reigning MWC North Coach of the Year Dave DeGeorge. The Buccaneers won the North Division with a 27-12 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play but only return one of the team’s four All-MWC performers. Jordan Jaenicke comes back after hitting .357 with 11 doubles and 34 RBI for a Bucs offense that led the league in runs scored (277) and walks (176) while they finished runner up in on base percentage (.401), hits (376) and doubles (76). Jake Tresemer (.345/.432/.510) and Allen Loth (.294/.510/.353) are also back after strong junior seasons to add to the Beloit offense. After registering a league-low ERA of 2.55 All-MWC pick Alex Norman headlines the Bucs staff in 2012. Norman also co-led the conference with seven wins in 67 innings pitched and held opposing hitters to only a .228 average. Andrew Edwards (4-2, 3.32 ERA) and Grant Henricksen (2-2, 5.33 ERA) strengthen the pitching staff that picked up 27 wins to lead the MWC.

Carroll Pioneers
2011 Record: 12-21, 6-10 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1

The Carroll Pioneers improved by four wins in 2011 and looks to challenge for a MWC Tournament spot under second year head coach Derek Hassell. All-MWC First Team award winner Drew Volkmann is back after hitting .328 with six doubles and 21 RBI and will compliment Aaron Gendrich, the team’s leading hitter, who hit .345 with six doubles and a team-high 20 walks. Matt Busse (.306/.358/.396) belted a team-high 34 RBI with five doubles while Joe Klobukowski (.290/.362/.480) had seven doubles and three triples to round out the experienced Pioneers offense. Carroll only retains four wins from its pitching staff with Matt Buhrow and Drew Volkmann each picking up a pair of victories last season. Buhrow tossed 27.2 innings and posted a 5.20 ERA while holding hitters to a miniscule .224 average and Volkmann started six contests and was a part of a combined shutout in his 25.2 innings of work.
 

Lawrence Vikings
2011 Record: 3-32, 1-15 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 0

Lawrence coach Jason Anderson graduated only two seniors from a team that managed only three wins and looks for improvement from a now experienced squad. Davide Harris led the team in average (.324), doubles (seven), RBI (17) while holding an on base percentage of .410 for the Vikings and will be looked upon to lead an offense that hit only .258 last season. Alex Brewer (.307) is the only other returnee that hit over .300, collecting 23 hits and two doubles and also pulled double duties on the mound as he threw 20.1 innings and held a 5.75 ERA. Chad Skaer threw 36 innings and held hitters to only a .295 average while also hitting .242 with a pair of doubles and five RBI.

South Division Preview

 

Grinnell Pioneers
2011 Record: 18-18, 11-1 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 5

Tim Hollibaugh aims for his third straight MWC South Division title after an 11-1 mark in 2011 which earned the Pioneers a trip to the MWC Tournament. Hollibaugh returns MWC South Division Player of the Year Mike Nodzenski and MWC South Division Pitcher of the Year Ben Pope to lead a talented team in search of its first MWC Championship in school history. Nodzenski hit a conference-best .465 last season and posted a 1.406 OPS with 12 home runs, 47 RBI and 11 doubles en route to All-American accolades by D3baseball.com and the ABCA. Offensively Nodzenski is joined by Michael Goldfien (.386/.497/474) and Matt Skelly (.342/.381/.496) as All-MWC First Team selections to lead a Pioneers offense that hit .302 (second in MWC), slugged .445 (first in MWC) and hit 21 home runs (first in MWC). Pope held a 3.88 ERA in 65 innings pitched which included opposing hitters batting only .257 off of him while registering nine wins. Pope’s All-MWC teammate Will Pahos was just as good posting a 3.18 ERA to supplement a 5-1 record where he surrendered only 18 earned runs in 51 innings.

Illinois C. Blueboys
2011 Record: 16-15, 4-8 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 2

After finishing the 2010 season with a second-place finish and a trip to the MWC Tournament, Illinois C. missed out on the tournament in 2011 with a 4-8 conference mark. Skipper Jay Eckhouse welcomes back a pair of All-MWC First Team selections in junior Dave Dalfonso and senior Brandon Hott to lead the offense after the Blueboys finished sixth in the league with a .283 average last year. Dalfonso hit .317 with eight doubles and 14 RBIs while Hott hit .293 with 15 RBIs, all of which he recorded during conference play. The pitching staff will be led by senior Josh McManus, who posted a pair of wins while pitching the second-most innings (43) of any Blueboy pitcher. Senior Grant Boehne, who earned three pitching wins in 2011, figures to be one of the first called on out of the bullpen.

Knox Prairie Fire
2011 Record: 8-24, 3-9 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 1

Knox will set its sights higher after back-to-back eight win seasons under 13 year head coach Jami Isaacson. Jackson White was the Prairie Fire’s lone All-MWC performer last year and comes back after an impressive freshman campaign where he hit a team-best .324 with five doubles and seven RBI in 19 starts. Erik Smoy led the team with five home runs and 25 runs scored also hitting .289 while David Jewell led the team in doubles (eight), triples (three) and RBI (23) to round out the Prairie Fire offense. Isaacson will need to replace staff ace Colin Davis and will rely heavily on Peter Marquardt after he picked up a pair of wins and a 6.34 ERA in 11 appearances. Paul Mills will join Marquardt after posting a 6.95 ERA in 44 innings also picking up a win.

Monmouth Fighting Scots
2011 Record: 17-15, 6-6 MWC
Returning All-MWC: 3

After being projected to finish fourth in the 2011 preseason poll the Fighting Scots bounced back to earn a trip to the MWC Tournament after a 17-13 regular season that included handing Grinnell its only conference loss of the season. Head coach Roger Sander fields an experienced team with 12 seniors and a trio of returning All-MWC performers. Ross Donnan will pace the offense after hitting .348 with 11 doubles, five home runs, 35 RBI and a .561 slugging percentage. Mitch Johnson (.327/.466/.423) and Caleb Ruyle (.306/.426/.403) are the other two Fighting Scots player that earned All-MWC honors along with Donnan as Johnson collected 10 doubles and 21 RBI and Ruyle belting a pair of home runs and six doubles. Larry Milsteadt and Lucas Skul both earned four victories last season and combined for 23 appearances and 13 starts with teammate Scott Kempel posting a 5.84 ERA in 57 innings for Monmouth.