Saints Start 2005 Season Strong
The Saint Scholastica Saints Baseball team has had a quick start to the 2005 season by running their record to 12-2 before entering Conference play this weekend in St. Paul. Their have been many contributing factors to the Saints fast start in ’05 as the Saints have been dominating their opponents both on the mound and at the plate.
One giant reason that the Saints have been able pile up the wins early this season has been through the solid work of the Saints pitching staff. The unquestioned leader of the Saints on the mound is senior Jake Eiler. Already this season Eiler has started four games for the Saints and has a record of 2-1. In 20.2 innings of work, Jake has struck out 21 batters while only walking three and compiling an ERA of 0.87. Eiler’s biggest pitching performance of the year came in the Saints biggest game of the year to this point. Jake was able to shut-out the 3rd Ranked St. Thomas Tommies for 8 innings before giving way to reliever Mark Moriarty in arguably the greatest St. Scholastica baseball game ever. Moriarty has also been a bright spot for the Saints in ’05 as he has compiled a 3-0 record starting two games and coming in as relief in two more. Another bright spot on the hill for the Saints has been Senior Joey Calaguire. Calaguire has appeared in four games for the Saints and started one, but that lone start was a beauty for St. Scholastica. On Thursday, March 24th Calaguire took the mound against previously unbeaten Westminster College. Calaguire then went to work by giving up only two hits while striking out nine batters with zero walks. At one point during that game Calaguire sat down 18 straight Westminster batters en route to the shut-out victory. The Saints have also been supported by good performances by fellow starters Ben Grams, Mark Erickson, and Keith Ritsche. So far this season, in 14 games, the Saints pitchers have allowed only 52 runs with only 23 being earned runs. A pitching staff like that will win a lot of games.
The Saints have been no slouches at the plate either. The leader of the Saints at the plate has been senior shortstop Kenny Kolquist. Kenny has started all 14 games for the Saints and has compiled a .385 average with one double, two triples, and one homerun. Also striking the ball well at the plate has been seniors Tom Simonson and D.J. Lahti. Simonson is hitting .383 with five doubles and two triples while Lahti is batting .347 with four doubles and is leading the team in homeruns with two. Simonson and Lahti are both threats on the base paths as well as Simonson has three stolen bases and Lahti has four while neither have been caught stealing. Sophomore Chad Weiss has been solid at the plate when he gets his chances. Weiss has played in nine games and started only six, yet he has compiled a .462 batting average with two doubles, three triples, and one homerun. He has also accumulated eight RBIs. Fellow sophomore Daryl Fuchihara has also made the most of his opportunities at the plate by batting .417 with two doubles and six RBIs while playing in nine games and starting seven. Sophomore second baseman Brandon Swartz has played in all 14 games thus far and is hitting only .194 but is leading the team with 10 walks and is fifth on the team with a .412 on base percentage. So far in 2005, the Saints hitters have pounded in 119 runs in 14 games and as a team they are hitting .344. Who wouldn’t want to pitch for a team that provides that kind of run support?
Thus has been the story to this point in the 2005 college baseball season. The Saints have had many different players step up when they were needed, as well as, strong veteran leadership from very consistent performers. As the Saints enter their conference schedule tonight against Northwestern look for these trends to continue as the team looks to claim a ninth straight regular season UMAC title.
One giant reason that the Saints have been able pile up the wins early this season has been through the solid work of the Saints pitching staff. The unquestioned leader of the Saints on the mound is senior Jake Eiler. Already this season Eiler has started four games for the Saints and has a record of 2-1. In 20.2 innings of work, Jake has struck out 21 batters while only walking three and compiling an ERA of 0.87. Eiler’s biggest pitching performance of the year came in the Saints biggest game of the year to this point. Jake was able to shut-out the 3rd Ranked St. Thomas Tommies for 8 innings before giving way to reliever Mark Moriarty in arguably the greatest St. Scholastica baseball game ever. Moriarty has also been a bright spot for the Saints in ’05 as he has compiled a 3-0 record starting two games and coming in as relief in two more. Another bright spot on the hill for the Saints has been Senior Joey Calaguire. Calaguire has appeared in four games for the Saints and started one, but that lone start was a beauty for St. Scholastica. On Thursday, March 24th Calaguire took the mound against previously unbeaten Westminster College. Calaguire then went to work by giving up only two hits while striking out nine batters with zero walks. At one point during that game Calaguire sat down 18 straight Westminster batters en route to the shut-out victory. The Saints have also been supported by good performances by fellow starters Ben Grams, Mark Erickson, and Keith Ritsche. So far this season, in 14 games, the Saints pitchers have allowed only 52 runs with only 23 being earned runs. A pitching staff like that will win a lot of games.
The Saints have been no slouches at the plate either. The leader of the Saints at the plate has been senior shortstop Kenny Kolquist. Kenny has started all 14 games for the Saints and has compiled a .385 average with one double, two triples, and one homerun. Also striking the ball well at the plate has been seniors Tom Simonson and D.J. Lahti. Simonson is hitting .383 with five doubles and two triples while Lahti is batting .347 with four doubles and is leading the team in homeruns with two. Simonson and Lahti are both threats on the base paths as well as Simonson has three stolen bases and Lahti has four while neither have been caught stealing. Sophomore Chad Weiss has been solid at the plate when he gets his chances. Weiss has played in nine games and started only six, yet he has compiled a .462 batting average with two doubles, three triples, and one homerun. He has also accumulated eight RBIs. Fellow sophomore Daryl Fuchihara has also made the most of his opportunities at the plate by batting .417 with two doubles and six RBIs while playing in nine games and starting seven. Sophomore second baseman Brandon Swartz has played in all 14 games thus far and is hitting only .194 but is leading the team with 10 walks and is fifth on the team with a .412 on base percentage. So far in 2005, the Saints hitters have pounded in 119 runs in 14 games and as a team they are hitting .344. Who wouldn’t want to pitch for a team that provides that kind of run support?
Thus has been the story to this point in the 2005 college baseball season. The Saints have had many different players step up when they were needed, as well as, strong veteran leadership from very consistent performers. As the Saints enter their conference schedule tonight against Northwestern look for these trends to continue as the team looks to claim a ninth straight regular season UMAC title.
posted by Topher @ 2:51 PM
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