University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, April 1
Omaha, Neb.
1:00 p.m. Central
at
Creighton
Photo by: Sam Navarro
St. Thomas Baseball to play three-game series at Creighton
3/30/2023 9:49:00 AM | Baseball
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Thomas baseball team continues its non-conference lineup with a three-game series April 1-2 at Creighton in Omaha, Neb.
The Tommies and Bluejays begin the series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday and a 12 p.m. game time Sunday from Charles Schwab Stadium Omaha. All games can be streamed through FloSports Baseball HERE and live stats are available HERE.
Kansas State Series (Last Time Out)
• St. Thomas got back in the win column during a midweek series split at Kansas State March 21-22. The Wildcats opened with an 11-3 win on Tuesday, despite 11 hits from the Tommies, before the Purple leaned on pitched for a 2-1 win on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan.
• The Tommies' 11 hits in the series opener were the second most for the squad this season, which included five hits over the first two innings. Brigs Richartz led the game off with a single and added his second of three hits during the second inning, which drove in Colin Lewandowski for the game's first run. Following four runs by the Wildcats in the third inning, Charlie Bartholomew drove in Ben Vujovich on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to two, 4-2.
• Kansas State extended its lead with runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings while the final St. Thomas run scored on a fielding error in the top of the ninth. In addition to its 11 hits, St. Thomas left 11 runners stranded.
• Owen Marsh (1-1), Tucker Huhn and Evan Esch (1) combined to allowed just four hits to the Wildcats in game two and kept 12 baserunners stranded. Marsh threw 4.2 innings with one hit allowed to his final batter before Huhn entered to strand two runners in both the fifth and sixth innings. Esch pitched the final 3.0 innings with four strikeouts, the final of which ended the Tommies' 11-game losing streak.
The Lead Off Man
• Since Brigs Richartz led off the season with a single to center field on the very first pitch, he reached base in 12 straight games before being denied a 13th in the series finale at Oral Roberts.
• He leads the team with 18 hits, 20 total bases, eight runs scored and two doubles. Richartz has led off six games with a base hit.
• Richartz led off the season with a six-game hitting streak, including two multi-hit games. He scored four runs over the first series, Feb. 17-19 at CSU Bakersfield, including a three-run game during the Tommies' 8-4 win over the Roadrunners.
Kolby Knowledge
• Kolby Gartner has three starts this season, going 7.2 innings with seven hits and one walk allowed with three strikeouts during his last outing March 4 at Saint Louis. He now sits at 21.0 IP on the year, recording 15 strikeouts, five walks, and a 3.00 ERA in those appearances, his ERA ranking second in the Summit League.
• Gartner opened the season for the Tommies on the mound Feb. 17 with eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings at CSU Bakersfield. He followed up with a complete game loss Feb. 25 at Sacramento State, throwing four strikeouts with one walk and one earned run allowed.
Mad Max March
• Since the start of March, junior Max Moris has led the Tommies with 12 hits, including five multi-hit games, while hitting .414 from the plate. He also leads St. Thomas with a .469 on-base percentage, 13 total bases and three walks during the nine-game stretch.
• Moris has reached base in each of the last five games and is one of three Tommies on a three-game hitting streak.
First to Strike
• The Tommies have scored first in seven of its 15 games this season, going 2-5 in those games. Besides the win at Kansas State, the Toms scored first in three of the last four games which all ended in losses.
Next Up for the Tommies
• St. Thomas travels to Omaha, Neb., for a three-game series against Creighton. The Bluejays fell to .500 (9-9) on the season following a mid-week loss to Kansas 3-1 in Lawrence, Kan.
• The Bluejays are led by Junior Nolan Clifford, who hoists a batting average of .317 on the season, including 19 hits, two home runs, 12 RBIs, and 10 walks.
• The pitching staff is led by starter Ryan Windham (1-1) and reliver Paul Bergstrom (1-0) who currently hold ERAs of 2.37 and 2.30, respectively. Windstrom has thrown a team-high 30.1 innings and 26 strikeouts to just seven walks. Bergstrom leads the team with 11 total appearances, has one save on the season and an opposing batting average of .196.
• Creighton started the year winning two out of three games in their first series of the season against McNeese State before dropping two of three games versus Coastal Carolina. Prior to Wednesday's loss to Kansas, the Bluejays split a two-game series against Minnesota following a 5-2 win in game one and a 3-0 loss in game two in Omaha, Neb.
Summit League Ranks (As of 3/30/23)
Team
3rd in Earned Run Average, 6.97
3rd in Opp. Batting Average, .282
5th in Fielding Percentage, .962
t-5th in K/9 Inn., 7.8
Individual - Pitching
1st in Opposing Batting Average, .173 AVG, Kolby Gartner
2nd in Earned Run Average, 3.00 ERA, Kolby Gartner
2nd in Saves, 1, Evan Esch
6th in Earned Run Average, 4.60, Duke Coborn
8th in Earned Run Average, 4.82, Evan Esch
9th in Opposing Batting Average, .264, Evan Esch
10th in Opposing Batting Average, .277, Duke Coborn
Individual - Fielding
T-1st in Fielding Percentage, 1.000, Joe Vos/Ben Vujovich
8th in Caught Stealing By, 2, Charlie Bartholomew
t-6th in Assists, 38 total assists, Matthew Enck
8th in Assists, 36 total assists, Sam Kulesa
9th in Putouts, 97 total putouts, Charlie Bartholomew
9th in Caught Stealing By, 1, Max Moris
Leading Off
• St. Thomas began 2023 1-3 during Opening Weekend at CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 17-19.
• The Tommies fell in the first two games of the series by a combined 11-1 before coming away with an 8-4 win in game three of the four-game series.
• Junior Kolby Gartner (0-1) tossed eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings during game one, totaling seven through the first 4.0 frames. He allowed just two baserunners through five innings.
• Sophomore Jacob Mrosko took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in game two before it was broken up on a one-out double down the left field line. Mrosko exited before three runs were scored in the sixth by CSUB.
Late Inning Blues
• The Tommies have allowed 113 runs this season, with nearly half of that total coming between the sixth and eighth innings. Opponents have scored 23 runs in the sixth and 26 runs in the eighth.
Extra Innings Play
• The Tommies and Saint Louis went to extra innings in game two of the double header on Saturday, March 4 during a thrilling 13-inning game.
• Tying the game with a leadoff home run in the eighth inning, SLU forced the game into an extra innings affair. The Tommies left one runner on base in each of the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings before taking the lead in the 13th with a Joe Roder double, followed by RBI singles from Enck and O'Connell.
• The Billikens put its first three batters on base in the home half of the 13th to set up a game-tying, two-RBI single with no outs. Two St. Thomas errors ensued while a bases load, hit by pitch ended the game.
Preseason Headlines
• Freshmen Dylan O'Connell (3B) and Nolan Kemp (RHP) were named the St. Thomas Player and Pitcher to Watch, as released in the 2023 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• St. Thomas was selected to finish fifth in the Summit Preseason Poll.
• Dylan O'Connell was named the 2023 Preseason Summit League Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game.
• Ben Vujovich was named to the 2023 Preseason Summit League All-Conference Team by Perfect Game.
A Look Back at 2022
• St. Thomas comes off a 16-29 overall record during the 2022 season, finishing fifth in the Summit League with a 10-14 record.
• The Tommies return 25 student-athletes from the 2022 roster and bring in 12 newcomers.
• The Tommies lost 16 games by one or two runs in 2022.
• St. Thomas earned notable wins over the 2022 Summit League Regular Season Champions North Dakota State, 6-0 on April 9 in St. Paul, Minn., and the Summit League Tournament Champions Oral Roberts, 4-3 on May 7 in Tulsa, Okla.
• In 2022 the Tommies ranked eighth in the nation with 208 earned runs allowed, tied for 20th with 10.27 K/9 Innings, tied for 34th with 8.42 H/9 Innings, tied for 52nd with a .974 fielding percentage, and tied for 82nd with an ERA of 4.90.
• The Tommies set a program record with 438 total strikeouts and in K/9 (10.27).
• St. Thomas garnered two player of the week and two pitcher of the week honors from the Summit League last season. Among the returners, Kolby Gartner was named the Pitcher of the Week once, Sam Kulesa the Player of the Week once and Brigs Richartz the Player of the Week once.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 14th season with St. Thomas in 2023. He has totaled an overall record of 356-190-1 (338-148-1 in NCAA Division III) since being named the head coach prior to the 2010 season.
• Olean is a three-time NCAA DIII Region Coach of the Year and closed out its DIII era by winning championships in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and region en route to a national runner-up finish and 37-10 record.
• During the last 12 DIII seasons the Purple won eight MIAC Championships, capped by third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, in addition to the runner-up finish in 2021.
• Olean mentored seven DIII All-American pitchers. He was voted MIAC and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, and 2021. In addition, Olean works with the Tommie pitching staff, which was a perennial top-10 group in DIII baseball.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Baseball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @tommiebase
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
The Tommies and Bluejays begin the series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday and a 12 p.m. game time Sunday from Charles Schwab Stadium Omaha. All games can be streamed through FloSports Baseball HERE and live stats are available HERE.
Kansas State Series (Last Time Out)
• St. Thomas got back in the win column during a midweek series split at Kansas State March 21-22. The Wildcats opened with an 11-3 win on Tuesday, despite 11 hits from the Tommies, before the Purple leaned on pitched for a 2-1 win on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan.
• The Tommies' 11 hits in the series opener were the second most for the squad this season, which included five hits over the first two innings. Brigs Richartz led the game off with a single and added his second of three hits during the second inning, which drove in Colin Lewandowski for the game's first run. Following four runs by the Wildcats in the third inning, Charlie Bartholomew drove in Ben Vujovich on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to two, 4-2.
• Kansas State extended its lead with runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings while the final St. Thomas run scored on a fielding error in the top of the ninth. In addition to its 11 hits, St. Thomas left 11 runners stranded.
• Owen Marsh (1-1), Tucker Huhn and Evan Esch (1) combined to allowed just four hits to the Wildcats in game two and kept 12 baserunners stranded. Marsh threw 4.2 innings with one hit allowed to his final batter before Huhn entered to strand two runners in both the fifth and sixth innings. Esch pitched the final 3.0 innings with four strikeouts, the final of which ended the Tommies' 11-game losing streak.
The Lead Off Man
• Since Brigs Richartz led off the season with a single to center field on the very first pitch, he reached base in 12 straight games before being denied a 13th in the series finale at Oral Roberts.
• He leads the team with 18 hits, 20 total bases, eight runs scored and two doubles. Richartz has led off six games with a base hit.
• Richartz led off the season with a six-game hitting streak, including two multi-hit games. He scored four runs over the first series, Feb. 17-19 at CSU Bakersfield, including a three-run game during the Tommies' 8-4 win over the Roadrunners.
Kolby Knowledge
• Kolby Gartner has three starts this season, going 7.2 innings with seven hits and one walk allowed with three strikeouts during his last outing March 4 at Saint Louis. He now sits at 21.0 IP on the year, recording 15 strikeouts, five walks, and a 3.00 ERA in those appearances, his ERA ranking second in the Summit League.
• Gartner opened the season for the Tommies on the mound Feb. 17 with eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings at CSU Bakersfield. He followed up with a complete game loss Feb. 25 at Sacramento State, throwing four strikeouts with one walk and one earned run allowed.
Mad Max March
• Since the start of March, junior Max Moris has led the Tommies with 12 hits, including five multi-hit games, while hitting .414 from the plate. He also leads St. Thomas with a .469 on-base percentage, 13 total bases and three walks during the nine-game stretch.
• Moris has reached base in each of the last five games and is one of three Tommies on a three-game hitting streak.
First to Strike
• The Tommies have scored first in seven of its 15 games this season, going 2-5 in those games. Besides the win at Kansas State, the Toms scored first in three of the last four games which all ended in losses.
Next Up for the Tommies
• St. Thomas travels to Omaha, Neb., for a three-game series against Creighton. The Bluejays fell to .500 (9-9) on the season following a mid-week loss to Kansas 3-1 in Lawrence, Kan.
• The Bluejays are led by Junior Nolan Clifford, who hoists a batting average of .317 on the season, including 19 hits, two home runs, 12 RBIs, and 10 walks.
• The pitching staff is led by starter Ryan Windham (1-1) and reliver Paul Bergstrom (1-0) who currently hold ERAs of 2.37 and 2.30, respectively. Windstrom has thrown a team-high 30.1 innings and 26 strikeouts to just seven walks. Bergstrom leads the team with 11 total appearances, has one save on the season and an opposing batting average of .196.
• Creighton started the year winning two out of three games in their first series of the season against McNeese State before dropping two of three games versus Coastal Carolina. Prior to Wednesday's loss to Kansas, the Bluejays split a two-game series against Minnesota following a 5-2 win in game one and a 3-0 loss in game two in Omaha, Neb.
Summit League Ranks (As of 3/30/23)
Team
3rd in Earned Run Average, 6.97
3rd in Opp. Batting Average, .282
5th in Fielding Percentage, .962
t-5th in K/9 Inn., 7.8
Individual - Pitching
1st in Opposing Batting Average, .173 AVG, Kolby Gartner
2nd in Earned Run Average, 3.00 ERA, Kolby Gartner
2nd in Saves, 1, Evan Esch
6th in Earned Run Average, 4.60, Duke Coborn
8th in Earned Run Average, 4.82, Evan Esch
9th in Opposing Batting Average, .264, Evan Esch
10th in Opposing Batting Average, .277, Duke Coborn
Individual - Fielding
T-1st in Fielding Percentage, 1.000, Joe Vos/Ben Vujovich
8th in Caught Stealing By, 2, Charlie Bartholomew
t-6th in Assists, 38 total assists, Matthew Enck
8th in Assists, 36 total assists, Sam Kulesa
9th in Putouts, 97 total putouts, Charlie Bartholomew
9th in Caught Stealing By, 1, Max Moris
Leading Off
• St. Thomas began 2023 1-3 during Opening Weekend at CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 17-19.
• The Tommies fell in the first two games of the series by a combined 11-1 before coming away with an 8-4 win in game three of the four-game series.
• Junior Kolby Gartner (0-1) tossed eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings during game one, totaling seven through the first 4.0 frames. He allowed just two baserunners through five innings.
• Sophomore Jacob Mrosko took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in game two before it was broken up on a one-out double down the left field line. Mrosko exited before three runs were scored in the sixth by CSUB.
Late Inning Blues
• The Tommies have allowed 113 runs this season, with nearly half of that total coming between the sixth and eighth innings. Opponents have scored 23 runs in the sixth and 26 runs in the eighth.
Extra Innings Play
• The Tommies and Saint Louis went to extra innings in game two of the double header on Saturday, March 4 during a thrilling 13-inning game.
• Tying the game with a leadoff home run in the eighth inning, SLU forced the game into an extra innings affair. The Tommies left one runner on base in each of the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings before taking the lead in the 13th with a Joe Roder double, followed by RBI singles from Enck and O'Connell.
• The Billikens put its first three batters on base in the home half of the 13th to set up a game-tying, two-RBI single with no outs. Two St. Thomas errors ensued while a bases load, hit by pitch ended the game.
Preseason Headlines
• Freshmen Dylan O'Connell (3B) and Nolan Kemp (RHP) were named the St. Thomas Player and Pitcher to Watch, as released in the 2023 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• St. Thomas was selected to finish fifth in the Summit Preseason Poll.
• Dylan O'Connell was named the 2023 Preseason Summit League Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game.
• Ben Vujovich was named to the 2023 Preseason Summit League All-Conference Team by Perfect Game.
A Look Back at 2022
• St. Thomas comes off a 16-29 overall record during the 2022 season, finishing fifth in the Summit League with a 10-14 record.
• The Tommies return 25 student-athletes from the 2022 roster and bring in 12 newcomers.
• The Tommies lost 16 games by one or two runs in 2022.
• St. Thomas earned notable wins over the 2022 Summit League Regular Season Champions North Dakota State, 6-0 on April 9 in St. Paul, Minn., and the Summit League Tournament Champions Oral Roberts, 4-3 on May 7 in Tulsa, Okla.
• In 2022 the Tommies ranked eighth in the nation with 208 earned runs allowed, tied for 20th with 10.27 K/9 Innings, tied for 34th with 8.42 H/9 Innings, tied for 52nd with a .974 fielding percentage, and tied for 82nd with an ERA of 4.90.
• The Tommies set a program record with 438 total strikeouts and in K/9 (10.27).
• St. Thomas garnered two player of the week and two pitcher of the week honors from the Summit League last season. Among the returners, Kolby Gartner was named the Pitcher of the Week once, Sam Kulesa the Player of the Week once and Brigs Richartz the Player of the Week once.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 14th season with St. Thomas in 2023. He has totaled an overall record of 356-190-1 (338-148-1 in NCAA Division III) since being named the head coach prior to the 2010 season.
• Olean is a three-time NCAA DIII Region Coach of the Year and closed out its DIII era by winning championships in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and region en route to a national runner-up finish and 37-10 record.
• During the last 12 DIII seasons the Purple won eight MIAC Championships, capped by third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, in addition to the runner-up finish in 2021.
• Olean mentored seven DIII All-American pitchers. He was voted MIAC and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, and 2021. In addition, Olean works with the Tommie pitching staff, which was a perennial top-10 group in DIII baseball.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Baseball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @tommiebase
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
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