University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, May 5
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. Central
vs
Oral Roberts
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Tommie Baseball brings in No. 24 Golden Eagles for final season meeting
5/4/2023 9:35:00 AM | Baseball
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas Baseball aims to improve its winning streak against No. 24 Oral Roberts May 5-7 at Koch Diamond in St. Paul, Minn.
The Tommies and Golden Eagles play for the second time this season, beginning Friday at 1 p.m. and continuing Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Live video will be available HERE with live stats available HERE.
The Last Time Out
• The Tommies are coming off a three-game series against the Omaha Mavericks in which the Tommies earned their second straight series win over the Mavericks.
Game One - L, 13-4
• Both teams scored a run during the second inning, led off by an RBI single from the Mavericks in the top half. Joe Roder led off the home half with a double, was moved over on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly from Dylan O'Connell to tie the game, 1-1. Kolby Gartner (1-6) started the game and took the loss after throwing 3.2 innings with five earned runs allowed on five hits with one strikeout. Duke Coborn threw 4.1 innings in relief with a season-high six strikeouts.
Game Two - W, 4-1
• The Tommies' one-hitter began with Walker Retz's (1-4) seventh start of the season, which lasted 5.0 innings. The only hit allowed came in the top of the fifth inning. The combined one-hitter between Nolan Kemp and Walker Retz was the first for the program in 20 seasons, last accomplished by Sean Lindstrom during a 1-0 win over St. Mary's on April 22, 2003.
Game Three - W, 12-2
• Sophomore Joe Vos delivered the final blow of an impressive day Sunday as St. Thomas Baseball beat Omaha 12-2 in walk-off fashion, securing the series victory at Koch Diamond. Vos went 4-of-5 from the plate with four RBI and two doubles, highlighted by an RBI single to score the final run in the eighth inning. He was one of four Tommies with multiple RBI and one of three with multiple hits. Dylan O'Connell went 3-of-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, and Ben Vujovich was 2-of-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
• Sophomore Evan Esch (2-2), who had 16 strikeouts and one run allowed over his last two outings, went 7.0 innings with nine strikeouts on Sunday to earn the win.
Next Up for the Tommies
• St. Thomas welcomes the Summit League leaders of Oral Roberts University to Koch Diamond for their third home series of the year in a late season pursuit to climb up the league rankings. Oral Roberts is currently 17-1 in conference play heading into the series versus UST.
• The Golden Eagles are led by the trio of Jonah Cox, Matt Hogan, and Holden Breeze, who are the lone ORU players batting over .300 on the year. Cox is batting .429 on the season with 78 hits, 49 runs, eight HRs, and 44 RBI's. Hogan has maintained a batting average of .340 on the year with 48 hits, 38 runs, 15 home runs, and 51 RBI's.
• The pitching staff is led by starters Brooks Fowler and Jakob Hall. The duo has combined for 21 starts on the year with Fowler maintaining a record of 5-1, while tallying 47.1 innings thrown, 18 earned runs, 49 strikeouts, and only 18 walks. Hall has a record of 6-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.68, two shutouts, 70 strikeouts, and only 8 walks.
• Oral Roberts started off the season sweeping Northern Illinois in a four-game series and winning two-of-three games in a series against Texas State before losing a series against Stephen F. Austin. Since Summit League play began for the Golden Eagles on Mar. 17 against St. Thomas, the Golden Eagles have gone 23-3, beating the likes of 16th ranked Oklahoma State, Memphis, and Wichita State. Oral Roberts is currently ranked #24 in the nation in the Division 1 poll, ranking just behind Indiana and Texas Tech.
Summit League Ranks (As of 5/3/23)
Team
Earned Run Average (5th/7.21)
Fielding Percentage (5th/.964)
Opp. Batting Average (5th/.293)
Individual - Pitching
Earned Run Average (E. Esch - 5th/4.10)
Opp. Batting Average (E. Esch 2nd/.226, K. Gartner - 7th/.248)
Individual - Hitting
Batting Average (J. Roder - 14th/.310, C. Bartholomew - 25th/.291)
Hits (B. Richartz - t-31st/34)
On-Base % (J. Roder – 23rd/.380)
Stolen Bases (D. O'Connell - t-12th/6)
Individual - Fielding
Putouts (C. Bartholomew - 10th/191) Assists (M. Enck – 5th/75)
Fielding % (C. Bartholomew-4th/.995, J. Roder- 5th/.993)
Caught Stealing (C. Bartholomew - t-4th/9, M. Moris - 6th/7)
Fresh Esch
• Sophomore Evan Esch was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career following his start Saturday, April 15 against North Dakota State.
• The weekly award is the first of Esch's career, who has made eight appearances on the mound in 2023 and made 14 with eight starts as a freshman. It also marks the first weekly honor by a Tommie this season.
• Esch followed up with another stellar outing Monday, April 24 at South Dakota State, tossing a career-high 11 strikeouts in another 6.0-inning performance. He held the Jackrabbits to one hit and retired 13 straight batters between the second and sixth innings.
• After allowing his only run, Esch struck out the side in the first inning on his way to striking out eight of the first nine batters faced.
• Esch leads all active Tommies with 94 career strikeouts during the Division I era. Walker Retz follows with 71 while Kolby Gartner has 63.
Bringing the Lumber
• Freshman Ben Taxdahl recorded two home runs during the South Dakota State series, bringing his season total to a team-best three.
• Both of his long balls came during the fourth inning against the Jackrabbits, while two of his home runs were three-run shots.
• No other Tommie has more than one home run this season.
Hitting 21
•The Tommies scored a season-high 21 runs during the series opener April 7 at Northern Colorado, which is also the first time the program has topped 20 runs in a game since joining NCAA Division I. The Toms' 21 runs are the most for the team since totaling 21 against Macalaster in 2016 and 22 against Macalaster in 2015.
• St. Thomas tallied a season-high 19 hits and scored in every inning of the game. All but one starter recorded a hit and an RBI, and all but two totaled multiple hits.
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.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 14th season with St. Thomas in 2023. He has totaled an overall record of 359-197-1 (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 Golden Eagles play for the second time this season, beginning Friday at 1 p.m. and continuing Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Live video will be available HERE with live stats available HERE.
The Last Time Out
• The Tommies are coming off a three-game series against the Omaha Mavericks in which the Tommies earned their second straight series win over the Mavericks.
Game One - L, 13-4
• Both teams scored a run during the second inning, led off by an RBI single from the Mavericks in the top half. Joe Roder led off the home half with a double, was moved over on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a sacrifice fly from Dylan O'Connell to tie the game, 1-1. Kolby Gartner (1-6) started the game and took the loss after throwing 3.2 innings with five earned runs allowed on five hits with one strikeout. Duke Coborn threw 4.1 innings in relief with a season-high six strikeouts.
Game Two - W, 4-1
• The Tommies' one-hitter began with Walker Retz's (1-4) seventh start of the season, which lasted 5.0 innings. The only hit allowed came in the top of the fifth inning. The combined one-hitter between Nolan Kemp and Walker Retz was the first for the program in 20 seasons, last accomplished by Sean Lindstrom during a 1-0 win over St. Mary's on April 22, 2003.
Game Three - W, 12-2
• Sophomore Joe Vos delivered the final blow of an impressive day Sunday as St. Thomas Baseball beat Omaha 12-2 in walk-off fashion, securing the series victory at Koch Diamond. Vos went 4-of-5 from the plate with four RBI and two doubles, highlighted by an RBI single to score the final run in the eighth inning. He was one of four Tommies with multiple RBI and one of three with multiple hits. Dylan O'Connell went 3-of-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, and Ben Vujovich was 2-of-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
• Sophomore Evan Esch (2-2), who had 16 strikeouts and one run allowed over his last two outings, went 7.0 innings with nine strikeouts on Sunday to earn the win.
Next Up for the Tommies
• St. Thomas welcomes the Summit League leaders of Oral Roberts University to Koch Diamond for their third home series of the year in a late season pursuit to climb up the league rankings. Oral Roberts is currently 17-1 in conference play heading into the series versus UST.
• The Golden Eagles are led by the trio of Jonah Cox, Matt Hogan, and Holden Breeze, who are the lone ORU players batting over .300 on the year. Cox is batting .429 on the season with 78 hits, 49 runs, eight HRs, and 44 RBI's. Hogan has maintained a batting average of .340 on the year with 48 hits, 38 runs, 15 home runs, and 51 RBI's.
• The pitching staff is led by starters Brooks Fowler and Jakob Hall. The duo has combined for 21 starts on the year with Fowler maintaining a record of 5-1, while tallying 47.1 innings thrown, 18 earned runs, 49 strikeouts, and only 18 walks. Hall has a record of 6-3 on the season with an ERA of 3.68, two shutouts, 70 strikeouts, and only 8 walks.
• Oral Roberts started off the season sweeping Northern Illinois in a four-game series and winning two-of-three games in a series against Texas State before losing a series against Stephen F. Austin. Since Summit League play began for the Golden Eagles on Mar. 17 against St. Thomas, the Golden Eagles have gone 23-3, beating the likes of 16th ranked Oklahoma State, Memphis, and Wichita State. Oral Roberts is currently ranked #24 in the nation in the Division 1 poll, ranking just behind Indiana and Texas Tech.
Summit League Ranks (As of 5/3/23)
Team
Earned Run Average (5th/7.21)
Fielding Percentage (5th/.964)
Opp. Batting Average (5th/.293)
Individual - Pitching
Earned Run Average (E. Esch - 5th/4.10)
Opp. Batting Average (E. Esch 2nd/.226, K. Gartner - 7th/.248)
Individual - Hitting
Batting Average (J. Roder - 14th/.310, C. Bartholomew - 25th/.291)
Hits (B. Richartz - t-31st/34)
On-Base % (J. Roder – 23rd/.380)
Stolen Bases (D. O'Connell - t-12th/6)
Individual - Fielding
Putouts (C. Bartholomew - 10th/191) Assists (M. Enck – 5th/75)
Fielding % (C. Bartholomew-4th/.995, J. Roder- 5th/.993)
Caught Stealing (C. Bartholomew - t-4th/9, M. Moris - 6th/7)
Fresh Esch
• Sophomore Evan Esch was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career following his start Saturday, April 15 against North Dakota State.
• The weekly award is the first of Esch's career, who has made eight appearances on the mound in 2023 and made 14 with eight starts as a freshman. It also marks the first weekly honor by a Tommie this season.
• Esch followed up with another stellar outing Monday, April 24 at South Dakota State, tossing a career-high 11 strikeouts in another 6.0-inning performance. He held the Jackrabbits to one hit and retired 13 straight batters between the second and sixth innings.
• After allowing his only run, Esch struck out the side in the first inning on his way to striking out eight of the first nine batters faced.
• Esch leads all active Tommies with 94 career strikeouts during the Division I era. Walker Retz follows with 71 while Kolby Gartner has 63.
Bringing the Lumber
• Freshman Ben Taxdahl recorded two home runs during the South Dakota State series, bringing his season total to a team-best three.
• Both of his long balls came during the fourth inning against the Jackrabbits, while two of his home runs were three-run shots.
• No other Tommie has more than one home run this season.
Hitting 21
•The Tommies scored a season-high 21 runs during the series opener April 7 at Northern Colorado, which is also the first time the program has topped 20 runs in a game since joining NCAA Division I. The Toms' 21 runs are the most for the team since totaling 21 against Macalaster in 2016 and 22 against Macalaster in 2015.
• St. Thomas tallied a season-high 19 hits and scored in every inning of the game. All but one starter recorded a hit and an RBI, and all but two totaled multiple hits.
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.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 14th season with St. Thomas in 2023. He has totaled an overall record of 359-197-1 (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 --
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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RHP/OF
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OF
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