University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, February 16
Port Charlotte, Fla.
10:00 a.m. Central
vs
Illinois State
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Baseball opens 2024 season at the Snowbird Classic
2/15/2024 10:20:00 AM | Baseball
St. Thomas travels to Port Charlotte, Fla. to take on Illinois State and Saint Louis.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Thomas baseball team travels to Florida to open he 2024 season at the Snowbird Classic. The Tommies are set to face Illinois State and Saint Louis twice from Feb. 16-18.
Be sure to follow along for live streams through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/baseball/schedule – and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball
Season Preview
The Tommies' schedule is jammed pack with tough competition, both in nonconference and Summit League play. In total, St. Thomas will play 50 games throughout the spring. The Tommies are slated to play 16 games at Koch Diamond, beginning with a three-game series against South Dakota State on March 22-24.
St. Thomas will begin its season at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida, facing Illinois State and Saint Louis twice from Feb. 16-18. The Tommies will then travel to Southeast Missouri to play the Redhawks in a four-game series from Feb. 23-25.
Throughout March, the Purple will play Southern Indiana, Iowa, UIC and finish their road trip against conference opponent, Northern Colorado on March 15-17.
The Tommies will play six of 16 games at home throughout the month of April. St. Thomas will host conference opponents Omaha (April 5-7) and Northern Colorado (April 26-28) during the month, traveling for a 10-game stretch between these opponents.
The Tommies will begin the month of May with six games on the road, before returning home to wrap up the season, hosting Oral Roberts in their final series of the 2024 season.
St. Thomas is returning 20 letterwinners from a season ago, including captains, Evan Esch, Kolby Gartner, Max Moris, Jacob Mrosko and Brigs Richartz
There are 17 newcomers joining the Tommie Baseball program this season – 12 freshmen and five transfers.
First Up for the Purple
• St. Thomas travels to Port Charlotte, Fla. to take on Illinois State and Saint Louis. The Tommies will open their season at the Snowbird Classic, playing four games from Feb. 16-18.
•This is the first match up between the Tommies and Illinois State.
•Saint Louis baseball holds a 3-0 record over St. Thomas.
• Illinois State is led by Head Coach Steve Holm, who is in his sixth season. Last season, the Redbirds finished 20-30 overall and 9-18 in the MVC.
• Senior, Auggie Rasmussen was a leader for the Redbirds, hitting .315 a season ago in 50 games played. He also led the team in runs (46) and hits (64).
•Senior, Cameron Mabee returns to the pitching staff for Illinois State. Mabee recorded 31 strikeouts in 52.1 innings played.
• The Saint Louis Billikens is coach by Head Coach Darin Hendrickson in his 16th season. In 2023, the Billikens held a 33-22 overall record, and went 15-9 in the Atlantic 10 conference.
• Billikens senior, Cole Smith led the team hitting .367 during the 2023 season. He also led the team in hits (51), doubles (15) and recorded five home runs.
•Saint Louis returns Henry Litman to its coaching staff for the 2024 season. Last year, Litman led the bullpen with a 4.32 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched.
Last Season
•St. Thomas wrapped up the 2023 season with an overall record of 10-34, winning its final three of six games.
• The Tommies were 4-8 at Koch Diamond and 6-26 on the road last year.
• Brigs Richartz and Evan Esch both earned Summit League peak performer of the week awards last season.
• Offensively, the 2023 Toms improved on the 2022 Toms as a team in – batting average (.239 to .253), OPS (.627 to .660), hits (347 to 373), Runs (174 to 186), OBP (.300 to .321), doubles (44 to 63), RBI (156 to 168), SLG% (.327 to .339), and total bases (476 to 500)
•The Tommies earned their second Power 5 win over Kansas State on March 22, 2023 – defeating the Wildcats 2-1
•Last season, Brigs Richartz recorded the first Tommie cycle since 1996 against Northern Colorado.
Transfers
St. Thomas Baseball Head Coach Chris Olean announced the addition of five transfers to their program. The transfer class features five student-athlete, one graduate student, two seniors, one junior and one sophomore.
• Evan Jackson is a junior, right-handed pitcher from McHenry CC. At McHenry, Jackson made 15 appearances out of the bullpen. He tallied a 5-3 record in 38.2 innings with 50 strikeouts and 21 walks. Jackson held a K/9 of 11.64 and a WHIP of 1.53.
• Sophomore, Zak Endres is a right-handed pitcher from North Dakota State. Endres made seven appearances out of the bullpen and contributed three strikeouts over 7.2 innings. He made his Bison debut logging 1.0 innings at San Diego State and recorded a season-high two strikeouts over 2.0 innings in the win at Minnesota.
• Graduate Student, Max Nyrop is a 6-6 first baseman from Saint John's. With the Johnnies, Nyrop played in 103 games, starting in 100. He batted .410 with 86 runs, 113 RBIs, 38 doubles and 21 home runs. Nyrop was named All-MIAC and selected to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region second team, D3Baseball.com All-Midwest Region first team and D3Baseball.com All America first team.
• Mikey Gottschalk is a senior, transferring from Minnesota State. Gottschalk competed in 134 games and made 102 starts for the Mavericks. He batted .314 with 115 hits, including 21 doubles, five triples and nine home runs for 86 RBI. Fielding, Gottschalk compiled .929 fielding percentage on 109 putouts and 179 assists.
• Senior, Wyatt Nelson joins the Purple from North Dakota State. The right-handed pitcher made 50 appearances on the mound for the Bison. Nelson tossed 54 strikeouts over 97.2 innings. Academically, Nelson was named to the Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence in 2021 and is a three-time Summit League Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Tommie Baseball DI Record Holders
•Brigs Richartz – RBI (46), At Bats (347), Hits (94)
• Ben Vujovich -- RBI (46), Runs (52), Batting Avg. (0.298)
•Evan Esch – Innings pitched (94.1)
Summit League Preseason Poll
•Juniors Ben Vujovich (OF) and Evan Esch (LHP) were named the St. Thomas Player and Pitcher to Watch, as released in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• St. Thomas was selected to finish sixth in the Summit Preseason Poll.
Follow Along
Any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas baseball team can be found at tommiesports.com and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.
Be sure to follow along for live streams through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/baseball/schedule – and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball
Season Preview
The Tommies' schedule is jammed pack with tough competition, both in nonconference and Summit League play. In total, St. Thomas will play 50 games throughout the spring. The Tommies are slated to play 16 games at Koch Diamond, beginning with a three-game series against South Dakota State on March 22-24.
St. Thomas will begin its season at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida, facing Illinois State and Saint Louis twice from Feb. 16-18. The Tommies will then travel to Southeast Missouri to play the Redhawks in a four-game series from Feb. 23-25.
Throughout March, the Purple will play Southern Indiana, Iowa, UIC and finish their road trip against conference opponent, Northern Colorado on March 15-17.
The Tommies will play six of 16 games at home throughout the month of April. St. Thomas will host conference opponents Omaha (April 5-7) and Northern Colorado (April 26-28) during the month, traveling for a 10-game stretch between these opponents.
The Tommies will begin the month of May with six games on the road, before returning home to wrap up the season, hosting Oral Roberts in their final series of the 2024 season.
St. Thomas is returning 20 letterwinners from a season ago, including captains, Evan Esch, Kolby Gartner, Max Moris, Jacob Mrosko and Brigs Richartz
There are 17 newcomers joining the Tommie Baseball program this season – 12 freshmen and five transfers.
First Up for the Purple
• St. Thomas travels to Port Charlotte, Fla. to take on Illinois State and Saint Louis. The Tommies will open their season at the Snowbird Classic, playing four games from Feb. 16-18.
•This is the first match up between the Tommies and Illinois State.
•Saint Louis baseball holds a 3-0 record over St. Thomas.
• Illinois State is led by Head Coach Steve Holm, who is in his sixth season. Last season, the Redbirds finished 20-30 overall and 9-18 in the MVC.
• Senior, Auggie Rasmussen was a leader for the Redbirds, hitting .315 a season ago in 50 games played. He also led the team in runs (46) and hits (64).
•Senior, Cameron Mabee returns to the pitching staff for Illinois State. Mabee recorded 31 strikeouts in 52.1 innings played.
• The Saint Louis Billikens is coach by Head Coach Darin Hendrickson in his 16th season. In 2023, the Billikens held a 33-22 overall record, and went 15-9 in the Atlantic 10 conference.
• Billikens senior, Cole Smith led the team hitting .367 during the 2023 season. He also led the team in hits (51), doubles (15) and recorded five home runs.
•Saint Louis returns Henry Litman to its coaching staff for the 2024 season. Last year, Litman led the bullpen with a 4.32 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched.
Last Season
•St. Thomas wrapped up the 2023 season with an overall record of 10-34, winning its final three of six games.
• The Tommies were 4-8 at Koch Diamond and 6-26 on the road last year.
• Brigs Richartz and Evan Esch both earned Summit League peak performer of the week awards last season.
• Offensively, the 2023 Toms improved on the 2022 Toms as a team in – batting average (.239 to .253), OPS (.627 to .660), hits (347 to 373), Runs (174 to 186), OBP (.300 to .321), doubles (44 to 63), RBI (156 to 168), SLG% (.327 to .339), and total bases (476 to 500)
•The Tommies earned their second Power 5 win over Kansas State on March 22, 2023 – defeating the Wildcats 2-1
•Last season, Brigs Richartz recorded the first Tommie cycle since 1996 against Northern Colorado.
Transfers
St. Thomas Baseball Head Coach Chris Olean announced the addition of five transfers to their program. The transfer class features five student-athlete, one graduate student, two seniors, one junior and one sophomore.
• Evan Jackson is a junior, right-handed pitcher from McHenry CC. At McHenry, Jackson made 15 appearances out of the bullpen. He tallied a 5-3 record in 38.2 innings with 50 strikeouts and 21 walks. Jackson held a K/9 of 11.64 and a WHIP of 1.53.
• Sophomore, Zak Endres is a right-handed pitcher from North Dakota State. Endres made seven appearances out of the bullpen and contributed three strikeouts over 7.2 innings. He made his Bison debut logging 1.0 innings at San Diego State and recorded a season-high two strikeouts over 2.0 innings in the win at Minnesota.
• Graduate Student, Max Nyrop is a 6-6 first baseman from Saint John's. With the Johnnies, Nyrop played in 103 games, starting in 100. He batted .410 with 86 runs, 113 RBIs, 38 doubles and 21 home runs. Nyrop was named All-MIAC and selected to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region second team, D3Baseball.com All-Midwest Region first team and D3Baseball.com All America first team.
• Mikey Gottschalk is a senior, transferring from Minnesota State. Gottschalk competed in 134 games and made 102 starts for the Mavericks. He batted .314 with 115 hits, including 21 doubles, five triples and nine home runs for 86 RBI. Fielding, Gottschalk compiled .929 fielding percentage on 109 putouts and 179 assists.
• Senior, Wyatt Nelson joins the Purple from North Dakota State. The right-handed pitcher made 50 appearances on the mound for the Bison. Nelson tossed 54 strikeouts over 97.2 innings. Academically, Nelson was named to the Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence in 2021 and is a three-time Summit League Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Tommie Baseball DI Record Holders
•Brigs Richartz – RBI (46), At Bats (347), Hits (94)
• Ben Vujovich -- RBI (46), Runs (52), Batting Avg. (0.298)
•Evan Esch – Innings pitched (94.1)
Summit League Preseason Poll
•Juniors Ben Vujovich (OF) and Evan Esch (LHP) were named the St. Thomas Player and Pitcher to Watch, as released in the 2024 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• St. Thomas was selected to finish sixth in the Summit Preseason Poll.
Follow Along
Any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas baseball team can be found at tommiesports.com and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.
Players Mentioned
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