University of St. Thomas Athletics
Wednesday, May 8
DeKalb, Ill. / Ralph McKinzie Field at Walt and Janice Owens Park
3:00 p.m. Central
at
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Baseball set for final four-game road stretch of the season
5/7/2024 10:23:00 AM | Baseball
Tommies travel to Omaha for battle of top two Summit League squads
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Thomas baseball team is on the road for the final time this season, traveling to DeKalb, Ill. and Omaha, Neb. The Tommies face Northern Illinois on Wednesday, May 8, and compete against Omaha in a Summit League series from May 10-12.
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
Last Time Out
The Tommies traveled to Fargo, N.D. to play the Bison for the first time this season:
Game One – W, 11-3
• Led by three home runs in three straight innings, the Tommies gained a 7-0 lead through three frames in Fargo. Matthew Maulik, Joe Vos and Max Nyrop tallied homers in the opening innings.
• The Tommie offense totaled 15 hits, led by Max Moris and Mikey Gottschalk who went 3-for-4
• Evan Esch (4-2) worked five scoreless innings, tying season-high nine strikeouts.
Game Two – L, 7-4
• Joe Vos and Tanner Recchio tallied multi-hit games, each recording a double in game two.
•Through the final 6.0 innings, Zak Endres and Marcus Kruzan kept the Bison off the board, allowing just four hits.
Game Three – L, 5-4
• Matthew Maulik tallied a solo home run, his team-leading seventh of the season
• Maulik finished the day 5-for-5, including a double and the homer, scoring three runs.
Next up for the Tommies
• The St. Thomas baseball team is on the road for the final time this season, traveling to DeKalb, Ill. and Omaha, Neb. The Tommies face Northern Illinois on Wednesday, May 8, and compete against Omaha in a Summit League series from May 10-12.
• Northern Illinois (16-31, 10-14 MAC) is led by head coach Ryan Copeland in his first season.
• This will the first meeting between the Huskies and Tommies.
• Omaha (15-26-1, 13-10-1 Summit) is led by Head Coach Evan Porter in his eighth season.
• The Tommies hold a 7-5 overall record against Omaha. In three close games earlier this season, St. Thomas defeated Omaha in the series finale.
Maulik making an Impact
• Matthew Maulik has the lowest strikeout percentage among qualified batters in the Summit League at .103.
• Maulik has reached base in all but six games and had a team-leading 21 game reached base streak.
•The first year has recorded team-high 18 multi-hit games this season and leads the Tommies with seven home runs so far this season
Tommie Leaders
• So far this season, Brigs Richartz has recorded a hit in 33 games, and has reached base in 36 of 39 games played.
• Richartz ranks top-five in Summit League in batting avg. (.350) and doubles (12).
•Richartz, Ben Vujovich, Max Moris, Matthew Maulik, and Mikey Gottschalk have all reached base in at least 30 games this season.
Tommie Offense
•The St. Thomas offense has exploded this spring, totaling 251 runs in 39 games played. In 2023, the Tommies recorded 186 runs through 44 games.
•Nine Tommies have combined for 30 home runs to start the season. The Tommies totaled 14 home runs a season ago.
• Matthew Maulik (.359), Brigs Richartz (.350), and Joe Roder (.337) all rank in the top-10 spots in the Summit League in batting average.
Look back at 2023
•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.
•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.
Summit League Ranks (As of 5/6/24)
Team
Conference Win % (1st/.600)
Batting Avg (1st/.295)
Triples (1st/16)
OB%(1st/.390)
SLG% (2nd/.425)
Runs (4th/251)
Hits (3rd/412)
RBI (4th/233)
ERA (3rd/6.20)
Opp. Batting Average (3rd/.274)
Individual – Pitching
Opp. Batting Average (J. Mrosko – 1st/.160)
Opp. Batting Average (K. Gartner – 3rd/.239)
Earned Run Average (J. Mrosko – 2nd/3.91)
Individual – Hitting
Batting Average (M. Maulik – 3rd/.359)
Batting Average (B. Richartz – 5th/.350)
OPS (M. Maulik – 6th/.974)
OB% (J. Roder– 3rd/.464)
Hits (M. Maulik – 4th/56)
Hits (B. Richartz – 5th/55)
Runs (B. Vujovich – 4th/38)
Doubles (B. Richartz – t-3rd/12)
SLG% (M. Maulik – 6th/.551)
RBI (M. Maulik – 4th/40)
Stolen bases (B. Vujovich – 1st/17)
Individual - Fielding
CSB (M. Moris – 2nd/ 9)
Putouts (M. Moris – 3rd/ 305)
Assists (M. Gottschalk – 7th/79)
Tommie Baseball DI Record Holders
•Brigs Richartz – RBI (75), At Bats (504), Hits (149), Games played (127)
• Ben Vujovich -- Runs (90), Batting Avg. (0.300), SLG% (.444)
• Kolby Gartner – Games started pitching (20), Innings pitched (140)
Summit League Weekly Honors
Jacob Mrsoko earned the Summit League Baseball Peak Pitcher of the week honor on Feb. 26 after his performance against SEMO:
• Earned first career win after a seven-inning, complete-game outing
• Allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out a career-high 12 Redhawks
• Surrendered just one hit and fanned 11 through the first six innings
• Earned the first weekly award of his career
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.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 15th season with St. Thomas in 2024. He has totaled an overall record of 382-232-1 (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
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
Last Time Out
The Tommies traveled to Fargo, N.D. to play the Bison for the first time this season:
Game One – W, 11-3
• Led by three home runs in three straight innings, the Tommies gained a 7-0 lead through three frames in Fargo. Matthew Maulik, Joe Vos and Max Nyrop tallied homers in the opening innings.
• The Tommie offense totaled 15 hits, led by Max Moris and Mikey Gottschalk who went 3-for-4
• Evan Esch (4-2) worked five scoreless innings, tying season-high nine strikeouts.
Game Two – L, 7-4
• Joe Vos and Tanner Recchio tallied multi-hit games, each recording a double in game two.
•Through the final 6.0 innings, Zak Endres and Marcus Kruzan kept the Bison off the board, allowing just four hits.
Game Three – L, 5-4
• Matthew Maulik tallied a solo home run, his team-leading seventh of the season
• Maulik finished the day 5-for-5, including a double and the homer, scoring three runs.
Next up for the Tommies
• The St. Thomas baseball team is on the road for the final time this season, traveling to DeKalb, Ill. and Omaha, Neb. The Tommies face Northern Illinois on Wednesday, May 8, and compete against Omaha in a Summit League series from May 10-12.
• Northern Illinois (16-31, 10-14 MAC) is led by head coach Ryan Copeland in his first season.
• This will the first meeting between the Huskies and Tommies.
• Omaha (15-26-1, 13-10-1 Summit) is led by Head Coach Evan Porter in his eighth season.
• The Tommies hold a 7-5 overall record against Omaha. In three close games earlier this season, St. Thomas defeated Omaha in the series finale.
Maulik making an Impact
• Matthew Maulik has the lowest strikeout percentage among qualified batters in the Summit League at .103.
• Maulik has reached base in all but six games and had a team-leading 21 game reached base streak.
•The first year has recorded team-high 18 multi-hit games this season and leads the Tommies with seven home runs so far this season
Tommie Leaders
• So far this season, Brigs Richartz has recorded a hit in 33 games, and has reached base in 36 of 39 games played.
• Richartz ranks top-five in Summit League in batting avg. (.350) and doubles (12).
•Richartz, Ben Vujovich, Max Moris, Matthew Maulik, and Mikey Gottschalk have all reached base in at least 30 games this season.
Tommie Offense
•The St. Thomas offense has exploded this spring, totaling 251 runs in 39 games played. In 2023, the Tommies recorded 186 runs through 44 games.
•Nine Tommies have combined for 30 home runs to start the season. The Tommies totaled 14 home runs a season ago.
• Matthew Maulik (.359), Brigs Richartz (.350), and Joe Roder (.337) all rank in the top-10 spots in the Summit League in batting average.
Look back at 2023
•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.
•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.
Summit League Ranks (As of 5/6/24)
Team
Conference Win % (1st/.600)
Batting Avg (1st/.295)
Triples (1st/16)
OB%(1st/.390)
SLG% (2nd/.425)
Runs (4th/251)
Hits (3rd/412)
RBI (4th/233)
ERA (3rd/6.20)
Opp. Batting Average (3rd/.274)
Individual – Pitching
Opp. Batting Average (J. Mrosko – 1st/.160)
Opp. Batting Average (K. Gartner – 3rd/.239)
Earned Run Average (J. Mrosko – 2nd/3.91)
Individual – Hitting
Batting Average (M. Maulik – 3rd/.359)
Batting Average (B. Richartz – 5th/.350)
OPS (M. Maulik – 6th/.974)
OB% (J. Roder– 3rd/.464)
Hits (M. Maulik – 4th/56)
Hits (B. Richartz – 5th/55)
Runs (B. Vujovich – 4th/38)
Doubles (B. Richartz – t-3rd/12)
SLG% (M. Maulik – 6th/.551)
RBI (M. Maulik – 4th/40)
Stolen bases (B. Vujovich – 1st/17)
Individual - Fielding
CSB (M. Moris – 2nd/ 9)
Putouts (M. Moris – 3rd/ 305)
Assists (M. Gottschalk – 7th/79)
Tommie Baseball DI Record Holders
•Brigs Richartz – RBI (75), At Bats (504), Hits (149), Games played (127)
• Ben Vujovich -- Runs (90), Batting Avg. (0.300), SLG% (.444)
• Kolby Gartner – Games started pitching (20), Innings pitched (140)
Summit League Weekly Honors
Jacob Mrsoko earned the Summit League Baseball Peak Pitcher of the week honor on Feb. 26 after his performance against SEMO:
• Earned first career win after a seven-inning, complete-game outing
• Allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out a career-high 12 Redhawks
• Surrendered just one hit and fanned 11 through the first six innings
• Earned the first weekly award of his career
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.
Leading the Pack
• Chris Olean begins his 15th season with St. Thomas in 2024. He has totaled an overall record of 382-232-1 (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
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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OF
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