The Magazine's 2012 Top Ten for DII... DIVISIONDIVISION IIII NATIONALNATIONAL CCHAMPIONSHIPHAMPIONSHIP RUNRUN LLOOKSOOKS TTOO BBEE AANOTHERNOTHER TIGHTTIGHT RACERACE

By Bill Ballew

fter several seasons in which they got close but never made the final trip, the West Florida Argonauts not only reached the Division II national championships in Cary,A N.C., last year, the Gulf South Conference team swept all four games at the USA Baseball Training Center to capture its first title. The Argos will remain in the hunt once again in 2012, but with the D-II level sporting as much talent and depth as at any time in its existence, the race for the top spot will feature a field of several worthy contenders. Here are the top 10 favorites as determined by Baseball The Magazine heading into the campaign. 1. Grand Valley State Lakers: The Lakers reached Cary last season as the Midwest Region champions and winners of 32 straight games. Surprisingly, they lost a pair of close games in their two appearances in the D-II national championships to finish the season with a 52-5 record. GVSU could make a repeat visit to North Carolina this year due to the return of five position players with starting experience and eight of their top 10 from last season. Leading the way is Steve Anderson, who topped the team in most offensive categories, including a .397 average, 73 hits, seven homers and 64 RBI. Giancarlo Brugnoni (.349) and Jared Cowan (.346) and Derrik Strzalkowski (.289) are expected to be big contributors once again. Pitching will be a strength with senior righthanders Kyle Schepel (11-0, 2.57 ERA) and Ryan Garman (9-1, 1.70 ERA) back in the weekend rotation. The Lakers could see fellow senior Chris Whitney (5-0, 3.22 ERA) contribute on weekends as well, while Brad Zambron (4-1, 1.95 ERA), Cory Rademacher (3-1, 1.69 ERA) and Jacob Cox (1-0, 2.45 ERA) headline an impressive .

Giancarlo Brugnoni

Brian Paulhus

Steve Anderson

Page 34 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 1 2012

Baseball The Magazine's 2012 Top Ten for DII... DIVISIONDIVISION IIII NNATIONALATIONAL CCHAMPIONSHIPHAMPIONSHIP RUNRUN LOOKSLOOKS TOTO BEBE ANOTHERANOTHER TIGHTTIGHT RACERACE

2. Francis Marion Patriots: The Patriots are scheduled to christen a new on-campus facility this season, which could coincide with the best team in Francis Marion history. Head Art Inabinet welcomes back six starting position players from last year’s squad that went 41-16 as well as his top two pitchers. Sophomore righthanders Don Sandifer (11-3, 2.33 ERA) and Jeffrey Stoner (9-0, 2.40 ERA) put together stellar freshman cam- paigns and should make the Patriots one of the nation’s most for- midable teams this spring. FMU also returns its starting , comprised of a trio of seniors in leadoff hitter and Buddy Sosnoskie (.396, 45 RBI) and Tyler Boyd (.274, 2 HR, 23 RBI). John Jones (.347, 3 HR, 32 RBI) sees time in left field and at . Francis Marion is also strong on the with the return of Michael Wilson, who ranked second on the team behind Sosnoskie last season with a .374 bat- ting average while adding 30 RBI. Senior Brock McCallister (.339, 17 RBI) also figures prominently into the picture, along with infielder/ Brian Paulhus (.229, 15 RBI). 3. West Florida Argonauts: The Argos made the most of their first visit to Cary by sweeping their way to the D-II national championship last June. Despite losing eight players who signed professional contracts from last year’s team, West Florida should be among the nation’s elite with the return of four starting position players and two solid pitchers. Third baseman Josh Huggins (.313, Michael Wilson 40 RBI) and leadoff hitter and Taye Larry (.303) earned spots on the national championship All-Tournament team. They are joined by Korey Domenick (.274) and second base- man Leo Lamarche (.284, 37 runs, 37 RBI). Kevin Peters could

Taye Larry

Josh Huggins

Page 36 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 1 2012 move into the weekend rotation after a stellar freshman season that included a 5-1 record and a 2.23 ERA. Jordan Rasinski lim- ited opponents to a .216 batting average and a 3.43 ERA in 16 relief outings last spring. Newcomers that could play roles in their first seasons include freshman right-handed pitchers Kutler Lane and Eric Sloan, freshman outfielder Garrett Gleiter and jun- ior outfielder Randall Sheffield, a transfer from Gulf Coast Community College. 4. Tampa Spartans: After rebuilding in 2011 with a revamped roster, the Spartans are expected to be back in the national championship chase this spring with the return of most of its team from a year ago. Among those back in Tampa are the club’s top two hitters in seniors Andrew Jones and Eric Grabe. Jones paced the Spartans with a .385 batting average, six home runs and 43 RBI last year, while Grabe contributed a .379 norm with five roundtrippers and 35 RBI. Versatile defender Damon Elder (.351) started at six different positions and earned All- Sunshine State accolades. Also back in the fold are sophomores Tyler Ding (.338) and Connor Obrochta (.313). The lineup should be bolstered by the addition of transfers Robert Zimmerman and Anthony Caronia from State College of Florida along with Jake Schrader, who 30 home runs while attending St. John’s River Community College. The Spartan pitching staff should be more formidable with the return of Sean Bierman, who missed last season with an ankle injury, and Evan Stobbs, who was injured after making five starts in 2011. Justin Leith is back after making 10 starts and posting a 3.96 ERA last year, while newcomers Ben Brown, Eric Luksis and Frank Zaccardo are expected to make immediate impacts on the bump. 5. Millersville Marauders: After finishing seventh in the nation last year while going 44-12, the Marauders return most of their lineup as well as one of the top pitching staffs at the D-II Mike August level, which has hopes running high in Millersville this spring. Mike August, who earned All-America honors in 2011 while hit-

Zach Stone

Chris Zbin

www.baseballthemag.com•www.batwars.com • Page 37 Baseball The Magazine's 2012 Top Ten for DII... DIVISIONDIVISION IIII NNATIONALATIONAL CCHAMPIONSHIPHAMPIONSHIP RUNRUN LOOKSLOOKS TOTO BEBE ANOTHERANOTHER TIGHTTIGHT RRACEACE ting .379, is back at , alongside sophomore third baseman Zach Stone, who is coming off a .357 performance and a team-best 46 RBI as a freshman. Chris Edgar returns for his fourth season as a starter in the outfield, where he is joined by center fielder Jeff Heisey, who had a team-high .958 OPS last spring. The Marauders are deep behind the plate with Ryan Chesler and Mike Perez, who could see time at first base and designated hitter with Carlos Medina. Mike McMonagle (9-1, 1.79 ERA) and Brooks Rothschild (10-2, 2.60 ERA) head the rotation after both earned All-Atlantic Region honors. Sophomores Tim Mayza and Tad Barton should start against confer- ence opponents, with Tyler Horst, a transfer from Temple, also figur- ing into the pitching plans. Jason Long and Adam Zipko provide - standing relief assistance in the bullpen. 6. St. Cloud State Huskies: The Huskies are among the nation’s deepest teams in terms of returning talent. And based on last year’s 43-11 record, which includes a school mark for -season victo- ries, and runner-up finish in the Central Regional Tournament, St. Cloud State could be competing for a national title in Cary in early June. SCSU will once again have the mound services of All-Region selections Scott Lieser (9-0, 2.91 ERA) and Logan Birr (5-3, 1.83 ERA). Sophomore righthander Kyle Fischer (7-0, 2.49 ERA) and jun- ior lefty Shawn Riesgraf (7-1, 3.86 ERA) also return to the rotation. The Huskies lost only Jordan Smith from their starting lineup. The returnees are led by junior shortstop Travis Cariveau, an All-Region pick who hit .335 with four homers and 35 RBI. Cariveau is joined on the infield by senior first baseman Joe Peters (.330) and junior sec- ond baseman Steve Rindelaub (.309). The outfield is back intact after Steve Landell senior Brian Hansen (.318), a Gold Glove recipient, turned down overtures from the Cleveland Indians as a 48th-round draft pick last June. He is joined by junior Phil Imholte (.333, 25 RBI) and senior Joey Benke (.318). The catching duties are handled capably by soph- omore Travis Enger (.339) and Joey Althoff (.295). 7. Central Missouri Mules: The senior-dominated Mules arrived in Cary as one of the nation’s hottest teams but wound up Daniel Coffey losing their two outings to finish the 2011 season with a 49-10 record. The perennial powers from the Mid-American Athletic Association will have to reload with a combination of three returning positional starters and two starting pitchers to go with a solid class of newcomers. Mules head coach Tom Myers will be counting heavily on senior Bret Schwartz and Will Mulligan. Schwartz is the team’s top returning hitter, having batted at a .324 rate last spring while adding 10 doubles, three home runs and 42 RBI. Mulligan start- ed 34 games and hit .296 with five home runs and 23 RBI. Junior catcher Albert Selanders (.276) was one of four Mules to drive in more than 40 runs a year ago. Sophomore infielder/outfielder Kevin Gratza could see his role increase after starting 27 games last sea- son but will need to improve upon his .207 batting average. Sophomore Kurtis Schuyler led Central Missouri’s starters with a 3.05 ERA last year while going 6-2. Schuyler should be joined in the starting rotation by senior Lee Stoppelman, who went 6-1 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 starts last spring. 8. Southern Connecticut State Owls: The Owls made a strong late-season in 2011 to reach the national championships in Cary and finish the slate ranked fourth in the country. Southern Connecticut is looking to achieve that feat in back-to-back seasons with the return of seven position players with starting experience and four pitchers, led by Chris Zbin, a senior All-American. The left-hand- ed Zbin tied for the team lead in wins with a 10-2 record while post- ing a 1.25 ERA in 17 games, including 15 starts. He will team with junior southpaw Steve Landell (6-2, 2.55 ERA) in the weekend rota- tion. The Owls have their leading hitter back in senior first baseman Ryan Geffert, who batted .301 while pacing SCSU with 21 doubles, six home runs and 49 RBI. Joining Geffert on the grass are senior

Page 38 • Baseball The Magazine • Issue 1 2012 9. Mount Olive Trojans: The Trojans won the Conference Carolinas and Southeast Regional championships a year ago to advance to Cary and finish the season with a 47-10 record. Mount Olive should be a strong contender to add another national title to the school’s trophy case despite the losses of several key components, topped by Carter Capps, a third-round draft pick and unani- mous All-America selection last June who has graduated to the pro- fessional ranks. The list of key returnees is led by third baseman Jacob Rogers. Rogers garnered All-America recognition last spring while ranking among the national leaders with a .414 batting average, 25 doubles and six triples. First baseman Daniel Coffey added a .307 norm with five homers and 48 RBI. Catcher/designated hitter Nick Gaeta returns after posting a .381 average. The starting rotation must be rebuilt, headed by Matt Hinkle, who went 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA and earned a win in the national finals. Josh Frederick and Chris Hinton, who had an ERA of 3.09 and 2.89, respectively, are the leading can- didates to move from relief to the rotation. 10. St. Mary’s Rattlers: Coming off a stellar 47-10 performance in 2011, the Rattlers appear poised to make another strong run at one of the eight spots in Cary, thanks in part to the return of reigning Jacob Rogers Heartland Conference Player of the Year Tyler Migl. The senior out- fielder/first baseman topped the team with a .381 batting average while hitting six home runs and driving in 47 runs. Migl is joined in the outfield by junior Billy Richard, who batted .297 with three homers and 27 RBI, and senior Josh McElroy (.243, 28 RBI). Senior Esteban Raygoza (.273, 3 HR, 39 RBI) helps solidify the left side of the infield. Several newcomers are expected to help the St. Mary’s cause as well, a list headed by M.P. Cokinos, a junior catcher from the infielders Kyle Cummings (.300, 21 RBI) and A.J. Rouleau, a University of Houston who was named to the Conference USA All- third baseman who batted .262 with 33 RBI. Sophomore infielder Freshman team in 2010. The Rattlers also have their top two pitchers T.K. Kiernan looks to build on last year’s .278 average. back. Junior righthander Carl O’Neal caught fire down the stretch last Sophomore T.J. Shea (.241, 27 RBI) is back behind the plate, year during the team’s playoff run and finished with a 7-3 record and while two of the starting are senior Bryan Dorsey a 2.70 ERA in 15 starts. Senior righty Skye Severns also returns as a (.284, 3 HR, 31 RBI) and junior Michael Cleary (.266 norm, 26 starter after going 7-1 with a 4.01 ERA in 14 games and 11 starts in RBI). 2011.

Tyler Migl

Billy Richard

Photo credit Antonio Morano Photography

Photo Credit Tim Holland/St. Mary’s Athletics

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