2012 BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE 2012 BASEBALL- 1 Augustana College | Rock Island, Illinois Founded 1860 Enrollment 2,500 President Steven Bahls Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Craig VanSandt, Professor of Business Administration Athletic Director Mike Zapolski Head Coach Greg Wallace Wallace Office Phone (309) 794-7252 Wallace Home Phone (309) 756-0165 Kistler email [email protected] Assistant Coaches Dave Hebbeln, Leann Barber & John Brokaw Sports Information Director Dave Wrath S.I.D. Office Phone (309) 794-7265 S.I.D. Cell Phone (309) 737-5306 S.I.D. FAX Number (309) 794-7525 Head Athletic Trainer Rochel Rittgers Assistant Athletic Trainers Denise Yoder & Anna Smith Training Room Phone (309) 794-7518 Conference College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin The following mission statement guides Augustana’s liberal arts curricu- CCIW Teams Augustana; Carthage; Elmhurst; Illinois Wesleyan; Millikin; lum and student programs. North Central; North Park; Wheaton National Affiliation NCAA Division III Augustana College, rooted in the liberal arts and sciences and a Team Name/Colors Vikings/Blue & Gold Lutheran expression of the Christian faith, is committed to offering a Stadium Brunner Field at Swanson Stadium (Seventh street and John challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit and body Deere Road in Moline, Illinois) necessary for a rewarding life of leadership and service in a diverse and Athletic Department Phone (309) 794-7521 changing world. Admissions Department (309) 794-7341 Toll Free Number 1-800-798-8100; (local) 794-7000 These goals and ideals also are reflected in the mission statement of the Web Site Address www.augustana.edu athletic department: About Augustana College The Department of Athletics offers all Augustana College students an Known for its balance of liberal arts with focus in a major field, collabora- opportunity toward the development of the total person. Working in a tive research opportunities, competitive athletic teams and award-winning cooperative and active learning environment and dedicated to impart- student activities programs, Augustana College is a selective independent ing a lifelong awareness of health and wellness our department assists college of the liberal arts and sciences related to the Evangelical Lutheran students in the acquisition of dynamic skills knowledge and fitness. Church in America. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 men and women of diverse ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, from across We value dignity, respect, diversity, accountability, communication and the United States and around the world. teamwork: and challenge each participant to achieve a sense of self confidence, pride, team unity, success, and cohesiveness through com- Augustana’s athletic teams have won more championships than any other petitive sport. Our programs support the mission of Augustana College school in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The Vikings own by cultivating the individual in all facets of life within and without the a total of 175 total team championships (137 men and 38 women) since competitive arena. the league began in 1946-47. Augustana is currently sixth in the nation in number of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Where to find Augustana Sports News Academic All-Americans produced in all sports with 135 as of June, 2011. Information on the Augustana College athletic department is easy to find. During the 1990’s the Vikings finished third, trailing only Nebraska and Augustana Sports Information Director Dave Wrath maintains the sched- M.I.T. ules and press releases on the college’s athletic department web page. It can be accessed at www.augustana.edu. Also, you may e-mail Dave Wrath Home to a Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society chapter since 1949, at [email protected]. The office phone number for sports infor- Augustana grants baccalaureate degrees in more than 60 areas of study. mation is (309) 794-7265. Along with a competitive athletic environment, student-athletes can join one or several of the school’s 150 student organizations or take advan- The 2011 Augustana football media guide is presented as a service to all tage of Augustana’s wide variety of opportunities for international study. news media and friends of Augustana. The media guides are written and Augustana has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1, and nearly 90 percent of the edited by Augustana Sports Information Director Dave Wrath. Photos in faculty hold the Ph.D. or the terminal degree in their field. the media guide were taken by either Steve Woltmann or Brandon Gittel- man. Additional stories and pictures will be furnished upon request. 2012 PROSPECTUS Vikings looking forward to continuing winning ways as 2012 season looms Veteran Augustana baseball coach Greg Wallace has the Vikings on solid Schmidt batted .336 with 43 hits in 128 at-bats last year with nine doubles, ground and he is looking forward to continuing the Vikings’ success in 2012. four triples, a home run and 20 runs-batted-in. He also led the team in stolen Augustana has become an established power in the conference, regional and bases with 12. Juhl was a second team all-conference performer after he hit national scene and Wallace is expecting that trend to continue. .370 with 50 hits in 135 at-bats with six doubles, one triple, one home run and 17 RBI. Cecchi had the best batting average on the team at .425 with 17 hits A year ago the Vikings had a great start, winning 10 of their first 11 contests, in 40 at-bats. and a great finish, taking nine of their last 10 games. That translated to a 28-12 overall record and a 12-9 mark in the College Conference of Illinois & Junior Grant Stewart (Sterling HS, Sterling, Ill.) could be at first base. Wisconsin. Augustana won 25 games the year before, giving the Vikings 53 Freshman Kyle Lenihan (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) is versatile wins in the last two seasons. enough to provide backup at second, short and third while junior Dave Balzer (Morris HS, Shorewood, Ill.) should see some time after coming back from Wallace is now in his 15th season as the head baseball coach at his alma mater an injury that kept him out of action a year ago. and it has been a tenure punctuated with great success. The Vikings have compiled an overall record of 409-189 (.684) under his tutelage and have gone In the outfield, McIntosh will play in left when he is not pitching. He batted 169-120 (.585) in the CCIW. Three times they have made it to the NCAA Divi- .283 last year with 32 hits in 113 at-bats while scoring 24 runs with eight sion III Tournament, most recently in 2008. doubles, three triples, three home runs and 28 RBI. Seniors Kevin Serna (Roll- ing Meadows HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Mike Barker (Grandview “We are looking forward to this season after coming off another successful HS, Centennial, Colo.; now resides in Marina del Rey, Calif.) are back year in 2011,” said Wallace. “Our goal, as it always is, will be to game further in the outfield as well. Serna hit .267 with 23 hits in 86 at-bats last year while national recognition for the program through post-season play.” Barker hit .213 with 13 hits in 61 at-bats in 19 games. Senior Anthony Concialdi (Fremd HS, Barrington, Ill.) stared 29 games last year in the outfield and The Vikings return 16 letter winners from last year with five position players hit .263 with 26 hits in 99 at-bats. Junior Mark VanNatta (Rock Island Alle- and three pitchers having held starting roles. Two all-conference performers, man Catholic HS, Moline, Ill.) and sophomore Jacob VanDuyne (Wilming- juniors Jared McIntosh (Davenport Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) ton HS, Wilmington, Ill.) will be used as well. and Jeremy Juhl (Glenbard East HS, Lombard, Ill.) are among the starters. “We can’t wait to get started,” said Wallace. “This should be a good year for “Of course we will have to stay healthy but I think we have a good mix of ex- us.” perienced players and younger talent,” said Wallace who won his 400th game at Augustana on April 17 last year when the Vikings defeated Carthage 8-7 to complete a double header sweep. “We will learn a lot about this team over the course of a very tough spring trip and non-conference schedule played through the end of March.” As it usually is in the sport of baseball, focus this spring will be on the pitching staff and Wallace likes what he sees there. McIntosh and senior Mike Trotta (Niles Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) figure to lead the way. McIntosh was 4-0 a year ago with a 2.68 earned run average in 50 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 29 throughout the season and was a first team all-conference per- former. Trotta has been a solid performer throughout his career and was 6-2 last year with a 4.13 ERA in 61 innings with 40 strikeouts. McIntosh and Trotta shared the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher award. Senior Josiah Martin (Canton HS, Canton, Ill.) and junior Ben Heaton (Bloomington Central Catholic HS, Heyworth, Ill.) both saw plenty of action in 2011. Martin led the team in appearances with 19 and posted a 3-1 record with a 2.10 earned run average in 30 innings. Heaton was 4-2 with a 5.66 ERA in 35 innings. Senior Ryan Thompson (Wheaton North HS, Wheaton, Ill.), junior Rick Erickson (Lake Zurich HS, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) and sophomores Brian Konecke (Lakes Community HS, Itasca, Ill.) and Rob DiDomenico (Carl Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) will also get plenty of opportunities for innings.