2011 Baseball Media Guide

2011 Baseball Media Guide 1 - AUGUSTANA VIKINGS Augustana College | Rock Island, Illinois Founded 1860 Enrollment 2,500 President Steven Bahls Chairman of Athletic Board Dr. Craig VanSandt, Professor of Business Athletic Director Mike Zapolski Head Coach Greg Wallace Wallace Office Phone (309) 794-7252 Wallace Home Phone (309) 756-0165 Wallace e-mail [email protected] 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 Trainer Rochel Rittgers Assistant Trainers Denise Yoder & Anna Smith Training Room Phone (309) 794-7518 Conference College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin CCIW Teams Augustana; Carthage; Elmhurst; Illinois Wesleyan; The following mission statement guides Augustana’s liberal arts curriculum Millikin; North Central; North Park; Wheaton and student programs. National Affiliation NCAA Division III Team Name Vikings Augustana College, rooted in the liberal arts and sciences and a Colors Blue & Gold Lutheran expression of the Christian faith, is committed to offering a Home Field 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 These goals and ideals also are reflected in the mission statement of the Toll Free Number (800) 798-8100 athletic department: Website www.augustana.edu The Department of Athletics offers all Augustana College students an opportunity toward the development of the total person. Working in a cooperative and active learning environment and dedicated to impart- About Augustana College ing a lifelong awareness of health and wellness our department assists Known for its balance of liberal arts with focus in a major field, collabora- students in the acquisition of dynamic skills knowledge and fitness. tive research opportunities, competitive athletic teams and award-winning student activities programs, Augustana College is a selective independent We value dignity, respect, diversity, accountability, communication and college of the liberal arts and sciences related to the Evangelical Lutheran teamwork: and challenge each participant to achieve a sense of self Church in America. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 men and confidence, pride, team unity, success, and cohesiveness through com- women of diverse ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, from across petitive sport. Our programs support the mission of Augustana College the United States and around the world. by cultivating the individual in all facets of life within and without the competitive arena. Augustana’s athletic teams have won more championships than any other school in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The Vikings own Where to find Augustana sports news a total of 174 total team championships (136 men and 38 women) since Information on the Augustana College athletic department is easy to find. the league began in 1946-47. Augustana is currently sixth in the nation Augustana Sports Information Director Dave Wrath maintains the sched- in number of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) ules and press releases on the college’s athletic department web page. It Academic All-Americans produced in all sports with 134 as of June, 2010. can be accessed at www.augustana.edu. Also, you may e-mail Dave Wrath During the 1990’s the Vikings finished third, trailing only Nebraska and at [email protected]. The office phone number for sports infor- M.I.T. mation is (309) 794-7265. Home to a Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society chapter since 1949, The 2010-11 Augustana women’s baseketball media guide is presented as Augustana grants baccalaureate degrees in more than 70 areas of study. a service to all news media and friends of Augustana. The media guides Along with a competitive athletic environment, student-athletes can join are written and edited by Augustana Sports Information Director Dave one or several of the school’s 150 student organizations or take advan- Wrath. Photos in the media guide were taken by either Steve Woltmann, tage of Augustana’s wide variety of opportunities for international study. Brandon Gittelman, or Robbin Cooley. Additional stories and pictures will Augustana has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1, and nearly 90 percent of the be furnished upon request. faculty hold the Ph.D. or the terminal degree in their field. 2 - AUGUSTANA VIKINGS 2011 PROSPECTUS Experienced gained in 2010 figures to keep Vikings on highly successful path Last year the Augustana baseball team rolled out some youngsters in key posi- tions during a 25-15 campaign. While there were understandably some growing pains that go with using younger players, veteran head coach Greg Wallace now figures that 2011 will show the rewards. “We were very young last year,” said Wallace who has fashioned an overall record of 381-177 (.683) in 13 years as the head coach at his alma mater. “Now I think the time is here where we will gain on last year’s experience.” The Vikings are used to success in baseball as they have won 30 or more games seven times since Wallace took over in 1998. They have never failed to win less than 22 games in a single season over the last 13 years. Last year’s 25-15 mark was achieved despite some injuries to what was supposed to be a veteran pitching staff, forcing some younger players into significant roles. “We do need to stay away from injuries,” said Wallace who has notched a colle- giate coaching record of 459-226 that includes four years as the head coach at Frostburg State College. “We have been hit extremely hard the last two years. If we can keep our team healthy, I think we will be pretty good.” The pitching staff established some depth last year and that should translate into success in 2011. Six pitchers who logged at least 24 innings return. Junior Josiah Martin (Canton HS, Canton, Ill.) posted a 4-2 record with a 4.46 earned run average in 40 1/3 innings in 2010. Sophomore Jared McIntosh (Davenport Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) was 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 34 2/3 innings and junior Mike Trotta (Niles Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) went 2-1 with a 5.50 ERA in 37 2/3 innings. Junior John Peters (Rock Island Alleman HS, Milan, Ill.) took advantage of his opportunity and was 3-2 with a 4.78 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. Senior Ray Homolka (Glenbard West HS, Wheaton, Ill.) was 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA and worked 29 1/3 innings and sophomore Ben Heaton (Bloomington Central Catholic HS, Heyworth, Ill.) had a perfect 4-0 mark with a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. “We like the fact that we are deep in pitching in terms of the number of arms we run out there right now,” said Wallace. “We will use the first part of the season to figure out who will emerge in terms of conference-type pitchers.” Senior Dave Hoffman batted .424 with three home runs and 37 RBI as a junior. His .424 batting average is the 8th best single season mark in school history. He was named 1st team All-CCIW. Senior Vince Frede (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) is coming back from an arm injury suffered his sophomore year and sophomore Joe Cecchi (Romeoville HS, Romeoville, Ill.) could see some time on the mound after being a starting infielder in 2010. Senior T.J. O’Donnell (New Trier HS, Northbrook, Ill.), sophomore Jim Sandberg (J.K. Mullen HS, Littleton, Colo.) and freshman Niko Capodice (Minooka HS, Minooka, Ill.) will battle for the starting catcher’s position. O’Donnell played in 30 games last year and batted .215 with four doubles, two triples and a home run. Sandberg played in six games last spring and had seven hits in 16 at-bats. The infield will be anchored by four year starter Dave Hoffman(Cary-Grove HS, Fox River Grove, Ill.) at second base. He was a first team all-conference and all region performer last year when he batted .424 with 72 hits in 170 at-bats with 15 doubles and 37 runs-batted-in. He is currently seventh on the school’s all-time list for career doubles with 34 and ninth in hits with 166. Freshman Pat Wilson (Stevenson HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.) will handle the first base duties. Sophomores Kurt Schmidt (Grayslake Central HS, Grayslake, Ill.) and Cec- chi will be on the left side with Schmidt at shortstop and Cecchi at third base. Schmidt was a second team all-conference performer last year and he batted .364 with 60 hits in 165 at-bats while leading the team in runs scored with 45. Cecchi hit .326 with 30 hits in 92 at-bats. In the outfield senior Mike Lamb (Ottawa HS, Ottawa, Ill.), juniors Kevin Serna (Rolling Meadows HS, Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Anthony Concialdi (Fremd HS, Barrington, Ill.) and sophomores McIntosh and Tyler Bernal (LaSalle-Peru HS, Peru, Ill.) will be battling for playing time. Lamb started 28 games last year and hit .228 while Serna hit .352 with a team high nine stolen bases. McIntosh shrugged off a slow start to finish with a .317 average that included eight doubles. Bernal and Concialdi combined to play in 19 games in 2010. “We think this could be a pretty good defensive team,” said Wallace. “I think our team was disappointed last year and if 25-15 is a down year then the expectations are certainly in the right place.” Senior Mike Lamb brings experience to the outfield having started 28 games a year ago.

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