St. Scholastica Ranked 14th in D3baseball.com Preseason Poll
By Jesse Robinson
D3baseball.com Preseason Poll
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll
DULUTH, Minn. – Coming off a regional final appearance, the St. Scholastica baseball team is ranked 14th in the 2012 D3baseball.com preseason poll that was released early Tuesday morning.
The Saints, who finished last season 12th in the postseason D3baseball poll, went 37-7 in 2011 and advanced to their second NCAA Division III regional final in the last four years before falling to host, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for a second time.
The No. 14 ranking is the highest-ever in the preseason for CSS in this particular poll. The Saints were ranked 15th in the 2009 preseason poll and 16th at the beginning of the last season. They are also ranked 18th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason poll that was released in late December.
St. Scholastica has won 15 straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championships and 14 consecutive UMAC Tournament titles. The Saints have made the NCAA Regional Tournament in seven straight seasons.
CSS returns D3baseball.com preseason honorable mention All-American catcher Kyle Moody (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ), along with second team all-region first baseman Brandon Peterson (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) and third team all-region outfielder Kyle Flagstad (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson HS). Last year's team led all of NCAA College Baseball (Division I, II or III) in scoring, averaging 9.3 runs per game.
The Saints do have some voids to fill in the graduation of ace Matt Lewis (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep), middle infielders Chad Peterson (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony Village HS) and Brian Marshik (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS ), and outfielders Joe Link (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS) and Scott Greening (Antigo, Wis./Antigo HS (Mesabi CC)). With a large junior class this upcoming season, head coach Corey Kemp brought in the second-largest recruiting class in program history this year. With the returnees and the newcomers, the Saints should once again display great depth and interchangeable pieces.
Based on preseason rankings, the Saints will have some good tests out of conference. The Saints will open with regional-rival University of St. Thomas for a doubleheader at Mall of America Field on Monday, February 27th. The Tommies, whose season was ended by the Saints last year, are the second team out of the top 25 poll, receiving 45 votes.
CSS then will travel down to St. Louis to face both Washington University-St. Louis and Buena Vista University (Iowa). Wash. U is also receiving votes in the preseason poll, while Buena Vista is ranked 13th, just ahead of the Saints.
Down in Florida, CSS has a doubleheader against Keystone College (Pa.), who is preseason-ranked 16th. The Saints will also go back down to Whitewater this season to play a doubleheader against the Warhawks, who are ranked sixth.
The Saints begin their quest for an eighth straight NCAA Regional appearance Saturday night at midnight with their first practice in the Burns Wellness Fieldhouse.