The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Sports

Central Regional Teams

Here's a look at the teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region baseball Tournament (In order of seeding), which runs through Sunday at Franklin Rogers Park.

Minnesota State
The top-seeded Mavericks (44-10) are making their 31st appearance in the NCAA tournament, second in NCAA history, and seventh consecutive, having won the region title in 2010. Minnesota State claimed the Northern Sun tournament last weekend, winning twice in the championship series. Minnesota State has won 20 of its last 23 games.
Mike Eckhart, the Northern Sun tournament MVP, leads the team with a .401 batting average, while Connor McCallum is next at .368. Patrick Dockendorf leads the team with nine homers and 59 RBIs, 28 more than any of his teammates. Harvey Martin has been the top starter, posting a 10-0 record and 2.50 earned-run average, while Ben Kincaid is 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA. Nick Sutherland has 13 saves and five wins.

St. Cloud State
This is the third straight trip to the regional tournament for the second-seeded Huskies (45-12), who had won 20 straight games before falling twice to MSU in the Northern Sun tournament.
Garrett Fischer leads the team with a .398 batting average. Joey Benke is tied for first in program history with 34 career homers, having hit 10 this season. Logan Birr, who is 10-0 with a 2.72 ERA, is the winningest pitcher in St. Cloud State history with 31 wins.
Shawn Riesgraf is 9-2 with a 1.83 ERA, Kyle Fischer is 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA, and Scott Lieser is 9-4 with a 2.52 ERA. St. Cloud State set a program record with 102 stolen bases this season.

Colorado Mesa
Colorado Mesa (39-14) earned the No. 3 seed, having won the Rocky Mountain’s Mountain Division with a 32-8 record. The Mavericks advanced to the College World Series in 2009.
Jeff Popick leads the team with a .420 batting average, with seven home runs and a RMAC-best 64 RBIs. Braden Box, who had 30 stolen bases, is batting .398, and Dustin Fackrell has six homers and 55 RBIs. Jared Christensen is 12-2 with a 3.61 ERA, and Nolan Snell is 9-1 with a 4.46 ERA, though he has 105 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings.

New Mexico Highlands
New Mexico Highlands (39-14) is the fourth seed, having qualified for this tournament in three of the last four seasons.
Josh McMahon was the top hitter in the RMAC at .429, and Clay Mohr is batting .419. Kyle Davis is batting .396 with a team-best seven homers. Luis Saenz leads the team with 52 RBIs and 55 runs.
Matt Gualco is 5-2 with a 3.63 ERA, and Chris Prokupek is 7-5 with a 4.66 ERA. Oscar Almeida has 13 saves.  The Cowboys’ team ERA is 5.51.

Winona State
This is the third consecutive trip to the regional tournament for Winona State (29-20), having won the tourney and earned a berth into the College World Series last season, finishing second.
Adam Gemuenden leads the fifth-seeded Warriors with a .360 batting average, while Nate Van Roekel of New Ulm has a team-high 11 homers and 50 RBIs. Cody Strang and Seth McMullen each have hit nine homers. Kodey Simon is 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA. The Warriors’ team ERA is 5.28.

Regis University
Regis (29-21) is in the tournament for the first time since 1991, having earned the Rocky Mountain’s automatic berth by winning the conference tournament.
Alex Haag leads the Rangers with a .373 batting average, and Jon Shoutta has eight home runs. Steven Brault leads the team with 44 RBIs. Aaron Harms and Mike McElreath were the top two pitchers in the RMAC.
Harms is 7-1 with a 2.49 ERA, and McElreath is 7-4 with a 3.70 ERA. Charlie Henderson, the MVP of the conference tournament, is 6-4 with a 4.14 ERA.

--Chad Courrier

Related Photos

  • Minnesota State third baseman Patrick Dockendorf has built himself into one of the top power hitters in program history. Pat Christman

    MSU basebl-9.jpg

May 16, 2012

Mavericks set for Central Regional

By Chad Courrier The Free Press

MANKATO — Patrick Dockendorf played baseball at Minnesota State as a true freshman, playing in 18 games with 11 starts at third base.

But he batted only .111 with two RBIs.

So he took the unusual route of redshirting as a sophomore, realizing he needed to get bigger, stronger and better.

“It was weird not playing, but I got to watch what the older guys were doing to be successful,” Dockendorf said. “That helped me to know what to do to get better.”

Three seasons later, Dockendorf is a top-10 guy in Minnesota State baseball history, leading his team into today’s opening game of the Central Region tournament. The Mavericks (44-10) take on Regis University (29-21) at 7 p.m. at Mankato’s Franklin Rogers Park.

“I think he needed that (redshirt) year to make some adjustments,” Maverick coach Matt Magers said. “He had a solid year after that, and he’s continued to get better each year. He’s playing a bigger role this year, batting in the 3 hole.”

Dockendorf ranks eighth in program history with 520 games played, which has allowed him to rank high in several offensive categories: second in RBIs (145), fourth in home runs (24), sixth in triples (6), eighth in hits (185), eighth in doubles (32) and ninth in runs (130).

“I feel like I’ve had a good five years here,” Dockendorf said. “We’ve always had good teams, which helps a lot.”

This season, Dockendorf is batting .360 and leading the team with nine home runs and 59 RBIs, nearly double that of his closest teammate.

“We didn’t have a strenuous weight program in high school, so when I got here, the weight program really helped me,” Dockendorf said. “It helps a lot of the young guys when they get here.”

Magers said that in 2010, in the championship game of the conference tournament, he was trying to put together his best offensive lineup. Eventually, he moved Dockendorf into left field, his only game in the outfield, and he helped the Mavericks win that game.

“We needed to get his bat in there,” Magers said.

By winning that game, Minnesota State stayed on track to win the regional and advanced to the College World Series. Dockendorf, and the other veterans, know the reward the Mavericks could get by winning this weekend, playing the region tournament in town.

“It would mean a lot to get back,” he said. “That was a lot of fun, even though we went 0-2. It would be nice to get back and hopefully do better so everybody who wasn’t on the team then could have a good experience.”

— Follow the action from today’s game of the Central Region baseball tournament between Minnesota State and Regis University by linking to Chad Courrier’s live chat at www.mankatofreepress.com. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the live chat beginning about 6:45 p.m.

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