NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team will begin its run at the 2019 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Baseball Playoffs on Thursday against Saint John's University at CHS Field.
The third-seeded Oles (26-13, 13-7 MIAC) will take on second-seeded Saint John's (28-11, 13-7 MIAC) in game two of the double-elimination tournament at 6:30 p.m. at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minn. That game will follow the 3 p.m. game between No. 1 seed Gustavus (23-11, 14-6 MIAC) and No. 4 seed Saint Mary's (20-16, 12-8 MIAC).
Admission will be charged by the day. The rate is $10 for adult and $6 for any student (5 years old and younger are free). One ticket is good for the entire day of games. There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes are to be accepted. No outside food or drink is allowed at CHS Field and fans are not allowed on the field at any time.
St. Olaf is making its 11th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since the tournament began in 2000. The Oles appeared in the tournament 10-straight seasons from 2000-09 and are 22-15 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs.
The Oles have claimed three MIAC Baseball Playoff titles (2003, 2006, 2009), which is tied with Saint John's for the second-most of any conference school behind St. Thomas (10). During the 10-straight playoff appearances from 2000-09, St. Olaf reached the final game of the conference tournament eight times.
St. Olaf and Saint John's have met twice previously in the MIAC Baseball Playoffs, with the Oles winning both games. St. Olaf downed Saint John's, 6-3, in the 2003 championship game and was victorious, 4-3, in the second game of the 2007 tournament.
The Oles are 7-1 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs against the other three teams in the field (3-1 vs. Gustavus, 2-0 vs. Saint Mary's). St. Olaf is 2-4 this season against the teams in the four-team tournament after splitting with the Cardinals and Gusties and dropping two games to the Johnnies. The two head-to-head victories against St. Olaf gave Saint John's the seeding tiebreaker with the Oles.
St. Olaf's 26 victories and 13 MIAC wins are both the program's most since 2009, while the team's .335 batting average is the highest since the Oles hit .350 that same season and ranks 11th in the country. St. Olaf has not lost more than two games in a row all season and had a pair of five-game winning streaks.
In this week's NCAA Regional Rankings, which are used to determine the field for the NCAA Tournament, the Oles broke into the Midwest rankings at No. 8. Gustavus and Saint John's are ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, this week.
The Oles lead the MIAC in most major offensive categories, leading the way in runs (297), hits (419), triples (25), RBI (265), walks (172), batting average (.335), on-base percentage (.420) and slugging percentage (.471). St. Olaf is second in the conference in doubles (73), home runs (16) and stolen bases (64). The Oles' 25 triples this season are tied with Keuka College for the most in NCAA Division III.
Junior third baseman
Dylan Blake, the reigning MIAC Player of the Week, leads the MIAC in hits (64) and RBI (41), while ranking second in batting average (.418). His 41 RBI are the most for an Ole in a single season since Todd Mathison had 50 in 2009.
Blake is one of three hitters with at least 35 RBI for St. Olaf, marking the first time that has happened since 2009 (Todd Mathison – 50, Tyler Johnson – 43, Tyler Jones – 41). Senior first baseman
Luke Dahl (37 RBI) and junior outfielder
Sam Pressman (36 RBI) rank 2-3 in the conference in RBI, giving the Oles the top-three run producers in the MIAC this season.
Sophomore shortstop
Matthew Muller currently ranks fifth in the country in on-base percentage (.559) and fourth in the MIAC in batting average (.412). Eight of St. Olaf's nine regulars are batting at least .300, as sophomore outfielder
TJ Rogers is batting .340 with a MIAC-high 24 stolen bases and junior second baseman
Tommy McDonald is hitting .338 with a MIAC-high 48 runs scored. Rogers (second, 43) and Blake (third, 35) are also in the conference's top-three in runs, while Muller is sixth (31).
On the mound, first year
Sam Westermeyer, sophomore
Hunter Barber and junior
Jesse Retzlaff have been St. Olaf's primary starting pitchers. Westermeyer has a team-best 6-2 record with a 2.64 ERA and a team-leading 35 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. Barber (5-2, 3.73 ERA) and Retzlaff (5-2, 3.68 ERA) have five wins apiece and have combined to throw 94.2 innings.
Juniors
Luke Feigal and
Elliot Syverson have both made double-digit relief appearances and own identical 3.38 ERAs, with Syverson recording five saves.
Now in his 25th season at St. Olaf, head coach
Matt McDonald has led the Oles to 577 wins (577-374, .613), three MIAC Playoff titles, four 30-win seasons and five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is a three-time MIAC Coach of the Year (1998, 2000, 2007) and ranks among the top 50 active Division III head baseball coaches in career victories.
