Baseball Preview: Blue Devils open up north at St. Thomas

WQOW TV-18 Preview Video | at St. Thomas: Live Stats Game One | Live Stats Game Two | Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: After more than a week off, the Blue Devils (3-10, 0-0 WIAC)  will open the outdoor northern portion of their schedule when they travel to the University of St. Thomas, Thursday, March 30 for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

THE BLUE DEVILS: The Blue Devils return 11 players from last year's team as Ben Kincaid begins his first year at the helm of the Blue Devils. Kincaid and his coaching staff will work with a relatively young group of players consisting of a roster that lists 15 freshmen and two seniors who have not played college-level baseball. Noah Brown and Derek Graves were WIAC honorable mention selections last season.  Brown, who hit .382 with 33 runs batted in, both team highs, played predominately at third base last season, but also played at shortstop and first base. Brown was the primary first baseman during his sophomore season.

PITCHING STAFF:   Graves faced the best the WIAC had to offer last season, finishing the season with an overall 5.58 ERA and 24 strikeouts. In conference games only, Graves dropped his ERA by more than a point to 4.33 and had 22 conference strikeouts.  In addition to Graves on the mound, the Blue Devils return Max Sires, Luke Eide, Wyatt Ernstmeyer and Paul Danczyk.  Ernstmeyer and Sires posted the top ERA marks on the team, Ernstmeyer a 1.68 in eight appearances out of the bullpen and Sires, a 2.51, with two starts in seven appearances.

HITTING THE BALL: Freshman Matt Emmer has been hot for the Blue Devils so far this season. The newcomer has earned seven starts and has played in nine games. Emmer is hitting .467 (14-30) with seven RBI, second on the team behind Jordan Wilson, who has plated 11. Senior Noah Brown is hitting .356 (16-45) with seven doubles, a triple and a home run with six RBI. Freshman infielder Joel Hollow played well under the Florida sun and has upped his batting average to .280 (7-25) with five RBI. Hollow played in five of the seven games in Florida, hitting .350 (7-20).  | 2017 Statistics

UW-STOUT LAST TIME OUT:  The Blue Devils went 1-6 in their annual spring break trip to the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.. 

WIAC PRESEASON: UW-Stout is picked to finish sixth in the WIAC, according to a preseason poll conducted by the conference. UW-Whitewater is picked first, followed by UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Platteville.


ST. THOMAS BASEBALL: The Tommies are 5-8 on the season, after a medly of games in the new U.S. Bank Stadium, as well as a trip to Florida. They are 2-2 against WIAC teams already this season, taking two wins from the Stevens Point Pointers to begin the season, followed by two losses to the Whitewater Warhawks. As a team, the Tommies are hitting .247, led by utility man Sam Cobbs, just under .400 at .395. Cobbs has 17 hits, including five doubles, 11 runs and five RBIs on the season. From the rubber, Henry DeCaster owns a 1.80 ERA in three games, with two wins. DeCaster averages 9.98 Ks per nine innings, second on the team to Ryan Zimmerman with 11.88 Ks/9. | 2017 Statistics

LAST TIME STOUT AND ST. THOMAS MET: The Tommies took both games last April 19 in Menomonie, winning the first 2-0, and following up with a 6-2 win at Nelson Field. Max Sires threw seven innings against the, at the time, ninth ranked Tommies. | Games Summary and Statistics


AWARDS AND HONORS:  Max Sires was selected the UW-Stout/DigiCopy Athlete of the Week after pitching a 1-0 season-opening shutout...Noah Brown and Derek Graves earned WIAC honorable mention selection last spring..

COACHES: Ben Kincaid (3-10) is in his first year as the Blue Devils head coach, following two years as a Blue Devil assistant coach where he worked primarily with the pitchers. Kincaid played collegiately at at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where he was a four year letter winner, playing in 149 games. He finished with a .339 batting average, 38 doubles (5th on MSU's career list), six home runs and 140 runs batted in (6th on MSU's career list). As a righthanded pitcher he sported a 14-8 record with a 3.45 earned run average and had 148 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. Kincaid was named to the All-Central Region team three times in his career. An Eau Claire native, Kincaide played for the local Eau Claire Express.  St. Thomas: Chris Olean will enter his eighth year as head coach of the University of St. Thomas baseball in 2016-17. He's already established himself among the top coaches in Division III with a 226-74-1 record (.751 win %) and six MIAC championships in his first seven seasons, including third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014.

2016 BLUE DEVILS: Stout finished the 2016 season at 15-25 overall, 4-16 in the WIAC. | 2016 Statistics

DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils are scheduled to open conference play and the home portion of their season when they host UW-Platteville, Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9.