Young and experienced baseball team opens season Wednesday

MENOMONIE (February 27, 2018) – Last season UW-Stout had 15 freshmen, plus a first-year head  coach, on the roster.   

Almost all of those players are back and the year of experience has definitely shown said second year coach Ben Kincaid.
 
"We had a lot of freshmen who got a lot of at-bats and innings," Kincaid said. "They matured. It's a big jump from high school to college and they made that jump. But we have a lot of room for improvement."
 
The Blue Devils have players returning at six of the eight positions who started 15 games or more last season.
 
Stout will have both experience and talented young players in the outfield.
 
Jordan Wilson started all 37 games in center field last season as a sophomore and will anchor the pasture again for the Blue Devils.  Wilson recorded six outfield assists and posted a fielding percentage of .992, committing only one error in 129 chances.  Wilson drove in 26 runs last year, tops for all returners.
 
Jon Krueger, who also played several games at designated hitter, played in 20 games in right field as a sophomore. Krueger hit .259 and had nine doubles, matching Wilson's doubles total.
 
Reid Akerman started 13 games in left field as a freshman, responding by hitting .333. Senior Ryan Connor alternated between outfield and first base, and returns as available at both spots.
 
Freshmen Danny Deis and Tyler Seymour, who is also listed as a pitcher, are expected to see some time in the outfield.
 
"We have a really fast outfield," Kincaid said. "If our pitchers pitch to contact, we can get to the gap. We saw that last year."
 
Connor has the inside track at first base, where he started 14 games last year.
 
"Ryan is a guy we can trust," Kincaid said. "He has a strong bat and does not get cheated in his at-bats."
 
Kasey Bass saw time at first base last year and is working to see more innings this year.
 
"Kasey works his tail off and wants to become the starter," Kincaid said. "He pushes everyone to get better."
 
Ryan Morrison, who transferred after a successful career at two-year Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), could very well see time at first base, as well as some designated hitter duty.
 
The Blue Devils have an experienced middle infield with Sam Waters, Ben Vanhove, Kyle Hamilton, Jared Jarvensivu and Jack Hemsath seeing quality time in the middle.
 
Waters held down second base for much of the season and Vanhove was a mainstay at shortstop. Waters committed only one error last season and that did not come until the final series of the year.  Hamilton had a good fall, Kincaid said, and Hemseth has battled his way back through injuries. 

Jarvensivu has not seen a lot of at-bats, but is exhibiting quality leadership skills.  Jarvensivu is a team captain, along with pitchers Zach Carlson and Max Sires, and Wilson. Sires is also listed at shortstop.
 
Joel Hollow proved to be a late bloomer for the Blue Devils. The transfer went on to earn all-conference honors at third base, hitting .333 with 14 RBI in 25 games.
 
Freshman Joel Thimsen is "a guy that needs to be in the line-up," Kincaid said. A third baseman, Thimsen could see also time at first base and as the designated hitter.
 
Tim Bott was thrust into the starting catcher spot last season, starting 26 games.  Darek Dieckman started 11 games behind the plate last season.
 
"They were two freshman catchers last year," Kincaid said, "and we put a lot of pressure on them. This year, they will be calling more pitches."
 
Kincaid said both have been working hard, but will be pushed by freshman Hunter Merrill.
 
On the mound, Stout lost 91 innings of experience with the graduation of all-conference picks Tyler Christianson and Derek Graves.
 
But the Blue Devils still return a good deal of experience to toe the pitching rubber.
 
Luke Eide threw 64 innings, the most by any Blue Devil last season, and was the hard-luck kid on the mound, not picking up his first win of the season until late. Eide led the team in strikeouts with 37 and posted an ERA of 4.36.
 
Sires started nine games last year and notched 23 strikeouts. Sires had a solid summer and fall, Kincaid said.
 
The Blue Devils return Zach Carlson to the rotation. Carlson sat out last season due to injury and looks to be back on track. Carlson was a first team all-conference pick as a freshman and the year off has been good for his recovery. In his first three seasons, Carlson picked up at least 28 strikeouts every year and has 89 for his career.
 
Jack Donahue, a transfer from Des Moines Community College, could move into the Blue Devils' starting rotation. Kincaid said Donahue is not overpowering, but tends to force a lot of ground balls.
 
Seniors Wyatt Ernstmeyer and Paul Danczyk have tended to come out of the bullpen, but could start some games.
 
Kincaid is looking at Brad Rindfleisch and Casey Ryan to be the players to finish off games and expects Robert Pilz and Logan Hile to be long relief pitchers.  Lefty Phil Schmit will also be looked on to eat up some innings.
 
Four freshmen pitchers – Jace Baumann, Logan Langbehn, James Palmer and Hunter Black – will get their chances to earn their roles early in the season, especially when the Blue Devils play daily on the annual spring break trip in mid-March.
 
Kincaid and his staff of Tanner Vavra, Nate Kilness and Tyler Hamman will be looking to give their young players opportunities early.
 
"My (college) coach took a chance on me and I became the No. 3 hitter that year,"  Kincaid said. "Lots of freshmen who haven't gotten chances will get those chances early. If they can make plays, they will see time."
 
The Blue Devils will open their season with a pair of doubleheaders in the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.  Stout will face Augsburg University, Wednesday, Feb. 28 in an early morning 6 a.m. contest to open the season. The Blue Devils will face Hamline University, Wednesday, March 7, in a late night, 11 p.m. doubleheader.
 
Stout will play seven games between March 11-17 in the Fort Myers, Fla., area when they participate in the Gene Cusic Classic.