The Gustavus men’s baseball team will begin its season on Tuesday, March 2 against Dakota State at 6pm. The game will be played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Head Coach Mike Carroll returns the core of his team that finished just outside the MIAC playoffs last season. The loss of talented pitchers Mike Fritz and John Schaffler will hurt, but there are talented players ready to step up. Coach Carroll will look to his seniors to lead this team with Bryant Rogness, Trent Larson, and Tyler Vrieze at the forefront.
The Gusties return five players who hit .300 or better last year. Junior Ash Larson led the team with a .369 average while also driving in 22 runs. Bryant Rogness will again be counted on to spark rallies, as he led the team with a .435 on-base percentage last year and stole nine bases. Tyler Vrieze will provide the pop in the line-up for this year’s team after slamming five home runs last season. In addition, Coach Carol will be counting on some of his younger players to step up. This includes Aaron Madson, Matt Musta, and the continued play of Ben Sherer.
The Gusties lost some of their top pitchers from last season to graduation, but look to have quality replacements. Trent Larson finished with an impressive 2.33 ERA, but only had a 2-4 record to show for it. Sophomore Josh Spitzack was an impressive surprise last season when he burst onto the scene to compile a 4-1 record with a dominating 0.73 ERA. If the Gusties can have other pitchers step up this year, they could very well be competing for the MIAC playoffs that they just missed in 2003.