Tiger baseball tied for ninth in GPAC preseason poll
MITCHELL, S.D. – Last season, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team was a young one, with only a handful of upperclassmen on its roster. That youth and inexperience showed, as the Tigers went 12-36 overall and 6-15 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. DWU’s 12 wins was the fewest wins since it went 8-24 in 1998.
MITCHELL, S.D. – Last season, the Dakota Wesleyan University baseball team was a young one, with only a handful of upperclassmen on its roster. That youth and inexperience showed, as the Tigers went 12-36 overall and 6-15 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. DWU's 12 wins was the fewest wins since it went 8-24 in 1998.
This year, the team is still young, but those players gained invaluable experience last season, and head coach Steve Gust added some talented freshman and recruits from NCAA Division II and III schools in the offseason. Despite the new faces, the Tigers still finished tied for ninth in the GPAC preseason poll, which was released by the league Wednesday morning.
Dakota Wesleyan – which finished 11th in the 12-team league last year and failed to make the postseason tournament – and Nebraska Wesleyan University tied in the poll with 31 points each. Doane College, which finished in a three-way tie for first in the regular season and won the conference postseason tournament, was picked to win the league with 96 points and eight first-place votes. Northwestern – which was the regular-season champ along with Doane and Hastings College – finished second with 91 points and the remaining three first-place votes.
Hastings, which made the trip to the NAIA National Tournament along with Doane, was picked third (74), Morningside College finished fourth (70) and Mount Marty College rounded out the top five with 69 points. The poll is voted on by the league's 11 head coaches, and coaches aren't allowed to vote for their own team.
Back to lead the Tigers this season are a trio of sophomores who started and played in nearly every game as freshman. Nick Tadlock returns as the team's leading hitter. As a freshman, the outfielder hit .308 with 45 hits and 24 RBIs. Stephan Gunnell, who played third base for DWU last season, hit .294 with 40 hits and 19 RBIs. Junior Michael Lukkason, the team's shortstop, finished second on the team last season with 25 RBIs. He also led the team with five triples, and hit .252. Gunnell and Tadlock both earned All-GPAC Honorable Mention honors as true freshmen.
Senior Ethan Opsahl returns as the team's top pitcher. The lefty from Twin Valley, Minn., led the team with 79 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched as a junior. He went 5-4 in 12 appearances with one save. He earned All-GPAC Second Team honors.
New faces on the squad this season include freshman pitcher Luke Bamberg, a Corsica, S.D., native who is currently playing on the Tiger men's basketball team. Gust also secured a handful of transfers, including Erik Nockleby, a junior outfielder from the University of North Dakota; Chris Ciatti, a senior catcher from the University of Minnesota-Crookston; Maximum Shower, a junior infielder from Iowa Central Community College and Nick Pecha, a junior pitcher from Mesabi Range Community College.
The Tigers start the 2012 season Friday, Feb. 17, when they take on Dickinson State University in a nonconference doubleheader at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. DWU's first home game is scheduled for March 28 against Mayville State University, and the Tigers are slated to open GPAC play March 31 at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb.
2012 GPAC Preseason Poll
1. Doane, 96 (8 first-place votes)
2. Northwestern, 91 (3 first-place votes)
3. Hastings, 74
4. Morningside, 70
5. Mount Marty, 69
6. Midland, 63
7. Briar Cliff, 35
7. Concordia, 35
9. Dakota Wesleyan, 31
9. Nebraska Wesleyan, 31
10. Dordt, 10