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SMSU BASEBALL: SMSU baseball practice underway for 2018 season

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team officially started preparations for the 2018 season last week as the squad opened practice for the upcoming season. The Mustangs will conduct more than a month of practice in the PE Gym and R/A Facility before opening the season on March 3 with a week-long trip to Tucson, Arizona.

Paul Blanchard begins his 22nd season as the Mustang head coach and has 39 players on the 2018 roster. This season’s squad features 21 returning letter winners from last season’s team that finished 15-33 overall, including 10-28 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Blanchard, the school’s all-time leader in victories, begins the season with a career record of 501-453-2.

SMSU returns several of its top hitters from last season, including senior first baseman Shane Sellner, who is the team’s top returning hitter. Sellner batted .297 with four doubles, two home runs and a team-high 25 RBIs, while appearing in 47 games with 45 starts.

Sophomore Tanner Strommen started all 48 games during his rookie season at shortstop and batted .269 with seven doubles and seven stolen bases. Strommen, who finished third on the team with 11 multi-hit games last season, is expected to play outfield in 2018.

Junior infielder Jayden Fleck is another returning starter after playing in all 48 games last season and hitting .252 with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 15 RBIs. He led the team in both walks (25) and hit by pitches (11) to help record a team-high .396 on-base percentage and also finished second on the team with 25 runs scored.

Senior outfielder Liam Lopez started 44 games and tied for the team-lead with three home runs, while also clubbing eight doubles.

Also returning and expected to see plenty of action this season are sophomore outfielder Ben Heichel and sophomore first baseman Brady Lanoue, who both gained valuable action last season as true freshmen. Heichel played in 25 games with 22 starts and hit .258 with a double and home run with three stolen bases. Lanoue appeared in 37 games with 29 starts and hit .255 with four doubles and 13 RBIs.

A pair of sophomore catchers return in Derek Smith and Spencer Rudnik. Smith batted .283 with four RBIs in 16 games, while making 14 starts during the last month of the season. Rudnik played in 16 games with 11 starts and had three RBIs.

The Mustang pitching staff returns 12 hurlers, including seven who combined to start 45 of 48 games last season. Junior left-hander Cole Petersen, who earned second team All-NSIC honors last season, finished 6-2 with a 1.70 ERA in team-high 53 innings. The 1.70 ERA is the second lowest in team single-season history, while limiting opponents to a .246 batting average. Junior right-hander Justin Clark made a team-high 10 starts in 2017 and recorded a 5.06 ERA in 48 innings. He tossed two complete games and led the staff with 44 strikeouts.

Sophomore righty Jeremy Stouffer finished with a 6.11 ERA in nine games last season with eight starts. He was third on the team in innings pitched with 45 2/3 with just 13 walks allowed. Junior left-hander Erik Thorvilson appeared in nine games with eight starts, tossing 38 1/3 innings with a 6.57 ERA and was second on the staff with 37 strikeouts.

Another returning veteran is senior right-hander, Chase Meyer, who pitched in 11 games with five starts, and recorded a pair of victories and a 6.25 ERA

Junior right-hander Shawn Williams will serve as one of the team’s top relief pitchers again in 2018. Last season, Williams appeared in a team-high 19 games and finished 2-2 with five saves and a 2.12 ERA. He allowed opponents to hit just .214 and struck out 18 batters in 29 2/3 innings.

Also returning in the bullpen is junior right-hander Alex Jorgensen, who made 16 combined starts in 2015 and 2016, before moving to a relief role last season. He had three saves in four appearances a season ago before suffering a season-ending injury in mid-March.

Junior relief right-handed pitchers, Jared Tschetter and Michael Revening, are both back after combining to pitch 38 2/3 innings in 21 games last season.

Newcomers to the 2018 roster include three junior college transfers and 14 combined redshirt or true freshmen.

Following its opening week of games in Arizona, SMSU will open its 38-game NSIC schedule on March 17-18 with a four-game, home-and-home series versus Minnesota State. SMSU is scheduled to play 22 home games at Alumni Field.

Content courtesy of SMSU Athletic Communications

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