Truman Baseball Weekend Notes (April 1-4, 2015)
Games #23-24: Truman (16-6, 8-4 GLVC) vs. Quincy (15-6, 11-1 GLVC)
Games #25-28: Truman (16-6, 8-4 GLVC) vs. Rockhurst (11-12, 4-7 GLVC)
Staff
Head Coach: Dan Davis
Career Record: 126-297 || .297 || 9th season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 26-22 || .541 || 2nd season
Assistant Head Coach: Chris Fletcher (1st Season)
First Pitch:
The Bulldogs will reach the midway point of the season with "Hawk" week at the Truman Baseball Field. First up will be the division leading Quincy Hawks for a doubleheader on Wednesday and the holiday weekend brings the Rockhurst Hawks to town for a four-game series starting on Friday.
Truman is ten games over the .500 mark for the first time in school history and the 16-win total through March is the most by any Bulldog team to date. The team is hitting .312 and has already doubled their home run production from a season ago with 14. Jarod Hahn leads the team with seven homers, the most by a Bulldog in a season since Josh Rubin's nine in 2005.
It could be another record-setting week for Truman as senior Paul Trenhaile is on the verge of becoming the all-time hits leader. Trenhaile is five shy of Devon Myers' 197 total entering the week and is riding a program-best 21-game hitting streak. Trenhaile is second on the team in average at .437 behind Dave Gambino's .440 mark.
On the mound, redshirt freshman Kent Frantz is the first Bulldog hurler to start 5-0 on a season since Vernon Dobelmann did so in 1982. His five wins are tied for fifth in single-season Truman history one away from joining the top three. Frantz leads the staff with a 2.04 ERA with a team-high 35 innings pitched and three complete games. Mark Roberts is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA as the team's top starter and Cody Gardner is 4-1 with a 4.24 ERA in 34 innings pitched.
GLVC Tournament Format:
The conference tournament is scheduled for May 7-11 in Westfield, Indiana and will feature eight teams from around the GLVC. To qualify for the conference tournament, a team needs to finish in the top three of their respective division or have one of the two remaining best winning percentages in conference play.
Pole Positions:
For the first time in program history, the Bulldogs have been either ranked or receiving votes in four national Division II Baseball polls. Truman was 29th in the D2BaseballNews.com poll on March 24 and were just on the outside of the top 30 in the NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfectgame.org surveys.
At the end of the year, the only poll that matters is the NCAA Regional Ranking poll that will come out in mid-April. The top six teams in the Midwest region at the end of the season will get an invitation to the Division II National Tournament.
D2BaseballNews.com Poll
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
PerfectGame.org
GLVC Players Of The Week:
Truman has garnered three of the four offensive GLVC Players of the Week this season with Paul Trenhaile (March 17), Dave Gambino (March 10) and Blake Deaton (February 16) all earning the awards.
Kent Frantz has won two of the four Pitcher of the Week awards. He won them consecutively on March 10 and 17 and became just the fourth Truman pitcher to earn two league Pitcher of the Week awards joining Christian Witt, Josh Niemczyk and Ryan Trimble.
A Look Inside Stats: (GLVC Stats | NCAA Stats)
In GLVC stats, Truman is second in team batting average with a .312 mark, six points behind Missouri S&T. The team is fourth in stolen bases with 34 and second in home runs with 14.
Pitching, Truman has a 4.21 ERA which is fifth in the GLVC. They are third in strikeouts with 150 and fourth in fewest walks with 59.
Individually, Dave Gambino is third in the league in hitting and Paul Trenhaile is fourth. Jarod Hahn leads in runs scored with 26 while Gambino leads in hits with 40. Hahn is second in RBIs with 28 and first in home runs with seven.
Zak Larkin continues to lead in stolen bases with 13.
Kent Frantz is fourth in ERA at 2.04 and Mark Roberts is ninth at 2.65. Austin Tinsley has finished a league-best 10 games and is tied for sixth in saves with his four.
Beep Beep:
After setting a school record last season with 118 stolen bases, the Bulldogs picked right up where they left off, Truman is 34-of-43 in the stolen bases this year. Zak Larkin is the career leader in stolen bases and has 73 for his career and is 13-of-16 this season.
Pitching Prowess:
All four weekend starting pitchers have averaged over six innings a game and are 14-1 this season. The Bulldogs have seven complete games and one shutout.
Austin Tinsley has 10 appearances and four saves out of the pen but is 0-3 on the year. Peter Yound has made six relief appearances with a 1.04 ERA with opponents hitting .138 against him in eight innings of work.
Vs. Cancer Foundation:
The Bulldogs have joined with the Vs-Cancer Foundation to raise money to cure kids' cancer. They have raised $5663 dollars and are ranked 15 out of 62 teams during the challenge. The team goal was $5000 dollars.
As part of the fundraiser, all members of the team had their head shaved by stylist from Rapture Salon in Kirksville this past Sunday. Here is a link to local ABC affiliate, KTVO about the project: http://www.heartlandconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=1181092#.VRBt9fzF_mc
For more information or to donate visit: https://team.vs-cancer.org/fundraise/team?ftid=38051
Records Watch: (Updated Career Rankings)
Paul Trenhaile- Has a career .365 batting average which is currently third all-time (1st - .370 – Aaron Royster)
- 192 hits, currently second all-time (Next: Devon Myers – 197)
- 29 doubles, currently sixth all-time (Next: Keaton Jones & Patrick Hardin – 33)
- 6 triples, currently tied ninth all-time (Next: Three Players – 7)
- 111 RBIs, currently tied for second all time (Next: Aaron Royster – 122)
- 102 runs scored, currently tied for seventh all time (Next: Steve Rose - 103)
- 260 total bases, currently tied for fourth all time (Next: Devon Myers - 286)
- 1292 total chances, currently first all time
- 1200 putouts, currently first all time
Jarod Hahn- 168 games played, currently tied for seventh (Next: Adam Davis - 172)
- 548 at bats, currently 10th all time (Next: Josh Rubin – 550)
- 165 hits, currently 10th all time (Next: Adam Davis – 172)
- 104 runs scored, currently fifth all time (Next: Patrick Hardin – 108)
- 27 doubles, currently tied for ninth all time (Next: Todd Schmitt & Tony Vandemore – 29)
- 94 RBIs, currently eighth all time (Next: Tony Vandemore – 96)
- 231 total bases, currently tied for 10th all time (Next: Adam Davis – 236)
Zak Larkin- 168 games played, currently tied for seventh all time (Next: Adam Davis - 172)
- 584 at bats, currently fifth all time (Next: Adam Davis – 593)
- 121 runs scored, currently second all time (Next: Mike Kubinski - 133)
- 160 hits, currently 11th all time (Next: Jarod Hahn - 165)
- 76 walks, currently fifth all time (Next: Steve Riley - 77)
- 73 stolen bases, currently first all time
- 97 stolen base attempts, currently first all time
- 682 total chances, currently eighth all time (Next: Adam Davis – 708)
- 379 assists, currently second all time (Next: Steve Rose – 582)
Cody Gardner- 10 career wins, currently tied for fourth all time (Next: Jeff Birdsong & Nick Pianalto – 12)
Austin Tinsely- 4 career saves, currently tied for seventh all time (Next: Doug Pisarek – 5)
About the Quincy Hawks:
Hitting .300 as a team with David Jacob leading the way with a .430 average…Jacob leads team with five home runs and 32 runs batted in…Kory Wisdom is hitting .405 and Brynn Martinez at .390 with both playing and starting in all 21 games…have stolen 24 of 35 bases this year with opponents successful 32 of 43 times on the base paths…Quincy is 15-3 in weekend games but 0-3 in games considered 'midweek'…average nine hits and six runs per game…staff ERA is 4.26 with 125 strikeouts to 89 walks issued…Mark Niebrugge is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA with six appearances and two starts and Jake Wehde is 4-0 in ten relief appearances and a 1.96 ERA…was 30-26 last season and 21-14 in the GLVC, advanced to the conference championship game before fall 2-1 to champion Drury.
Last Year vs. Quincy:
Truman took three of four from Quincy last year in the four-game series…the Bulldogs had just five total hits in the first doubleheader but split with the Hawks…Quincy took the opener 3-1 but Corbin Williams hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh as it was the Bulldogs only hit of the game in a 2-1 victory…Cody Gardner allowed just two hits in that game and Graham Spraker allowed just one…the Bulldogs swept both ends in Kirksville with a 9-2 win in the opener and a 6-5 victory in 14 innings in the night cap.
About the Rockhurst Hawks:
The Rockhurst Hawks enter the week with an 11-13 overall record and 4-8 conference mark…they will play midweek against William Jewell on Wednesday…team is hitting .289 with five home runs and 37 stolen bases…average offensively nine hits per game and 5.5 runs per contest…Brett Marr leads team in hitting with a .411 average in 24 games, he has six doubles, one triple and a pair of home runs while driving in 20 runs…pitching staff has a 4.39 ERA with 141 strikeouts to 96 walks…Joe Huber and Michael Lydon-Lorson lead the team with four wins apiece…Huber has started five games and has a 3.46 ERA while Lydon-Lorson has started six games with a 4.42 ERA…finished 17-31 last season and 15-20 in the GLVC.
Last Year vs. Rockhurst:
Rockhurst took three of four in Kansas City last season winning 11-1, 3-2, 1-0 before Truman took the finale 11-10…Zak Larkin went 5-for-15 with a double and four stolen bases against Rockhurst…Blake Petersen was 4-for-5 with a home run…Brett Marr was 7-of-16 with a double and three RBIs…Joe Huber had a complete-game victory allowing one run on nine hits…Truman was held to just six doubles for the series while Rockhurst had 10 extra base hits (eight doubles and two home runs).
Bulldogs Picked Fourth in GLVC West Preseason Poll:
The GLVC Coaches Poll was released on February 4 with defending national champion Southern Indiana and Quincy (Ill.) picked to win their respective divisions. Southern Indiana sits atop the East Division picking up 14 of 16 first-place votes while Quincy was in a dead heat with Drury (Mo.) for the top spot in the west. The Hawks totaled 113 points to Drury's 112 with each school splitting the eight first-place votes.
The Bulldogs were in a similar heat with Missouri-St. Louis with the Tritons getting the edge and the number three spot in the west with 79 points to Truman's 77.
Up Next:
Truman will play rival Quincy on April 1st at noon in a midweek conference doubleheader then host Rockhurst (Mo.) for a four-game series starting Friday, April 3.
