2011 BASEBALL.indd - Missouri S&T Athletics

2011 SEASON PREVIEW
For the past three seasons, Missouri S&T’s baseball
team has been knocking on the door as far as making
the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, but was
knocked out on the final weekend on each of those
occasions. With a revamped squad in place for the 2011
season, the hope around the squad is that this is the
year the Miners break through to continue the season
well into May.
Head coach Todd DeGraffenreid is hopeful that a
group of key veterans and impact newcomers can be
the correct mix to get the Miners into the playoffs this
season. With Illinois-Springfield joining the conference
in baseball, the GLVC has adjusted its conference alignment
as it now has defending NCAA Division II national
champion Southern Indiana in the GLVC East.
The Miners – who will open their league slate with a
doubleheader against the Screaming Eagles on March
19 – figure to be competing with division favorite
Drury, Rockhurst, Quincy and improving teams at
Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville for the available playoff
spots from the GLVC West.
The Miners had a great start to their conference season
a year ago, winning eight of their first nine GLVC contests.
However, a slump in April sent S&T back to the
middle of the pack in the GLVC West standings and it
was unable to overtake Rockhurst on the final weekend
to see its playoff hopes come up short.
Zach Carter earned third-team All-GLVC honors
in 2010 after leading S&T in several categories.
The Miners, 19-33 overall and 14-18 in the GLVC a year ago, return their top two hitters from that squad in designated
hitter Will Morrison and third baseman Zach Carter. Morrison earned first-team All-GLVC and all-region
honors as a sophomore after hitting .391 with six home runs and 33 runs batted in, but is expected to miss the
early part of the season as he is recovering from an injury.
Carter batted .369 and drove in a team-high 41 runs – and homered six times as well – from his third base position
and is expected to stabilize the middle of the lineup this spring as he was one of three Miners to post a slugging
percentage of over .560 in 2010.
Missouri S&T also returns two additional top offensive players from a year ago in centerfielder Ben Pieper and
rightfielder Sam Adams. Pieper broke the Miners’ single season home run record last spring by belting nine before
an injury sidelined him for the final two weeks, but he batted .326 with 37 RBI. Adams, meanwhile, hit .338 in
his freshman season in a Miner uniform and figures to be the leading candidate to fill the designated hitter role
while Morrison is recovering from his injury.
Adams could also see time in the outfield along with Pieper and a host of newcomers who are expected to
contend for roles. Lee Voth-Gaeddert, a transfer from Hesston College who hit .466 at the junior college level last
season, is in contention to start in left field and will be challenged by former Rolla High School product Andy
Hall, who comes to S&T after a two-year stint at Three Rivers Community College.
Another newcomer to the mix, Will McCord, will also contend for a starting role and could open the season in
right field. McCord was an all-conferenceperformer at Willison State College in North Dakota, a school that also
produced former Miner outfielder Gerad Fox.
11MINER BASEBALL