BURNSIVLLE, Minn. – Winona State University has been selected to finish seventh in the 15-team conference baseball race as voted on by league coaches in the 2019 NSIC preseason poll. The Warriors finished sixth in the 2018 standings.
The defending NCAA Division II National Champions of Augustana University were the top pick in the preseason poll, announced on Thursday. Minnesota State Mankato was tabbed second while receiving the other two-first place votes that did not go to Augie.
Winona State returned to the NSIC postseason tournament in 2018 after posting an 18-23 (17-15 NSIC) record. It marked the Warriors' first postseason appearance since 2015 and WSU's first winning conference record since that same season.
The 2019 Warrior squad will have a good mix of returning veterans, experienced underclassmen and promising newcomers – having graduated just two starters from last year's team. Junior shortstop Derek Martin and junior pitcher Aaron Mutter were selected as the Warriors' NSIC Players to Watch.
Martin was named to the 2018 All-NSIC Second Team for the first time in his career while posting career highs in average (.349), runs (28) and RBI (28) last year. He led the team in slugging (.465) while tallying seven doubles, two homers and a triple. Mutter posted a 3-3 record in nine starts (10 appearances) and ranked second on the team with a 3.51 ERA (19 ER/48.2 IP). He led WSU with four complete games last season and tallied a career-high 10 strikeouts in a complete game win against Crookston.
Junior first baseman Sam Kohnle led the Warriors with a .361 batting average a year ago while second baseman Zac Stange hit .302 as a true freshman. Tanner Williams paced WSU with a .453 OBP during his freshman campaign in 2018.
Along with Mutter, the Warriors return a youthful and talented pitching staff. Dillon Whittaker (5-1) led the staff in wins as a freshman, and Caleb Schoenholz paced the rotation with 62.2 IP and a team-best 51 punchouts. Austin Savary led the starting staff with a 3.38 ERA as a freshman in 2018 while recording the second-most strikeouts (43). Senior Jacob Watzka was the Warriors' top arm in the bullpen last season, registering a 3.10 ERA (7 ER/20.1 IP) to go along with 26 strikeouts.
Opening day is less than a month as Winona State travels to Pittsburg State on February 15-17 for a four-game series. The Warriors are slated for their home and conference opener on Saturday, March 16 against Northern State at Loughrey Field.
