MORRIS, Minn. – Minnesota Morris (15-23) opens up UMAC Tournament play this afternoon at 1 p.m. against St. Scholastica (28-9). It is the Cougars first UMAC Tournament berth since 2007. The 1 p.m. game will follow the opening game of the tournament which features Wisconsin-Superior (15-17) and Northwestern (22-16).
No matter the outcome in game one the Cougars will play again on Thursday. A win would move them to the winner's bracket and mean a 7 p.m. game. If Morris should lose they would play at 4 p.m.
The Cougars finished the regular season with eight wins in conference, including one against fellow tournament participant; Northwestern. Morris and Scholastica met in the first UMAC games of the season, all the way back on April 9. The Saints won 10-3 and 10-0 but since that time Morris has been in almost every game the rest of the season. In the final 14 games of the season UMM went 8-6 with all six loses by four runs or less.
Offensively, the Cougars are hitting .303, a number that would rank second highest since 2000. Seven Cougars are hitting at .303 this year, led by
Chandler Erickson's .369 batting average. Erickson has just six strikeouts in 130 at-bats, a number that ranks 43
rd in the NCAA.
Jackson Gessell leads Morris with 49 hits on the season and a .526 slugging percentage. Gessell has six doubles, five triples and two homers on the season.
Ryan Wynn,
Willie Fust,
Trent Johnson,
Bryce Jergenson and
Zach Kuefler are all hitting over .300 this season. As a team the Cougars are slugging .383 and have an on-base percentage of .365.
On the mound the Cougars have been able to compete thanks to one of the best walks per nine innings in the NCAA. Morris is walking 2.94 batters per nine innings, which ranks 49
th in the NCAA.
The bullpen has been a big key to success for Morris;
Tyler Hannan, Sam Palmatier and
Thomas Eckstein all have sup 3.00 ERA's out of the bullpen this season. In 60 innings of relief they have allowed a combined 14 earned runs, or a 2.10 ERA.
We had a chance to interview
Grant Harding before he and his team headed to Duluth. His interview is embedded into the photo at the top of the page.
