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Posts Tagged ‘Mariano Rivera’

Etzell slams the door!!

Posted in Baseball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on March 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville grad Ben Etzell brings the heat on the college diamond. (Libby Auger photo)

Big Ben, little pic. (Photo property of Saint John’s University baseball)

Ben Etzell is warming up, in more ways than one.

The former Coupeville High School baseball star is kicking off his senior season at Saint John’s University with extended spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, as opposed to being on campus in Minnesota.

On Tuesday, that meant playing in a balmy 76 degrees as opposed to trying to warm up his fastball in a frigid 29 degrees.

With his arm limbered up, Etzell made his season debut, tossing two perfect innings and nabbing the win in relief as the Johnnies slipped past Alvernia University in a 2-1 thriller.

The victory came in the first of two games Saint John’s played Tuesday.

A 13-1 win over the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford in the nightcap improved SJU to a pristine 4-0 on the young season.

The Johnnies have outscored their foes 53-4.

Etzell and Co. play doubleheaders Wednesday and Thursday, then cap their Florida adventure with a single game Friday before getting on a plane and gettin’ the heck out of town.

After an eight-day break, the Johnnies travel to Arizona, where they’ll play seven games in four days.

Saint John’s doesn’t set foot on a Minnesota diamond until Mar. 31, then plays the final 23 games of its 39-game regular-season schedule inside its home state.

Tuesday, the Johnnies dueled down to the wire with Alvernia, with the two teams trading solo home runs over the first seven innings.

With the game knotted at 1-1, Etzell, who was a First-Team All-Conference pick as a relief pitcher a season ago, took the mound in the eighth and promptly set the opposing batters down one-two-three.

Sparked by their ace, the Johnnies rallied for a run in the top of the ninth, with Max Jackson ripping an RBI single to plate what turned out to be the winning run.

Etzell finished off his perfect season debut with another one-two-three inning in the ninth, finishing with two strikeouts while facing the minimum six batters.

With the win, he improved to 9-2 as a college hurler.

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Etzell brings heat, one more time!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on February 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell fires up the fastball machine. (Libby Auger photo)

And then there was one.

With several former Wolf athletes graduating from college last spring, it appears there will only be one Coupeville High School alum playing collegiate spring sports this year.

That man is former Cascade Conference baseball MVP Ben Etzell, now a senior at Saint John’s University in Minnesota.

Etzell, who started his collegiate career as a starting pitcher, then morphed into an ace reliever for the Johnnies, was named to two All-Midwest Region teams a year ago.

He carries an 8-2 career pitching mark, with seven saves and 76 strikeouts in 93 innings into the new season, which kicks off with a trip to Florida.

Saint John’s, which has posted a winning record in each of Etzell’s three seasons, debuts Mar. 5 with a doubleheader against Finlandia University in Fort Myers.

The Johnnies play nine games in Florida between Mar. 5-9, then return to the less-balmy environment of Minnesota.

All together, they have a 32-game regular season schedule, with 20 league games (all doubleheaders) against their 10 foes in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

For his senior season, Etzell is getting the featured treatment, as he is one of two Johnnies whose action photos grace the school’s baseball web site.

To see the former Wolf in all his goatee-sportin’ and fastball-chuckin’ glory, pop over to:

http://www.gojohnnies.com/index.aspx?path=baseball

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Etzell nabs college baseball honors!!

Posted in Baseball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on May 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell gets nasty. (Libby Auger photo)

Big Ben is still dealing heat.

He may have moved on from Coupeville High School several years back, but Ben Etzell continues to excel on the baseball diamond.

Now a junior at Saint John’s University, he was named a First-Team All-League pick Monday when Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches announced their postseason honorees.

Etzell was joined on the first team by sophomore pitcher Jake Dickmeyer and freshman outfielder Wyatt Ulrich, who was also named the league’s MVP and Freshman of the Year.

Ulrich is the first frosh to win MVP since 1999, and the third Johnnie overall to bring home the top award.

Etzell, who’s playing for dad Mike’s alma mater, switched in 2017 from being primarily a starting pitcher to being St. John’s answer to Mariano Rivera.

He appeared in a team-high 18 games, going 3-1 with five saves and a 2.23 ERA.

His 28 strikeouts were third-best among St. John’s hurlers, but he produced K’s at a much-higher rate than any of his teammates.

Along with leading the squad in saves and appearances, Etzell had the team’s top ERA and lowest opponent batting average of any pitcher to throw 10 or more innings.

For his three-year collegiate career, he is 8-2 with seven saves and 76 strikeouts in 37 appearances.

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Benny and the champs!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , , on May 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell, during his days as the Wolf ace. (John Fisken photo)

Ben Etzell, during his days as the Wolf ace. (John Fisken photo)

(Ryan Coleman photo)

The Johnnies rush Etzell (4) after the last out. (Ryan Coleman photo)

Ben Etzell slammed the door.

A day after his former Coupeville High School baseball teammates had their season end, the one-time Cascade Conference MVP earned the save Sunday as Saint John’s University won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference tournament title.

Storming back through the loser’s bracket, the Johnnies became only the second team in 16 years to lose their tourney opener and come back for the title.

To do it, and earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA D-III playoffs, Saint John’s (26-14) had to win twice Sunday at Veterans Field in Minnetonka.

They did just that, toppling Saint Thomas 9-6 in the morning and 5-1 in the afternoon.

With the Johnnies clinging to a 3-1 lead with one out in the eighth inning in the nightcap, Etzell pulled off his best Mariano Rivera.

He induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning, then set the Toms down in order in the ninth, with one of the outs coming his favorite way, via the punch-out.

During his freshman year, he has pitched in seven games, including the last three days.

Over 10 innings, Etzell has struck out seven while walking three and is 1-0 with two saves and an ERA of 2.70.

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Central Whidbey nabs thriller!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , on June 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Elliott Johnson and teammates were all smiles after the win. (Karen Carlson photos)

Elliott Johnson and teammates were all smiles after the win. (Karen Carlson photos)

Kings of the diamond.

Kings of the diamond.

Noah Meffert was too quick for Sedro Woolley.

The speedster beat a throw home to score the winning run Sunday, lifting the Central Whidbey 11/12 Little League team to a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory over their visitors from the mainland.

Mefferts dash to glory, coming on the heels of a successful steal of home by teammate Ulrik Wells as Gavin Knoblich drew the defense away as they tried to run him down in a pickle, capped a day of highlights for Central Whidbey.

David Prescott made a spectacular sliding catch in the outfield to save several runs, while Meffert gunned down a runner at the plate with a dead-eye throw from second that allowed his catcher, Elliott Johnson, to slap the tag down.

Backed by his stellar defenders, Matt Hilborn channeled his best Mariano Rivera, setting down the final four Sedro batters on 18 pitches to seal the win.

The squad, coached by Scott Johnson, Tim Grove and Mitch Meffert, returns to action Tuesday.

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