Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Saint John’s University’

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.

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

Etzell rakes in hardball honors!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 23, 2017| 1 Comment »

   Coupeville High School grad Ben Etzell does his best Mariano Rivera imitation as a college closer. (Libby Auger photo)

Ben Etzell can’t turn around these days without someone giving him an award.

The Coupeville High School grad, now a junior at Saint John’s University in Minnesota, was named Tuesday to a pair of All-Midwest Region baseball all-star teams.

Etzell was a Second-Team selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association and a Third-Team pick by D3baseball.com.

The selections come on the heels of him being honored earlier this month as a First-Team pick by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Two of Etzell’s teammates, freshman Wyatt Ulrich and sophomore Jake Dickmeyer, were also honored.

Dickmeyer, a pitcher, was a Second-Team pick by the ABCA, while Ulrich, the Midwest Region Rookie of the Year for his work in the outfield, was a First-Team selection by both groups.

Ulrich is eligible for All-American honors.

After working as a starting pitcher during his first two years at dad Mike’s alma mater, Etzell became the closer for the Johnnies this season.

He led Saint John’s with 18 appearances, going 3-1 with five saves and a 2.23 ERA.

Etzell held opposing hitters to a .183 batting average, lowest by any Johnnies pitcher.

Saint John’s finished 25-13 overall, 14-6 in conference play, making its eighth straight trip to the playoffs.

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

Fab Five kills it in college!!

Posted in Baseball, Softball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Dalton Martin (left) hangs out with the brain trust. (Abbie Martin photo)

Still rackin’ up those numbers.

As we head through the first week of May, former Wolf stars continue to pile up stats in the world of college softball, baseball and track.

A peek in on how the Fab Five are doing (in alphabetic order):

Ben Etzell — A junior at Saint John’s University in Minnesota, he’s the main man in the bullpen for a Johnnies baseball team sitting at 25-11 headed into the playoffs.

He’s 3-1 with five saves, a 2.37 ERA and 28 strikeouts and is holding opposing teams to a .194 batting average.

Currently, he sits #1 on the team in saves and appearances (17) and #2 in ERA and K’s.

For his three-year career, he’s 9-2 with seven saves and 76 strikeouts while pitching in 36 games.

Hailey Hammer — A sophomore at Everett Community College, where she’s hitting .322 in 30 games for a 12-22 softball squad.

She has 28 hits, including a double, triple and three home runs, 20 RBI, 14 runs and 13 base on balls.

That puts her #3 on the team in RBI and hits and #4 in batting average.

Dalton Martin — A freshman at Everett Community College, where he’s throwing the discus.

Saturday, he finished 10th in the event at the Ken Shannon Invitational at the University of Washington’s outdoor track facility.

The meet reunited him with U-Dub freshman Jose Padilla, who won the discus toss.

Padilla, who hails from Chelan, and Martin finished 1st and 2nd at the 1A state track and field meet last spring as high school seniors.

Aaron Trumbull — A freshman at Olympic Community College, where he’s played in 16 games for an 11-23 team.

His claim to fame this season has been his work with the glove, where he’s recorded 42 put-outs and three assists while playing first base.

He’s one of only three Olympic baseball players to boast an error-free 1.000 fielding percentage, but he’s far in front of the other two guys, having played 45 innings to their combined two innings.

Monica Vidoni — A sophomore at Rainy River Community College in Minnesota, where the Voyageurs are 21-15.

She’s played in 29 games for the softball sluggers, collecting 17 hits, including three doubles, on her way to a .340 batting average.

Also has 14 RBI, 11 runs, seven walks and four steals.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »