2007 CCIW Baseball Season Preview

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The 2007 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) baseball season begins with the conference getting national recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association as both Carthage and Augustana earned pre-season national rankings.

Defending champion Carthage (34-9, 19-2 in 2006) returns as the favorite in the conference, earning the top spot in the pre-season coaches poll conducted by the head baseball coaches in the CCIW. In addition, the Red Men enter the 2007 season ranked eighth nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III pre-season poll.

Nine starters return to Carthage in 2007 including junior all-conference centerfielder Boe Baitinger. Baitinger batted .379 with 23 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 2007. Baitinger was an all-region selection last season. The Red Men will look to Jacob Husing and Chris Krepline to anchor the pitching staff after the graduation of Scott Evosevich and Jon Olson. Husing was 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA, while Olson was 7-1 with a 2.54 ERA.

Augustana enters the 2007 season ranked 16th in the nation according to the American Baseball Coaches Association poll. The Vikings went 31-10 (15-6 in the CCIW) and finished 22nd in the country last season. The Augustana pitching staff returns senior Kevin Kuntz and junior Brandon Engle. Kuntz was 7-2 with a 1.39 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Engle went 4-4 with a 3.06 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 2006.

Jake Meisenbach returns to the catcher’s position after sitting out last season. He batted .397 in 2005 and set single season school records for at-bats (174), hits (69), doubles (21) and home runs (10). Senior Chris Pietroski returns in left field after batting .383 in 41 games last season en route to earning second team all-conference honors in 2006.

Illinois Wesleyan finished third in the conference last season, going 28-14 and 14-7 in the CCIW. Junior infielder Ricky Angel returns after earning second team all-conference honors last season. Angel batted .370 in 42 games last season with five home runs and 35 RBI in 165 at-bats.

North Park finished 14-27 and 8-13 in the CCIW during the 2006 season, but the Vikings qualified for the conference tournament, eventually losing to Carthage. North Park will look to build on its tournament appearance behind second year head coach Luke Johnson, a former Elmhurst and North Central assistant. Senior pitcher Joe DiCristina returns after throwing three complete games with a 4.44 ERA last season. He also had 11 doubles as a hitter. Brady Josephson is also back after batting .314 with 25 RBI in 2006. Outfielder Pat Zarilla is back after batting .385 last season.

An 18-22 finish for Millikin (8-13 in the CCIW) in 2006 leaves room for improvement as seniors Adam Nowicki and Eric Law will anchor the pitching staff. Law, a first team all-conference outfielder last season, needs 126 at-bats, 49 hits and seven stolen bases to tie Millikin career records. George Fear, an all-conference pick a year ago, returns at catcher. Fear needs 60 hits and 73 RBI to tie career records at Millikin.

Wheaton finished 13-24 (8-13 in the CCIW) last season and returns pitcher/first baseman Matt Price. Price earned all-conference honors last season as a utility player. Price batted .336 with one home run and 23 RBI in 125 at-bats last season. Sophomore Josh Weaver is also back after batting .321 and driving in 24 RBI in 2006.

North Central (13-26, 7-14) will be led by a pair of 2006 all-conference players in 2007, including Zach Ernst and Tony Pluto. Ernst started 33 games at catcher and was third on the team in walks (14) and first in put-outs (158). Pluto hit .316 and led the team with a .468 slugging percentage and .426 on base percentage in 2006.

Elmhurst (14-23-1, 5-16) will be under new leadership in 2007 as Joel Southern replaces Clark Jones as the head skipper of the Bluejay baseball program. Southern comes to Elmhurst from Western New England College where he spent the last four seasons as an assistant and is a graduate of Augustana. Senior shortstop Anthony Contaldo returns after earning CCIW Player of the Year honors in 2006. He batted .474 with nine home runs, eight doubles, two triples, eight stolen bases and 30 RBI, earning all-conference and all-region honors.