Baseball | 5/8/2019 9:54:50 AM
Each week, the MIAA’s featured writer David Boyce covers an intriguing story in the conference for a series called Boyce’s Beat: Featured Stories of the MIAA.
In this edition, Boyce previews the 2019 MIAA Baseball Championship on May 9-12 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Boyce also provides a key student-athlete to watch at each position in this year’s championship.
MIAA Baseball Championship preview
The place to be for some of the best, most exciting NCAA Division II baseball in the country is at Al Ortolani Field at Pittsburg State. The eight-team MIAA Baseball Championship starts 9 a.m. Thursday with No. 3 Central Oklahoma taking on No. 6 seed Lindenwood.
The top seed, Central Missouri, plays the third game of the day when the Mules face No. 8 seed Missouri Western.
Central Missouri comes into the postseason conference tournament winning its 26th MIAA regular season title. But the Mules will need to play some of their best baseball of the season to come away with a tournament title. The winner of the MIAA Baseball Championship gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The Mules finished only one game ahead of Missouri Southern. And the Lions were only one game ahead of Central Oklahoma.
The host school, Pittsburg State should definitely make its presence felt. The Gorillas finished fourth during the regular season and will take on Emporia State in the fourth game of the day on Thursday, tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. It is a game that will have an interesting storyline that fans of both schools know well.
Each team will bring all-conference level players. Here is a look at a few of the players representing each position that is worth watching. Each school will have at least one player on this list.
First base: Connor Quick, Northwest Missouri, junior. Quick, from Fenton, Mo., made a quick impact in his first season in the MIAA. He is hitting .382 with six home runs, 14 doubles and four triples. He has also knocked in 49 runs.
Second base: Brian Grove, Emporia State, senior. Grove, from River Falls, Wis., is in his second season. He hit .301 and scored 59 runs a year ago. He is doing just as well this season, batting .319 while scoring 44 runs.
Shortstop: Alex Madera, Central Missouri, junior. Madera, from Williamstad, Curacao, is hitting .363 with 16 doubles. He bats in the second spot and does a nice job setting the table for Erik Webb.
Third base: Dusty Stroup, Missouri Western, junior. Stroup, from Lee’s Summit, Mo., is hitting .329 and has knocked in 31 runs. In the regular-season finale against the MIAA champs Central Missouri, Stroup went 2-for-4, scored three runs and knocked in two in an 11-8 win over the Mules.
Catcher: Greyson Pinkett, Pittsburg State, junior. Pinkett, from Conway, Ark., ranks second on the team in hitting with a .289 average. He has hit four home runs. He has committed just one error.
Outfield: Erik Webb, Central Missouri, junior. Webb is having a dream season. He leads the MIAA with 17 home runs. He has also knocked in 66 runs while batting .432. Webb, from St. Peters, Mo., has increased his power numbers in each of his three seasons at Central Missouri.
Outfielder: D.J. Miller, Lindenwood, senior. Miller, from Madison, Ill., is in his second year at Lindenwood, after starting his collegiate career at Mississippi. Miller is hitting .374 with six home runs, 16 doubles and four triples. He has knocked in 46 runs.
Outfielder: Brock Ruminer, Central Oklahoma, junior. Ruminer, from Edmond, Okla., is hitting .333 and leads the Bronchos in batting average. He has six doubles, three triples and three home runs. He has knocked in 23 runs.
Starting pitcher: Zach Parish, Missouri Southern, junior. Parish, a lefthander from Tahlequah, Okla., is having a breakout season. He is 8-1 with a 2.44 ERA. He has recorded 126 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.
Starting pitcher: Mason Green, Central Missouri, sophomore. Green, a lefty from Lenexa, Kan., appeared in 12 games as a starter. He is 7-0 with a 2.41 ERA. He has 74 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings.
Relief pitcher: Josh Rutland, Central Oklahoma, senior. Rutland, a righthander, is from Shawnee, Okla. Rutland took over the closer spot last season and has excelled this year, entering the tournament with 11 saves. He struck out 32 batters in 28 innings.