Feb 19, 2019
Huskies Baseball Jumps to #14, Austing Named NSIC Pitcher of the Week
St. Cloud State Baseball (3-0, 0-0 NSIC) leapt to the #14 spot in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top-25 poll on February 19 after their three-win performance at the Houston Winter Invitational.
The Huskies took down then-No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville 7-2, Tarleton State 9-1, and then-No. 20 Central Missouri 7-3. SCSU finished with a 23-6 run differential and stifled the competition with dominant pitching. The staff posted a 1.33 ERA and a 2.21 FIP across 27.0 innings, recording a 29.4% strikeout rate, a .210 opponent batting average, a .545 opponent OPS and a 14.3% swinging strike rate.
Of significant note, the Invitational also saw the healthy returns of Sheldon Miks and Cal Giese to the staff. Miks fired 6.0 frames of two-run ball on five hits while striking out five to defeat Central Missouri, and Giese delivered a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a punchout to seal the win over Tarleton State.
Ace righthander Dominic Austing received his third career NSIC Pitcher of the Week honor after dicing up the #6 Javelinas across 5.2 scoreless innings. The senior scattered three hits and two walks while striking out 11 to receive his first win of 2019. He piled up a whopping 17 swinging strikes on just 77 pitches. Austing previously received NSIC Pitcher of the Week in 2017 after defeating Minnesota-Crookston and in 2018 following a victorious duel with Jacob Blank and eventual National Champion Augustana.
St. Cloud State is joined in the Top 25 by NSIC foe Augustana at #2 and Central Region rival Southern Arkansas (GAC) at #17.
The Huskies are scheduled to next play at the Tucson Invitational from March 4 to March 10, with all games carried live on the KVSC Sports Stream. St. Cloud State’s Tucson schedule can be found here.
