Baseball ranks among D-III leaders in fielding, Ks, walks

April 11, 2012

The No. 5-ranked Tommie baseball team (20-4 overall, 8-0 MIAC) has won 20 regular-season conference games in a row after Tuesday's 3-1, 5-0 sweep of previously-MIAC unbeaten St. John's.

UST, which has won 16 of its last 18 games, has four comeback victories in its current 11-game winning streak. The Tommies are 9-0 in games decided by one or two runs.

The Tommies rank high in several pitching and defensive categories out of 365 Division III programs.

In four wins this week over St. Mary's and St. John's, Tommie pitchers struck out 33 with only two walks allowed. They lead the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.8-to-1) and rank second nationally in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (1.8).

Coach Chris Olean's team has only six infield errors in 24 games and also ranks in the top three nationally in fielding percentage (.977). The Tommies are 16-2 when they commit one or less errors, and 16-0 when their opponents commit one or more errors.

St. Thomas also ranks among D-III's top 10 in ERA (2.33) and winning percentage (.833).

Sophomore RHP Steve Maher ranks among the D-III elite in wins (8-0), ERA (1.29) and complete games (five) and has won all seven starts.

Junior RHP Dylan Thomas ranks in the top 15 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (12.0).

Senior LHP Bryce Gapinski has four complete games and ranks in the top 50 in that category.