Monday, March 3, 2014

Opposition Research - Lincoln University


Opposition Research - Lincoln University

Your Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats will travel to Jefferson City, Missouri, to take on the Lincoln University Blue Tigers in a MIAA Conference road match-up with back-to-back double-headers on Thursday, March 6, 2014, at 1pm, and Friday, March 7, 2014, at noon.

Lincoln Univeristy -

If you click on the hyperlink below, you will see an interview of the Lincoln University Blue Tigers Head Coach explaining how LU's 2014 prospects look like this upcoming season.  According to the interview, LU's coach talks about having a lot of unknowns at fielding positions, offense, and pitching.  See below for the breakdown according to the LU's head coach:

http://www.lubluetigers.com/news/2014/1/30/BB_0130143815.aspx?path=baseball

Head Coach Jim Dapkus -
Coach Dapkus enters his ninth season as head coach at Lincoln University and 18th year overall as a head coach in 2013.

Coach Dapkus reached his 100th career victory at Lincoln in 2010 in a game on April 9 against Texas A&M International in which the Blue Tigers came away with the 8-3 win.

Coach Dapkus was hired during the summer of 2004 and became the seventh head coach in Lincoln's history since its inception in 1971. During his time at Central Methodist, he helped guide the team to several top-half conference finishes and a single season school record for wins of 32 in 2004.  He began the process of making the Blue Tigers a consistent winner after they had posted 19 wins in their previous two seasons (2002-03, 2003-04).  In his first two seasons, he led the Blue Tigers to 38 wins, doubling the victory total accumulated in the springs of 2003 and 2004.
The on field improvements made by his team are reflected by wins, but in the classroom the student-athletes success is determined by grade point average.  The Blue Tigers have averaged a 2.7 GPA since Coach Dapkus arrived and over 97 percent of players that have finished their eligibility have received their degrees. Several of those former players have gone on to be coaches, as over 20 former players are currently coaching or spent time coaching at the high school or collegiate level.
The Blue Tigers and Coach Dapkus will look forward to the upcoming move to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) that will take place next season. The Blue Tigers have averaged 18 wins over the past five years under Coach Dapkus, as the teams’ have spent several weeks away from home playing games down in Texas in the Heartland Conference, including a trip in 2009 in which the Blue Tigers played their first 11 games away from home and played just one home game over their first 18 games.
Originally from Worth, Illinois, Dapkus played two seasons at Southwestern Community College (Creston, Iowa), then transferred to Missouri Western State University (Saint Joseph, Mo.) where he was an All-MIAA selection after leading the Griffons in innings pitched and wins his final two seasons.
After his playing days concluded, Dapkus remained at Missouri Western as an assistant coach for two seasons. He then accepted an assistant coaching position at Central Methodist, which he held for two seasons before accepting the head coach assignment.
During the summer months Coach Dapkus spends the majority of his time at the baseball field either coaching or working camps. Career highlights for Dapkus include working in the summer of 2000 with USA International, when he took a team to Brasschatt, Belgium where they won first place at the Flanders Invitational Tournament.
An experienced coach on the collegiate level, Dapkus has also been head coach for two local American Legion teams.  He coached Columbia Post 202 for three seasons and in the summer of 2006 Post 5 from Jefferson City.  Dapkus led American Legion teams have won four district titles and finished second in Missouri in 2004 (Post 202).  His combined American Legion record is 116-53. 
Coach Dapkus has a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western and a master’s degree from Central Methodist.
2014 LU Blue Tigers - LU is 0-6 so far in 2014 having been swept by Missouri Southern and Missouri S&T.  LU has had 3 of their 4-game series cancelled so far in 2014.  LU is set to play Westminster on Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at 6pm in Fulton, Missouri.  This weekend's series against Northwest in Jefferson City is LU's first home games of the 2014 season.

Missouri S&T - ROLLA, Mo. - The Lincoln baseball team opened its season with seven runs on 12 hits, but Missouri S&T got the better of the Blue Tigers, sweeping LU in both teams' season openers on Sunday (Feb. 16). The Miners won both games of the double-header, claiming the first, 6-1, and the second, 11-6. Both contests went only seven innings.

The Blue Tigers (0-2) opened the second game well, scoring five runs in the top of first on six hits. After Zach Roberts began the frame walk, James Earlywine drove him home with a double down the right field line. Ben Stewart got on thanks to a fielding error, allowing Earlywine to move to third before eventually scoring on an RBI single courtesy of Caleb Davis.

Josh Kennedy kept the offense rolling with a base hit into centerfield, allowing LU to load the bags. Logan Smith took advantage of the situation, scoring both Davis and Stewart with a base hit of his own. Christian Bunch later provided the fifth run with an RBI single that brought home Smith.

The good start did not last, however, as Missouri S&T (2-0) also got its offense going early. The Miners cut the deficit down to two with a trio of runs off two hits and an error in the bottom of the third, then tied the game with two more scores in the second. Missouri S&T finally took the lead in the third inning, taking a 6-5 advantage on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.

The Miners ended up scoring runs in every inning in the night cap, including adding another run in the fourth, three more in the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth to pull out the five-run victory. Lincoln's only other score of the afternoon came in the top of the sixth, as the Miners opted to give up the run to get an out at second base during Stewart's at-bat. Bunch was the scorer, providing the run after reaching on a walk. Nick Lovell then moved him to third on a double, Roberts also reached base on balls to load the bags, but Bunch was the only player to make it to home plate before the end of the inning.

Lovell, Bunch and Davis each had multiple hits in the second game, finishing with two apiece as Lincoln totaled nine team hits. The other three hits belonged to Smith, Kennedy and Earlywine. Bunch led LU on the field with six putouts while Lovell and Davis each had three.

Nate Lueckenhoff started on the mound for Lincoln, throwing three complete innings before giving way to Gatlin Wiggans. Zach York closed the game, pitching the sixth inning and giving up just one run. All three pitchers struck out two batters apiece.

Offense was harder to come by in the first game of the day, as Lincoln and Missouri S&T combined for just eight hits. Lincoln had one error while Missouri S&T had four, including one that led to the Blue Tigers' lone run of the contest. Adam Stegman, entering the game in the top of the seventh as a pinch hitter, created a fielder's choice situation that ultimately led to a throwing error. Smith took advantage, advancing to third before scoring on the bad throw.

The rest of the game belonged to the Miners, who scored their first runs of the season on a bases-clearing, three RBI double into left centerfield. An RBI single later in the frame gave the Miners a 4-0 lead, and neither team got back on the scoreboard until the sixth inning, when Missouri S&T plated three more runs. The Miners had just five hits in the game, but took advantage of six walks.

Joe Jungmeyer started the game, pitching four innings and striking out four batters while giving up those four first inning runs. Jungmeyer only allowed two hits by the 20 batters he faced. Ian Fuemmeler closed the game, allowing just one earned run while tossing four strikeouts in two innings of work.

The Blue Tigers tallied three hits in the official season opener, with two of them coming courtesy of Craig Jones. The other hit belonged to Davis, who also had four putouts. Bunch led LU defensively with eight putouts while Kennedy added two assists.

Lincoln will be in Jefferson City, Mo. next weekend, opening both its home slate and MIAA schedule with a four-game series against Missouri Southern. The series will begin on Friday (Feb. 21) with a 2:00 p.m. CST contest. The two teams will return to LU Baseball Field on Saturday (Feb. 22) for a 1:00 p.m. CST double header before closing the weekend on Sunday (Feb. 23) with one last game at 12:00 p.m. CST.

Missouri Southern - JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln baseball team held a 3-1 lead early on, but Missouri Southern scored 10-straight runs to sweep a double-header over the Blue Tigers on Saturday (Feb. 22). The Lions edged the Blue Tigers, 5-3, in the first game and won the nightcap, 6-2, to win both games in what were the first MIAA contests of the season for each program. Saturday's twinbill was also Lincoln's 2014 home-opener.

Missouri Southern (6-0, 2-0 MIAA) opened the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the third, but Lincoln (0-4, 0-2 MIAA) answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame. A throwing error allowed Nick Lovell to reach base, and then a base hit by Zach Roberts advanced him to second. Both runners reached scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by James Earleywine, and a wild pitch eventually allowed Lovell to tie the game.

Lincoln then took its only lead of the day in the next at-bat, as Ben Stewart became the first Blue Tiger to hit a homerun this season. Stewart's shot flew over the center-right field fence, scoring Roberts and giving LU a 3-1 advantage. The lead would not be long-lasting, however, as Missouri Southern tied the game back up at three with a two-RBI single deep into centerfield.

Neither team was able to score in the fifth inning, but Missouri Southern re-took the lead in the sixth with another two-RBI single. In both the sixth and seventh frames, Lincoln was able to advance a runner to third, but each time the Lions were able to keep the Blue Tigers from scoring. It was a close game for most of the afternoon, but Missouri Southern prevailed by two in the seven-inning affair.

Roberts and Stewart each tallied two hits in the opener while Lovell, Christian Bunch, Caleb Davis and Logan Smith each had one apiece. The two teams tied each other with eight hits, but Lincoln played error-free baseball while MSSU was charged with one error. Davis had a team-best six putouts and Roberts tallied four while Josh Kennedy led LU with three assists.

Ryan Simpson started the game on the mound, throwing a strikeout while giving up three runs. The loss went to Gatlin Wiggans, who pitched the game's final 3.2 innings and finished with a pair of strikeouts while giving up just one walk.

The second game of the day was a more lopsided affair, as Missouri Southern built a 6-0 lead before the Blue Tigers avoided the shutout with two scores in the bottom of the eighth. Martin Gulley, Bunch and Lovell all reached on walks, and a fielder's choice forced by a grounder from Roberts gave Lincoln its first run of the day. Earleywine later drove in the second run on a ground out to the pitcher.

Lincoln was shutout for most of the second contest, and finished the game with just two hits while Missouri Southern compiled eight. The Lions played mistake-free ball while Lincoln had three errors, two of which came after hits and allowed MSSU to take extra bases.

The Blue Tigers had an opportunity to strike first, as Earleywine hit a double down the right field line and later advanced to third on a groundout. Another groundout ended that frame, however, and it wasn't until the sixth frame that LU even had another runner advance as far as second. Roberts hit a single in that frame and then later stole second. Earleywine reached on a walk, but a groundout stranded both players.

Joe Jungmeyer pitched the first 6.2 innings of the twinbill's second game, finishing with two strikeouts while giving up two earned runs. Ian Fuemmeler fanned two and gave up just one earned run in 1.1 frames of work while John Bisges, pitching for the first time since 2012, tossed a strikeout and shutout the Lions in the ninth inning.

Defensively, Davis had 11 putouts for LU while Bunch had five and Jungmeyer tallied four. Stewart, Kennedy and Lovell each had three assists while Davis finished with two.

The Blue Tigers will be back at LU Baseball Field on Sunday (Feb. 23), hosting Missouri Southern for another twinbill. Due to forecasts calling for overcast skies and a lack of lighting at the field, the start time for the first game of that double header has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. CST.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln baseball team was held in check offensively, as the Blue Tigers dropped both games of a twinbill vs. Missouri Southern on Sunday (Feb. 23). Lincoln was limited to nine hits on the day as the Lions won the first game, 12-1, and the second, 9-1.

Missouri Southern (8-0, 4-0 MIAA) had a 10-0 lead before Lincoln (0-6, 0-4 MIAA) finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth of the opener. Josh Kennedy hit a single, one of just three by the Blue Tigers in that contest, before taking second on a wild pitch. A single by Craig Jones, who had Lincoln's other two hits of the game, moved Kennedy to third before a balk called on the Lions' pitcher brought in Lincoln's only run of the contest.

The Lions ended up scoring 12 runs on 12 hits and one Lincoln error, including plating six runs in the top of the fifth to take control of the game. The Blue Tigers' pitching rotation combined for four strikeouts while allowing 11 earned runs. Nate Lueckenhoff started the game, fanning two, before giving way to John Dalton Goings and Gus Goodnight, each of whom had one strikeout.

Caleb Davis led LU defensively in the opener, recording seven putouts, while Logan Smith had four and Christian Bunch and Nick Lovell each had three. Ben Stewart, Kennedy, Lovell and Lueckenhoff each tallied two assists.

The second game of the afternoon started well for the Blue Tigers, but Missouri Southern plated four runs in both the third and eighth innings to earn a sweep of the four-game season series. The Lions only held a slight 8-6 edge on hits and had three errors while Lincoln had just one, but Missouri Southern was able to take advantage of seven walks, four wild pitches and passed ball to win by a comfortable margin.

Lincoln struck first in the second game, loading the bases in the bottom of the first inning after forcing Missouri Southern to go three-up, three-down in the top half of the frame. A base hit by James Earleywine got the offense started, and Zach Roberts reached on a walk before a sacrifice bunt by Stewart moved both players into scoring position. Davis hit a single down the right field line to load the bags, though neither Kennedy or Roberts were able to advance. Jones later connected on a base hit that just rolled past MSSU's third baseman, bringing in Earleywine.

That proved to be the only run of the contest for Lincoln, unfortunately, as the Blue Tigers would go on to strand nine runners on base throughout the game. Zach York made his first start of the year on the mound, pitching five complete innings and giving up four earned runs while striking out four. Middle reliever Joshua Register fanned three in three full innings of work while closer Gatlin Wiggans forced Missouri Southern to go three-up, three-down in the ninth.

Nick Lovell led LU with two hits in the nightcap while the only other hit of the day came from Smith. Davis had a team-high 10 putouts and Kennedy finished with seven. Lovell led the Blue Tigers with four assists while Martin Gulley had three and Kennedy and York each had two.

Lincoln will have four chances to gain its first MIAA win of the season next weekend, when the Blue Tigers travel to St. Charles, Mo. to play Lindenwood in another four-game series. The action is scheduled to begin with a single game on Friday (Feb. 28) at 4:00 p.m. CST with the teams slated to meet for a double header on Saturday (March 1) at 1:00 p.m. CST. Lindenwood and Lincoln will then close out their season series on Sunday (March 2) with one more game starting at 1:00 p.m. CST.

2014 LU statistics -

Player  avg gp-gs ab 2b 3b hr rbi tb slg% bb hbp so gdp ob% sf sh sb-att po fld% 
Jones,Craig  .294 6-6 17 .294 .368 0-0 1.000 
Lovell,Nick  .278 6-6 18 .333 .316 0-0 12 10 .917 
Davis,Caleb  .238 6-6 21 .238 .273 0-0 41 .977 
Bunch,Christian  .231 5-5 13 .231 .333 0-0 25 1.000 
Earlywine,James  .214 6-6 14 .357 .476 0-1 .000 
Roberts,Zach  .167 6-6 18 .167 .318 1-3 15 1.000 
Smith,Logan  .158 6-6 19 .158 .158 1-1 10 .909 
Kennedy,Josh  .105 6-6 19 .105 .190 0-1 11 13 .889 
Stewart,Ben  .100 6-6 20 .250 .143 0-0 1.000 
Gulley,Martin  .000 2-1 .000 .333 0-0 1.000 
Stegman,Adam  .000 3-0 .000 .000 0-0 1.000 
Goings,John Dalton  .000 1-0 .000 .000 0-0 .000 
Moore,Zach  .000 1-0 .000 .000 0-0 .000 
Totals  .186 6-6 167 14 31 10 37 .222 19 28 .280 2-6 132 51 .953 
Opponents  .305 6-6 177 49 54 42 63 .356 37 33 .429 10 11-15 138 70 .959 


Player  era w-l app-gs cg sho sv ip er bb so 2b 3b hr ab b/avg wp hbp bk sfa sha 
Bisges,John  0.00 0-0 1-0 0/0 1.0 .000 
Goodnight,Gus  4.50 0-0 1-0 0/0 2.0 .333 
Jungmeyer,Joe  5.06 0-2 2-2 0/0 10.2 11 40 .200 
Wiggans,Gatlin  5.40 0-1 3-0 0/0 6.2 25 .240 
Fuemmeler,Ian  5.40 0-0 2-0 0/0 3.1 15 .333 
York,Zach  7.50 0-1 2-1 0/0 6.0 25 .320 
Simpson,Ryan  8.10 0-0 1-1 0/0 3.1 12 .333 
Register,Joshua  12.00 0-0 1-0 0/0 3.0 10 .200 
Lueckenhoff,Nick  14.14 0-2 2-2 0/0 7.0 16 14 11 34 .471 
Goings,John Dalton  18.00 0-0 1-0 0/0 1.0 .400 
Totals  7.77 0-6 6-6 0/0 44.0 54 49 38 37 33 177 .305 10 
Opponents  1.96 6-0 6-6 0/0 46.0 31 14 10 19 28 167 .186 

PB - Team (4), Bunch,C. 3, Kennedy,J. 1. SBA/ATT - Bunch,C. (10-12), York,Z. (2-4), Lueckenhoff (3-3), Kennedy,J. (1-3), Jungmeyer,J. (3-3), Fuemmeler,I. (2-2), Wiggans,G. (1-2), Simpson,R. (0-1).


Northwest Missouri State University -

• Record: 7-5 • Home: 2-0 • Away: 2-2 • Neutral: 3-3 • MIAA: 4-2 •
Player  avg gp-gs ab 2b 3b hr rbi tb slg% bb hbp so gdp ob% sf sh sb-att po fld% 
Huske,Brandon  .436 10-10 39 17 19 .487 .489 0-0 17 27 .917 
Pomatto,Jon  .400 12-12 40 13 16 10 26 .650 .478 1-2 33 1.000 
Meyer,Derek  .333 2-2 .333 .429 1-1 1.000 
McGlauflin,Eric  .326 12-12 43 14 17 .395 .412 1-1 11 1.000 
Garber,Steven  .308 10-9 26 10 .385 .438 0-0 63 1.000 
Abernathy,Ryan  .304 12-12 46 10 14 19 .413 .377 1-3 26 1.000 
Johnson,Paul  .279 11-11 43 12 19 .442 .340 1-2 15 23 .927 
Wulff,Austin  .263 11-10 38 13 10 17 .447 .349 1-1 18 1.000 
Ferreira,Zack  .256 12-12 39 10 12 .308 .341 0-1 16 1.000 
Singleton,Alex  .250 3-1 .250 .250 0-0 1.000 
Hardegree,Blake  .241 10-10 29 .241 10 .343 1-1 50 .964 
Fort,Garrett  .188 6-5 16 .313 .278 0-0 1.000 
Holler,James  .000 2-2 .000 .429 0-1 13 .875 
Wilkinson,Luke  .000 2-0 .000 .333 0-0 1.000 
Totals  .304 12-12 375 84 114 19 73 154 .411 46 10 56 .391 12 7-13 267 100 12 .968 
Opponents  .300 12-12 350 61 105 20 54 137 .391 42 15 55 .391 10-10 278 127 22 .948 
LOB - Team (85), Opp (95). DPs turned - Team (7), Opp (7).


Player  era w-l app-gs cg sho sv ip er bb so 2b 3b hr ab b/avg wp hbp bk sfa sha 
Smith,Tanner  0.00 0-0 3-0 0/0 3.1 .000 
Pomatto,Jon  0.00 0-0 1-0 0/0 1.0 .000 
Trout,Andrew  0.00 0-0 1-0 0/0 0.1 .000 
Schmiedt,Brian  1.59 2-0 5-0 0/0 5.2 20 .300 
Perry,Daulton  2.45 0-0 5-0 0/0 3.2 13 .154 
Reutter,Blane  3.00 1-0 4-0 0/0 6.0 24 .250 
Pearcy,Hondo  3.57 1-0 4-2 0/0 17.2 15 10 63 .238 
Fox, Ryker  4.12 2-1 4-4 0/0 19.2 19 10 12 17 75 .253 
Warren,Austin  5.79 0-1 2-2 0/0 9.1 14 37 .378 
Klocko,Kole  8.38 1-1 3-2 0/0 9.2 15 42 .357 
Henrichs,Rob  10.00 0-2 4-2 0/0 9.0 17 14 10 44 .386 
Pablo,Nikko  17.18 0-0 3-0 0/0 3.2 11 20 .550 
Totals  5.26 7-5 12-12 0/0 89.0 105 61 52 42 55 20 350 .300 15 
Opponents  6.51 5-7 12-12 1/1 92.2 114 84 67 46 56 19 375 .304 10 12 

PB - Team (3), Hardegree,Bl 2, Meyer,Derek 1, Opp (3). Pickoffs - Team (2), Fox, Ryker 1, Klocko,Kole 1. SBA/ATT - Hardegree,Bl (9-9), Henrichs,Rob (3-3), Warren,Austi (2-2), Meyer,Derek (1-1), Pearcy,Hondo (1-1), Pablo,Nikko (1-1), Pomatto,Jon (1-1), Klocko,Kole (1-1), Fox, Ryker (1-1).


NWMSU Head Coach Darin Loe -

Darin Loe has been the skipper of Northwest Missouri State's baseball program since 2000.

Loe posted seven consecutive winning seasons from 2002-08 - the Bearcats' longest such streak in more than 25 years. The 2012 season also saw Loe capture his 500th career win on the final day of the regular season in a sweep over Lincoln on May 6.

Loe has led Northwest to the MIAA tournament five times in his first six seasons. The 2010 squad gave Loe his seventh tournament berth and did so in spectacular fashion, winning 15 of its final 23 regular-season games and four of its final five series against league foes.

Four Northwest teams have won at least 30 games under Loe including the 2003 squad which finished 36-17 and made the program's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1989. That Bearcat squad placed second in the league standings with a 20-8 record, went 1-1 at the MIAA tournament and beat Minnesota Duluth at the South Central Regional.

Nine Bearcats have earned first-team All-MIAA honors under Loe including David Dugan, who was a two-time first-teamer. Loe has developed 30 All-MIAA players overall which includes nine two-time all-conference performers.

Adam Bailey was named All-America outfielder in 2000 and is one of Loe's two-time, all-league performers. Bailey was the program's first All-America choice since 1989.

Before arriving to Maryville, Loe served three seasons as the head coach at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. There, he led the Wildcats to HAAC tournament championships in 1997 and 1998 and to a third-place regional finish in 1998.

Team by Team Comparison -     NWMSU      LU

Batting Average                            .304              .186
Slugging %                                    .411             .222
On-base %                                   .391              .280
Fielding %                                     .968              .953
ERA                                              5.26              7.77
Go Cats!!
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