This past weekend, ranging from February 18th to February 20th, the NCAA Division I baseball season began as nearly all of the nation’s programs kickstarted their 2022 season. Plenty of former Wisconsin prep products were a part of this “Opening Weekend” and a few made some noise for their respective programs.

Read below to see which of the Badger State’s homegrown talent impressed on the first weekend of the Division I college baseball season.

STANDOUTS

+ It was a memorable start to an NCAA career for OF Owen Washburn (Webster, 2021), as the reigning PBR Wisconsin Player of the Year laced a double off the right field wall to give Texas Tech a walk-off win on Opening Day. Hitting out of the two-hole for one of the nation’s top programs in all three of their games, which came against highly competitive opponents, Washburn tallied three hits in his collegiate debut and he singled again in game two. Thrust into a prominent offensive role for the Red Raiders, we’re eager to monitor how Washburn performs throughout the course of his freshman campaign.

+ The biggest question marks surrounding 1B Griffin Doersching (Greendale, 2017) heading into this season were all centered around how he would handle the high-end arms the Big 12 has to offer. Doersching spent four years as a starter at Northern Kentucky before transferring to Oklahoma State this season to complete his final year of NCAA eligibility. Squaring off against Vanderbilt on opening weekend, and the multitude of upper-tier arms they have, Doersching did more than hold his own - he essentially stole the show. The 6-foot-4, 251-pound ultra-physical slugger went 5-for-10 with all five knocks coming in the series’ final two games, both of which the Cowboys won. Doersching doubled twice in game two and he crossed home twice, too. He was even more productive in the finale, tallying three hits in total, with a home run, double, three RBIs, and a walk. His home run in the third inning got Oklahoma State on the board and his double in the ninth inning provided the Pokes with a key insurance run. Doersching will get his fair share of high-end arms across the Cowboys’ schedule, but he certainly impressed against the Commodores’ staff this past weekend.

+ We saw LHP Riley Frey (Appleton, 2021) and LHP Ben Hampton (West De Pere, 2021) duke it out at the Badger State Battle a few years ago and this southpaw duo combined, respectively, for two equally impressive starts this weekend. Frey got the Friday nod for his home state Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers, allowing just one run and punching out 10 across five innings of work. Hampton drew the Saturday start for West Virginia, also striking out 10 over five innings, allowing two earned runs in the process. Expect these sophomores to shoulder heavy workloads for their respective programs and continue to build off the early success as the year rolls on.

+ One of the biggest takeaways from college baseball’s first weekend was the offensive success that the Iowa Hawkeyes had en route to a 3-0 start. They scored 26 runs in that span and UTL Michael Seegers (Home School, 2020) played a role out of the leadoff spot in all three contests. Seegers tallied four hits and reached base five times, doubling and driving in a run as well. Seegers struggled last year for the Hawkeyes, albeit in a limited workload, but it appears that the Wisconsin native is set to take on a more expanded role this season.

+ A star for the Blue Devils last year as a freshman, LHP Luke Fox (Catholic Memorial, 2020) is back for his sophomore campaign with high expectations as a key piece to this rotation. Already generating some early draft buzz for next summer, Fox put together a quality outing against VMI, striking out five batters across five innings of one run ball. Duke will heavily rely on Fox throughout the entire season, especially if they want to replicate the success of last year’s ACC Championship squad.

+ It’s been a productive three months or so for MIF Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, 2021) as he earned a starting lineup spot for Bradley as a freshman. The left-handed hitting McGinnis notched his first career hit on Saturday and followed it up with a solo shot early Sunday morning. McGinnis was an on-base threat throughout the entire weekend, as he came around to score a few times in the series finale while hitting out of the leadoff spot and he drove a run in on a single, too. It’s clear that McGinnis is going to have some type of important role in the Braves’ offense early on into his collegiate career and he’s started to show that he’s capable of doing so already.

+ OF Connor Kimple (Marquette, 2016) started the 2022 campaign off on quite the powersurge, belting a home run in all three of the Ragin’ Cajuns games against UC Irvine. Kimple would end the three game series with five hits and two walks, driving six runs in as well.

+ Building off a productive season in 2021, C/DH Drake Baldwin (Madison West, 2019) has started strong for Missouri State early on. The left-handed hitter went 7-for-13 over three games against Central Arkansas while hitting at the top of the Bears’ lineup, drilling a double and driving in two runs.

+ The Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers enjoyed a potent start to the season on offense, scoring 36 runs in their three game sweep of Alabama A&M. Several Wisconsin natives had noteworthy weekends, headlined by senior INF Mitchell Buban (Tremper, 2017). Buban hit at the top of Milwaukee’s lineup all series, going 7-for-14 with a home run, five RBIs, seven runs scored, and four stolen bases. OF Conner Goodman (Pewaukee, 2017) had six hits and brought seven runs in on his own and UTL Aaron Chapman (Waterford, 2018) finished the series with five hits.

+ INF Paul Toetz (Greendale, 2019) figures to be a key cog for the Boilermakers this upcoming spring and the potential Big-10 all-conference honoree got his sophomore season off to a strong start. Toetz homered twice in Purdue’s opening series against South Dakota State, swiping two bags and walking twice as well. He finished the weekend with four hits and five RBIs in 11 at-bats.

+ C/INF Jake Berg (Bay Port, 2020) kicked off his sophomore season with the Hammerheads on a positive note, tallying six hits in their three game set against High Point. Berg drove in five runs in the series’ first two games with a double in game one.

+ A transfer from Illinois, OF Nathan Aide (Franklin, 2017) made a positive first impression for Eastern Illinois against Arkansas-Little Rock this weekend. Aide finished the three game set with five hits - two doubles in game one, a solo home run in game two, and two more knocks in the series finale.

+ A 2018 high school graduate and now a Creighton Bluejay, 1B Alan Roden (Middleton) started his season off strong in a four game set against Portland. Roden collected a hit in all four games, finishing the weekend 6-for-13 with two walks, an RBI, and a stolen base. 

MORE NAMES TO KNOW

+ 3B Max Wagner (Green Bay Preble, 2020) made the most of a pinch-hit appearance in Clemson’s game two win against Indiana by mashing a three-run shot that traveled 406 feet and left his barrel at 105 mph.

+ In their first few games at the college level, former travel ball teammates INF Ryan Taylor (Windermere, 2021) and C Joey Spence (West Bend East, 2021) made the most of their early opportunities. Taylor tallied two hits, including a double, in four at-bats for the Knights and Spence doubled off the bench for Notre Dame in the series opener.

+ C Brigs Richartz (Menominee, 2021) ended his high school career as an arrow-up candidate heading to the next level. Now at University of St. Thomas, who happens to be the nation’s latest Division I program, Richartz started his collegiate career off by hitting out of the three-hole in all three games for the Tommies. Richartz finished the week with a pair of hits, including a double.

+ Working in relief for Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday, RHP Eliot Turnquist (Columbus, 2017) turned in two innings of work and earned the save in the Panthers’ 8-7 win over Alabama A&M.

+ MIF Nick Gile (Menomonee Falls, 2017) collected three hits for Illinois State in the Redbirds second game against Arkansas on Saturday, including a double.

+ INF Joe Hauser (Waunakee, 2020) played a bit for Minnesota in their opening set against Florida Atlantic. The Gophers still have one game to go on Monday, but Hauser went 3-for-6 with a walk in the three games already played, starting at shortstop in game two.

+ LHP Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa East, 2021) made his college debut on Saturday, working in relief for the Huskies against Sacramento State. Meyer pitched three innings, allowing three hits and striking out two, while allowing an earned run.

+ RHP Bryce Konitzer (Mukwonago, 2018) drew the Opening Day start for Oakland against Cal State Bakersfield on Friday. Konitzer went 5 ⅔ innings, striking out four and allowing just one run.

+ Hitting out of the cleanup spot for Valparaiso, OF Brady Renfro (Antigo, 2020) flashed some power across opening weekend. The 6-foot, 205-pound left-handed hitter doubled twice and homered in the series finale - a win over Memphis.

+ RHP Chandler Fochs (Wausau West, 2018) turned in a quality start for Western Illinois in their series finale against Western Kentucky. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander went six strong innings, striking out three and holding the Hilltoppers to just one run in that span.

+ Starting behind the plate as a freshman for Northern Illinois, C Kaden Kosobucki (West De Pere, 2021) had a productive weekend in a four game series against Sacramento State. Kosobucki collected three hits in total and drove in three runs, but he also walked five times and stole a base.

+ LHP Trevor Olson (Chippewa Falls, 2017) started against Alabama in Xavier’s opener on Friday and turned in a strong outing for the Musketeers, limiting the Crimson Tide to just one earned run. Olson threw five innings of one run ball, allowing three hits and striking out two.

+ INF Peter Ahn (Marquette, 2017) collected three hits for Michigan State in their series win over UNLV, including a double.

+ C Jacob Campbell (Janesville Craig, 2018) tallied at least one hit in all three of Illinois’ games against Kansas, including a solo shot in game two, stealing two bases in the process.

+ INF Evan Albrecht (West Bend West, 2018) started the last three games of Purdue’s series against South Dakota State. He singled a run home in the third game and homered in the finale, finishing the weekend with three hits total and three RBIs.

+ OF Cam Cratic (Madison East, 2017) had a hit in all three of Missouri State’s games against Central Arkansas. The redshirt senior drove in a combined five runs in the last two contests as well.

+ Hitting in the cleanup spot of Bradley’s lineup for a large chunk of this weekend, INF TJ Manteufel (Union Grove, 2020) helped the Braves win two of three games against Western Michigan this weekend. Manteufel drove a pair of runs throughout the series and scored a handful of times as well. A highly touted prospect coming out of high school, Manteufel started 42 games as a freshman for Bradley and should be an integral part of this year’s squad, too.

+ Fresh off an extremely productive season for the reigning D1 WIAA state champions, C Josh Caron (Sun Prairie, 2021) is already making waves for the reigning Big-10 conference champs. Caron started on Opening Day for the Cornhuskers and drew the nod on Sunday as well, smoking a double, driving in a run, and walking once.

+ Despite getting swept by NC State on opening weekend, Evansville MIF Brent Widder (Sheboygan North, 2019) showed flashes of success across the Aces’ first three games. Widder drove in three runs on three hits, including a double, in the first game of the series and he recorded another hit in game two as well. Widder walked twice and scored a run, too.

+ RHP Evan Sankey (Appleton North, 2017) hurled five scoreless innings for North Dakota State on Saturday in their win over Abilene Christian. The right-hander struck three batters out and allowed five hits in total, walking none. 

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