2012 Season Review

By CJ Siewert

Following a disappointing 11-17 season in 2011, the St. Peter amateur baseball club rebounded in 2012 and finished with its first winning season in quite some time at 17-11. Although the Saints once again fell in Region 6C play – two games short of the State Tournament – they have now put together a roster that looks to remain intact for the foreseeable future.

Tinkering with a new lineup that included the addition of former Gustavus standouts Ty Kaus and Shea Roehrkasse, St. Peter waffled back-and-forth between wins and losses to start the season at 6-5. The Saints won the games “they should have,” but couldn’t get over the hump against quality opponents. That all changed on June 19 at Veterans Field, though, as the hometown nine outlasted eventual Class B State champion Victoria 7-6 in 13 innings.

The Vic’s jumped out to a 3-0 lead through an inning and a half, but the Saints responded with two in the second and another in the third to tie the game. They then took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth only to give it right back in the sixth as the Vic’s tacked on two more. The Saints then rallied for the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth after Jesse Munsterman singled, advanced on a groundout and scored on Billy Hanson's RBI-single. 

The two squads battled back-and-forth for the next three extra frames until the Vic’s took a 6-5 lead in the 13th inning. But with one down in the bottom half, Hanson walked, Roehrkasse doubled and Kaus hit a sacrifice fly for the game-tying run. Jeff Menk then hit the walk-off single, scoring Roehrkasse from second for the game-winner.

From that point on, the Saints won six of their next seven games with the one loss coming to Lake Henry at the Arlington/Gaylord High Life Invite with a depleted lineup. Entering the playoffs, St. Peter boasted a 15-9 record, went 10-5 in the River Valley League and 8-2 against RVL West opponents.

STP drew the No. 1 seed in the RVL West playoffs and faced the New Ulm Kaiserhoff in a best of three series. The Saints swept the Kaiserhoff 2-0 with a 4-1 win at New Ulm and a 10-6 come-from-behind victory at Veterans Field. As the No. 1 seed to come out of the division playoffs, the Saints garnered their third consecutive RVL West Playoff title and were matched with the No. 3 seed out of the Central – Belle Plaine – in another best of three series at regions.  

The series started out well for the Saints as they took an early 1-0 lead through three frames in game one, but Mother Nature had other plans as lightning and rain postponed the game until the following day. The weather seemingly took St. Peter’s momentum with it as the Saints gave up 11 runs after resuming the game en route to an 11-2 loss.

Facing elimination, St. Peter traveled to Belle Plaine and couldn’t get the clutch hits when it needed it most, ending the season with a 5-1 loss.

As a team, the Saints boasted a .253 average (238-942) and averaged 5.6 runs per game. They also tallied a .359 on-base percentage that included 116 walks and 40 hit-by-pitches. Roehrakasse led the squad with a .369 average (31-84), including team-highs in doubles (10), home runs (2), RBI (23), on-base (.470) and slugging (.583). Munsterman led the team with 28 runs scored, five triples and 11 stolen bases. Hanson posted a team-leading 18 walks and was part of a three-member group that played in, and started, every game – Menk (.253) and CJ Siewert (.290).

The pitching staff posted a collective 3.13 ERA, averaging 9.3 hits per game and a 2.4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Jesse Anderson and Jeff Wenner were the one-two punch all season long. Anderson went 6-3 in 10 starts with a 3.73 ERA and a team-best 59 Ks. Wenner went 6-2 in nine starts with a 2.13 ERA and .212 opponent’s batting average.

Looking forward to 2013…

The same goal will be in place for the 2013 campaign, winning the RVL West (if it remains intact) and reaching the State Tournament. All of this past season’s starters remain in the fold, but there may be some minor adjustments to the lineup. Kaus will see an increased role on the mound with the potential to become the ace of the staff. Roehrkasse will see time behind the plate, giving Hanson a needed break after starting nearly every game at catcher for the past seven years. This will also allow Hanson time in the field as a utility player. Veterans Mike Enz and Ryan Wenner will also be back. Enz will enter his 29th season for St. Peter, while Wenner will enter his 12th.