June 8, 2010
That's a Wrap: Saint Louis (33-29) completed its 2010 baseball season with an Atlantic 10 Conference title, an NCAA Regional appearance and a school-record 33 wins.
Like a Broken Record: The Billikens' win against Charlotte on May 31 was their 33rd of the season. The victory not only secured them the A-10 title, but also broke the school record for wins, surpassing the previous record of 32 set in 2006.
Quest for 30: After posting a 30-25 record in 2009, the Billikens put together another 30-win season this year to secure the first back-to-back 30-win campaigns in school history. This season was the fourth time SLU registered 30 or more wins, and the fifth time since 1972 the Billikens have finished above .500.
SLU Skipper: Saint Louis head coach Darin Hendrickson completed his third season as the Billikens' head coach. SLU has increased its win total in each of his seasons at the helm. Hendrickson has led the Billikens to 30 or more wins the last two seasons, capped this year by a school-record 33 victories, marking the first time in program history the Billikens have had back-to-back 30-win seasons. His three-year SLU record is 87-83. Hendrickson has a 15-year career record of 577-257 with stints at Central Missouri, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park and Fontbonne.
NCAA Regional: The Billikens earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Louisville Regional. SLU opened the tourney by facing the region's top seed and No. 7 national Louisville June 4. SLU led 2-1 in the fourth inning before Louisville stretched out to an 11-2 victory. The next day in an elimination game against third-seeded Illinois State, the Bills fell 8-3.
NCAA Regional All-Championship Team: Senior center fielder J.D. Dunn was SLU's representative on the NCAA Louisville All-Regional team. Dunn led the Billikens with a .556 batting average (5-for-9) during the Regional, which included a 3-for-4 performance against Louisville.
A-10 Champions: Saint Louis punched its ticket to the NCAA Baseball Regional after winning four games in four days to claim the A-10 crown at Campbell's Field in Camden, N.J. The Billikens entered the six-team tourney as the No. 5 seed and advanced by knocking off No. 4 Fordham, No. 2 Xavier and No. 1 Charlotte (twice). In the opening game of the tournament, SLU trailed Fordham 5-0 after two innings but rallied for a 16-11 victory. The next day against Charlotte, the Billikens came out on the right side of a pitcher's duel as senior right-hander Bryant Cotton tossed a complete game to give the Bills a 4-3 win, limiting the league's top-rated offense to four hits in nine innings. Friday, the Billikens earned a spot in the championship game by way of a 12-9 victory against Xavier. SLU claimed the A-10 crown in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as Cotton came out of the bullpen to strike out the final batter with the bases loaded to deliver a 5-4 victory for the Billikens.
Unsung Heroes: A variety of players stepped up to lift the Billikens to the A-10 title. In the opener against Fordham, senior catcher Bryant Cotton complete-game victory. Levine again had a big day at the plate against Xavier in the semifinal, posting four hits and three RBIs. In Saturday's title game against Charlotte, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Jerry Mancuso belted a three-run double as the Bills prevailed 5-4. Also, freshman right-hander Jason Bell came out of the bullpen and earned the win after tossing four shutout innings.
A-10 All-Championship Team: Senior right-hander Bryant Cotton was named the Atlantic 10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player. He earned the Bills' second win of the tourney against Charlotte after throwing nine innings and allowing two runs on four hits. Then in the championship-clinching victory against Charlotte, Cotton entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth. He struck out the only batter he faced to lift the Billikens to the title. Freshman shortstop Ben Braaten had a .378 average and seven RBIs, six of which came in the tournament opener against Fordham. Also earning a spot on the All-Championship team was freshman right-hander Jason Bell, who tossed four innings of shutout ball in the title game against Charlotte.
All-Conference: Four Billikens were named to the league's All-Conference teams. Bryant Cotton and Danny Brock landed on the second team.
Like a Broken Record II: Numerous individual single-season records were broken in 2010. Below are the lists, accompanied by the previous records.
Hits
1. Jon Myers, 95 (2010)
2. Danny Brock, 85 (2010)
3. Mike Barger, 81 (1993)
RBIs
1. Danny Brock, 75 (2010)
2. Jon Myers, 72 (2010)
3. Tony Hausladen, 67 (1996)
Runs Scored
1. Danny Brock, 64 (2010)
Jason Wood, 64 (1999)
Total Bases
1. Jon Myers, 167 (2010)
2. Danny Brock, 154 (2010)
3. Brett Bredensteiner, 150 (1997)
Games Played
1. Danny Brock, 62 (2010)
Mike Levine, 62 (2010)
Jon Myers, 62 (2010)
4. J.D. Dunn, 61 (2010)
Brad Brown, 61 (1991)
Games Started
1. Jon Myers, 62 (2010)
Danny Brock, 62 (2010)
3. J.D. Dunn, 61 (2010)
Mike Levine, 61 (2010)
5. Ben Braaten, 59 (2010)
Two players, 59 (2006)
Putouts
1. Danny Brock, 556 (2010)
2. Brian Haddock, 531 (1999)
Assists
1. Mike Levine, 187 (2010)
2. Paul Miles, 173 (2000)
Wins (Pitcher)
1. Bryant Cotton, 9 (2010)
Alex Alemann, 9 (2010)
Rich Hansmann, 9 (1967)
John Marcum, 9 (1965)
Team Effort: The Billikens broke 10 team records in 2010. The lists and previous records are below.
At Bats
1. 2,173 (2010)
2. 2,087 (2006)
Runs Scored
1. 436 (2010)
2. 426 (1999)
Hits
1. 648 (2010)
2. 615 (1999)
Doubles
1. 121 (2010)
2. 113 (2009)
RBIs
1. 394 (2010)
2. 368 (1999)
Total Bases
1. 972 (2010)
2. 870 (1999)
Putouts
1. 1,629 (2010)
2. 1,600 (2006)
Assists
1. 697 (2010)
2. 682 (2006)
Innings Pitched
1. 543.0 (2010)
2. 533.1 (2006)
Myers Leads Team in Hitting: Junior third baseman Jon Myers finished the season with a team-leading .365 batting average and a school-record 95 hits. He was also second on the squad with 16 home runs (sixth on the all-time single-season list) and 72 RBIs (second on the all-time single-season list). Myers posted 30 multiple-hit games and turned in 19 multiple-RBI games, both of which led the team.
Brock Claims RBI Record: Senior first baseman Danny Brock drove in a single-season record 75 runs. He also finished second on the SLU single-season list with a team-best 18 home runs. Brock finished second on the team in average (.356) and hits (85, also second on SLU single-season list) and tied the school record with 64 runs scored.
Dunn Among All-Time Hits Leaders: Senior center fielder J.D. Dunn completed his four-year career with 201 hits, becoming just the 10th player in school history to record 200 or more hits. Dunn also ranks second all time in stolen bases (73), fourth in runs scored (151), fifth in walks (103) and sixth in triples (eight). Dunn is also third all time in career games played (205) and fourth in games started (199).
Fantastic Frosh: Freshman shortstop Mike Levine broke into the Billiken record book with a solid season at the plate and in the field. His 187 assists are a school record, and his 64 hits are the third most by a freshman at SLU. In addition, his 44 RBIs ranked third on the squad and third on the SLU freshman chart, while his 38 runs scored were the fourth most by a SLU freshman.
BBs: Despite playing just two year, senior catcher Ben Braaten finished his career 17th on SLU's all-time list with 75 walks. Additionally, he is 19th in putouts (514) and 20th in doubles (29).
Leading the Charge: Junior left fielder Cody Cotter missed the first 10 games of the season due to injury, but when he returned he did not miss a beat as the team's leadoff hitter. Cotter's 49 runs scored were the 12th most in a single season at SLU, and he led the league in walks in A-10 action. Cotter also led the team in times being hit by a pitch with 21.
Dual Threat: Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Jerry Mancuso saw extensive playing time in the field and on the mound. He hit .280 in 168 at-bats, and also made 18 appearances (13 starts) on the hill. Mancuso posted a 6-6 record, the third-most wins by a sophomore in SLU history.
Double the Fun: Senior outfielder/second baseman Andrew Guerra had a strong close to his career, hitting .300 with six RBIs in the Bills' final nine games. Guerra, who set a SLU single-season record with 21 doubles in 2008, ended his career ranked 10th on the all-time doubles list with 37. He is also 17th on the all-time list with 16 home runs.
Work Horse: Senior right-hander Bryant Cotton pitched 124 innings in 2010, just 1/3 of an inning shy of the school record. His nine wins tied the school record, while his 99 strikeouts ranked third on the Billikens' single-season chart.
Dandy Debut: Freshman right-hander Alex Alemann had a record-setting freshman season for the Billikens. His nine victories tied the SLU single-season record, and he set freshman records for starts (17) and strikeouts (72).
Miller Time: Sophomore second baseman Zach Miller followed up his freshman All-America season with a solid sophomore campaign. He hit .291 with 10 doubles and 23 RBIs, but missed the latter portion of the season due to injury.
Freshman Relief: A pair of freshmen were the Billikens' top options out of the bullpen late in the season. Right-hander Andres Wiltz made 17 relief appearances and led the pitching staff with a 4.03 ERA. Left-hander Jon Levin matched Wiltz' team-high total of two saves and posted a 5.91 ERA in 19 appearances.
Hit-and-Run Parade: In the Billikens' 13-6 victory at Central Arkansas Feb. 27, Adam Shea in 1999. In addition, Eric Koettker in 1996.
Power Surge: Junior third baseman Nick Crocker in 1999 and again by Jon Greenwich in 2004. Myers was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs against SIUE.
Rookie Drives in Six: Freshman shortstop Scott Peden drove in a school-record eight runs in a game in 2005. Levine's six RBIs came on three hits, all of them with two outs and the bases loaded.
Billikens Collect National Honors: Bryant Cotton landed on CollegeBaseball360.com's Primetime Performer List May 31 after being named MOP of the A-10 Championship. Danny Brock earned national recognition following the Billikens' doubleheader sweep of No. 19 Kansas March 20. CB360 named him its Primetime Player of the Week, while CollegeBaseballInsider.com tabbed Brock its Northeast Region Player of the Week. In addition, he was selected the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week. Redshirt freshman Steve Fernandez was named a CollegeBaseball360.com Primetime Performer of the Week after driving in five runs in the Billikens' victory against then-No. 16 Ohio State March 6.
Alemann Twice Named A-10 Rookie of the Week: Alex Alemann earned two A-10 Rookie of the Week nods this season. Against Dayton May 20, he went all nine innings and recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in what was a must-win game for SLU. Alemann picked up his first Rookie of the Week nod April 12 following a complete-game victory against Saint Joseph's where he allowed just one run on three hits.
Cotton A-10 Pitcher of the Week: Senior right-hander Bryant Cotton earned Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors Feb. 21 after picking up the win in the season opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Cotton tossed seven shutout innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven while walking one.
