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Courtesy of MLC Athletics
ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the UMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released by the conference on Wednesday.
MLC received 13 total points in the poll. Bethany Lutheran College was picked to win the UMAC, with UW-Superior selected to finish second.
The Knights look to improve upon their 2022 season where they went 3-18 in conference play and a 3-28 overall record.
MLC returns three prominent players from last season in Mason Cox, Spencer Lilienthal and Zach Klement. Cox enters the 2022 season after breaking the MLC records in BA (.476) and OBP (.540) while tying the school record in hits with 50. Lilienthal was named as a UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention last season and batted .295 with an OBP of .391. Klement was the number one starter on the mound for the Knights, where he threw two complete games and displayed his versatility as catcher, hitting .295 on the season.
Along with Klement, the Knights return pitchers Sam Rodriguez (33 innings pitched) and Michael Fromm (28.2 innings pitched) to lead the front end of the rotation for the 2023 season.
The Knights also bring back starting infielders with Caleb Heckendorf and Jackson Lindemann, as well as outfielder Elijah Henning. Overall, the Knights return seven starters from the 2022 season.
MLC will open the 2023 season on Friday, March 3, when it plays the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in a doubleheader down in Auburndale, Florida.