Coach Scott Eul addresses members of the UMSL baseball team after they won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship on Saturday in Marion, Illinois. (Photo courtesy of UMSL Athletics)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis baseball team celebrated its first conference title since 2003 on Saturday when center fielder Cade Grevengoed squeezed Denton Damgaard’s fly ball in his glove for the final out in a 13-8 victory over Missouri S&T at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship at Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois.
The Tritons are now getting set to take on Fort Wayne State at 2 p.m. Thursday in Springfield, Illinois, as they open play in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 23 years. KSDK (Channel 5) Sports Director Frank Cusumano stopped by UMSL’s practice early this week to check on preparations and spotlight a team that opened the season 4-10 but has gone 29-10 since, including winning 10 of its last 11 games heading into NCAA play.
“Coach Scott Eul has engineered quite a comeback season,” Cusumano said of the UMSL skipper, who has amassed a combined record of 113-95 in his four seasons since taking over a program that, before he arrived, hadn’t finished with a winning record since 2016.
The Tritons have relied on one of the GLVC’s best pitching staffs, which ranked third in the league with a combined ERA of 5.77. Left-handed ace Eli Cartwright has led the way with a league-best ERA of 2.36 and a conference-high 96 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .190 batting average. Cartwright, a first-league All-GLVC performer and the league’s Pitcher of the Year, tossed the eighth no-hitter in school history on March 28 against Southwest Baptist.
Offensively, UMSL is batting .308 this season and averaging 6.9 runs per game. First baseman Mitch Bonczkowski has been the centerpiece of the lineup, setting the school’s single-season and career home run records with 22 and 31, respectively. He ranks first in the GLVC this season in batting average (.432), slugging percentage (.854), OPS (1.348), hits (86), runs batted in (71) and home runs.
“Every time there’s guys on base, it seems like he’s driving them in,” Eul said of Bonczkowski in an interview with KSDK. “You get those guys with power that sometimes strike out a lot, but he doesn’t strike out at all either. Having him in the middle of the lineup, it’s been really relaxing because when he gets there, he’s going to get something done for us.”
Bonczkowski said staying relaxed has been key to his success.
“To be honest, I try not to do too much, which might sound crazy, because I want the game to remain a game,” Bonczkowski told KSDK. “I don’t want to stress out too much and overdo it, so whenever we’re at practice, I try my hardest and I want to work on my craft, but outside of that, I just try to give my body a rest and take time to relax and, like I said, enjoy the game.”
It’s been working.
Bonczkowski, closer Dustin Hagens and utility man/pitcher Brandon Johnson all joined Cartwright on the All-GLVC First Team. Hagens posted a 3.03 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 19 appearances. Johnson batted .283 in conference play while also going 2-1 in eight appearances with a 5.94 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings.
Freshman shortstop Justin Terhaar was a second-team all-conference selection, batting .393 overall with six doubles, two triples, two home runs and 42 RBI. Garrett Brunstetter was an honorable mention all-league honoree after going 6-0 with a 3.83 ERA in 13 pitching appearances, including seven starts.
UMSL will be looking to snap a six-game NCAA Tournament losing streak since winning the Central Regional title in 1996. Thursday’s opponent, Wayne State, is making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2023 when it went 0-2 in the Midwest Regional hosted at Quincy. The Warriors are 37-14 on the season, including 17-7 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play and are 13-7 in their past 20 contests.
Watch the story from KSDK:
