St. Cloud's big season: fast facts
• Freshman Sheldon Miks of Shakopee will start Thursday's regional opener for the Huskies. He's 10-0 with an 0.92 ERA. The six pitchers with more than 20 innings – Miks, Reese Gregory, Garrett Harrison, Ryan Diers, Logan Spitzack and Kevin Bolder – are a combined 46-0 this season.
• Catcher Mike Jurgella, a senior from Plover, Wis., was the NSIC's MVP this season. He's batting .421 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI.
• Zak Hoffman, a junior third baseman from Shakopee, has identical power numbers – 14 homers and 67 RBI. Zach Hoffmann of New Ulm is the first baseman, so don't get confused.
• The Huskies have improved in the middle of the infield, with junior Kyle Lieser (of the St. Martin town-ball Liesers) being more consistent at shortstop, and Nebraska transfer Beau Fandel taking over at second. Also: Lieser is hitting .420 and Fandel .342.
• Coach Pat Dolan is connected to neither to the Dolans of Milroy, a famous town-ball family, nor Pat Dolan, the former St. Cloud Tech coach (including of Jim Eisenreich) who died in 2013. "For the past 30 years, when I'm introduced to baseball people, they say, 'You must be from Milroy,' " Dolan said. "Not even distant cousins, as far as I know.''
• Huskies are 51-3 overall and have won 21 consecutive games.
Patrick Reusse
