Mayo grads Steve Serratoreand Jackson Douglasare members of the Kansas State baseball team that is opening its season this weekend.
Kansas State is in Port Charlotte, Fla., playing in the Snowbird Classic. K-State opened with Iowa on Friday, plays Pitt and George Mason today and then closes with Saint Louis on Sunday.
Both Serratore and Douglas are in their first season with Kansas State.
"It's exciting playing for a new team here," Serratore said. "We have a lot to prove here and we have a lot of new guys."
Serratore is a redshirt sophomore who played at Des Moines Area Community College last season and Douglas is a freshman.
ADVERTISEMENT
Serratore is a left-handed hitting catcher who is battling a torn tendon in his left wrist. He plans to play through the injury. And while his time behind the plate may be limited, he has earned a starting job at first base to open the season.
"It's a good spot, but it's a little different," Serratore said of playing first base. "It's good to be in the lineup every day."
Douglas is a left-handed pitcher who will be used out of the bullpen.
"He's been doing pretty well this year," Serratore said. "He'll probably be a situational lefty. He's going to get his chance to pitch; he's got the tools to be a really good pitcher."
Douglas and Serratore are roommates at Kansas State, along with Maple Plain's Tyler Wolfe, a shortstop on the team who was a teammate of Serratore's at DMACC.
Blake Kangasis another Rochester grad at Kansas State. Kangas, a Century graduate, is an assistant coach for the Wildcats.
In two weeks Kansas State will travel to Arizona for an eight-team tournament in Mesa.
———
ADVERTISEMENT
The Rochester Honkers have named Olmsted Medical Center as the team's official provider of sports medicine and athletic training services.
As part of a three-year agreement with the Honkers, OMC's certified athletic trainers will provide evaluation and initial treatment of sports-related injuries to Honkers players during home games beginning this season. OMC's athletic trainers also will offer Honkers players advice on preventive-medicine topics like avoiding concussions, proper nutrition and hydration and avoiding chronic sports-related injuries.
"We are excited to team up with OMC and bring our sports medicine and athletic training under one umbrella," Honkers general manager Dan Litzingersaid. "By doing this we have streamlined to help better serve not only the administrative side, but more importantly the overall care and experience for our players."
———
Rochester's Kanani Asuncionand Blooming Prairie's Taylor Hagenare among 40 semifinalists in the state selected for Miss Basketball.
Asuncion is a 5-foot-10 senior guard at Century. She is averaging 12.4 points a game this season.
Hagen is a 6-2 senior center for the Blossoms. She is averaging a team-high 16.5 points a game for Blooming Prairie.
The five finalists for the award will be announced prior to this year's state tournament. The winner of Miss Basketball will be announced April 11 at Carleton College in Northfield during the Minnesota All-Star Games.
ADVERTISEMENT
———
Tailor Raymondof the Rochester Community and Technical College women's basketball team has been named the Southern Division Player of the Week in the MCAC.
Raymond, a 5-11 freshman forward from St. Peter, averaged 29.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals as RCTC won a pair of games last week.
RCTC is currently ranked sixth in the nation among Division III junior college teams.
———
Red Wing's Nicole Schammelhas been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Rookie of the Week. Schammel is a freshman on the Minnesota State, Mankato's women's hockey team.
Schammel earned the honor for scoring three goals and adding an assist in a 5-1 win over St. Cloud State. She became the first Mavericks player to record a hat trick since 2010. This marks the second time Schammel has been named the Rookie of the Week in the WCHA.
She leads MSU (3-25-1) in scoring with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists.
ADVERTISEMENT
———
Plainview-Elgin-Millville senior Nate ThiekeCloughwill look to continue his football career in college as a walk-on at Minnesota Duluth.
ThiekeClough (5-10, 170) is projected as a defensive back. He played in the secondary as well as wide receiver and running back at P-E-M.
He was a two-time All-Southern Football Alliance Red Division selection. He led P-E-M in tackles as a junior and senior and was a team MVP both seasons.
