NYCBL 2008: Feeling Minnesota

Three members of the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs and two Minnesota State Mavericks have signed contracts to play in the New York Collegiate Baseball League this summer.

Southwest Minnesota State sophomores Adam Schrader and Andrew Kinney and freshman Aaron Johnson will all take the field for the Hornell Dodgers.

Schrader was a second-team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference pick last season as a redshirt freshman; he was one of two Mustangs to receive the honor. Schrader, from Easton, Minn., went 6-2 on the mound with a 3.02 earned run average in eight appearances. He added three complete games, two shutouts and struck out 33. Schrader held opponents scoreless through his first 25 innings of the season. This year, the Mustangs sophomore started the team's season opener against Pittsburg State and struck out seven in five innings.

Kinney (no relation to former Dodger Josh Kinney) is a dual threat for the Mustangs and can either play the field or pitch. As a freshman, Kinney batted .284 with a team-high nine home runs and .691 slugging percentage. He also tied for the team lead with 31 runs batted in. Kinney finished 3-0 on the mound with a 3.06 earned run average. He made three starts and appeared once from the Mustangs bullpen. The Coon Rapids, Minn., native is off to a hot start in 2008. Through the Mustangs first four games, Kinney is batting .389 with a team-high three home runs and nine RBI. This past Sunday, the sophomore slammed two home runs against Pittsburg State and then he finished the game on the mound and earned his first save of the season.

Johnson is a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher from Red Wing, Minn. He was a two-time all-conference and all-area selection at Red Wing High School and he was named the Republican-Eagle's Player of the Year as a senior. Between high school and legion teams in 2007, Johnson went 9-4 with 150 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched. He earned two high school letters in basketball and in the classroom he received two Missota Conference academic excellence awards. Johnson started in his collegiate mound debut on March 2 against Pittsburg State and pitched five innings.

Minnesota State junior Jay Bresnahan and sophomore Josh Simon will play at Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds for the Watertown Wizards, trading the purple and yellow of the Mavericks for the purple and yellow of the Wizards.

Bresnahan was named to the North Central Conference all-star team last season and he was a Daktronics Central region first-team selection. Bresnahan was the North Central Conference batting champion with a .447 batting average in league games. He hit a team-high .444 for the Mavericks with two home runs, 39 runs batted in and 64 hits. Bresnahan helped the Mavericks to a conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division II regionals. This season, the Edina, Minn., native is batting a team-high .417 with three RBI in seven games. He also leads the Mavericks in hits (10) and defensive assists (13).

Simon earned honorable mention All-North Central Conference as a redshirt freshman. He was one of 10 Mavericks to be named to the all-conference squad. Simon made his MSU debut last year after redshirting in 2006. As a senior at New Prague High School, he was tabbed Pioneer Press first-team all-state and Star Tribune first-team all-metro. Through seven games in 2008, the New Prague, Minn., native is batting .389 with three RBI. He leads the Mavericks with a .542 on-base percentage and he is second in batting average to Jay Bresnahan.