The Carthage College baseball team opens (0-0) its 2020 season on Saturday, March 7 by playing a 3 p.m., MST doubleheader against Luther College (4-2) in Tucson, Ariz.  The twinbill kicks off a nine-day, eight-game spring trip. 
 
Following the Luther set, Carthage plays single games against Wabash College (3-1) on March 8, Marian University (Wis.) on March 9, Bethany Lutheran College on March 12, Gustavus Adolphus College on March 13 and Buena Vista University of March 14.  A March 15 contest against Augsburg University has been canceled due to the Auggies declining to travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
 
This will be the Red Men's ninth-straight visit to the Tucson Invitational following seven trips in eight years to Port Charlotte, Fla.  The 2008 team traveled to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida for spring break.
 
Prior spring trips included Panama City, Fla. (1990-2003), Texas in 1989, Mississippi (1986-88), Arkansas and Oklahoma in 1985, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma in 1984, Arkansas and Louisiana in 1983, Arkansas and Texas in 1982, Oklahoma and Texas (1976-81), Texas in 1975, Texas and Oklahoma (1973-74), Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma (1971-72), Oklahoma and Texas (1969-70), Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas (1966-67), Alabama and Mississippi in 1952 and both Mississippi and Louisiana in 1951.
 
Augie Schmidt IV begins his 33rd season as Carthage's head baseball coach in 2020 (935-452-5, 32 years, a .673 career winning percentage). Schmidt continues the winning tradition of his father, Augie Schmidt III, who won 276 games and five College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships in 18 years at Carthage.
 
Under his tenure, Carthage has claimed eight outright CCIW divisional titles, one divisional-title tie, nine conference crowns, 16 NCAA regional berths, including nine-straight from 1992-2000, six regional titles, third-place finishes in both the 1993 and 1994 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships and fourth place in both 1995 and 1997. For his efforts, Schmidt has been named American Baseball Coaches Association/Diamond Sports NCAA Division III Central Regional "Coach Of The Year" nine times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009), won the ABCA/Louisville Slugger Conference Award seven times from 1993-99, and has been named CCIW "Baseball Coach of the Year" on 10 occasions (1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009).
 
A native Kenoshan and a 1979 graduate of Bradford High School, Schmidt was drafted by Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round of that year's Major League Baseball draft.  Schmidt opted to play collegiate ball at the University of New Orleans, where he was a three-year starter at shortstop.  In his junior year of 1982, he batted .372 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI, was named first-team All-America by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and by Baseball America and was honored by the United States Baseball Federation with the "Golden Spikes Award" as amateur baseball's player of the year.  In 2005, Schmidt was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Hall of Fame, and a plaque recognizing that honor hangs in the Louisiana Superdome.  He was also inducted into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

The 2019 Red Men team went 18-22 (8-16, 7th College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) and finished five games behind the final qualifier for the CCIW Baseball Tournament. 
 
Senior first baseman Vince Schwartz leads the returnees.  Schwarz was named "D3baseball.com" honorable mention All-America last year with a .413 batting average (third in the CCIW), 66 base hits (third in the league), 52 runs batted in (second in the league), five home runs, a league-leading 18 doubles and a .644 slugging percentage.  He was also the Red Men's lone first-team all-conference member.  Also returning is junior rightfielder Colton Klein.  Klein was named ABCA second-team All-Central region and second-team All-CCIW with a .441 batting average, a .518 on-base percentage, 10 doubles, four home runs, 29 runs batted in and four stolen bases from the lead-off position in the batting order.
 
Leading the pitching staff will be junior Matt Willett (4-2, 3.29 earned run average) and senior Nate Odahl.  Odahl was named second-team all-conference in 2018 with a 7-2 mark and a 3.69 earned run average.  He missed most of the 2019 season after suffering an elbow injury in Arizona.
 
Bryan Nikkel (130-90, 5 years entering the season) coaches Luther.  The Norse went 23-20 in 2019 (15-9, 2nd tie American Rivers Conference) and reached the third round of the conference tournament before losing to the University of Dubuque.  Sophomore catcher Luke Plunkett (.352, 13 doubles, 4 home runs, 34 RBI), a 2019 American Baseball Coaches Association third-team All-Central Region pick, leads the returnees.

Luther (4-2) fell to Marian University (Wis.), 10-5, on Friday, March 6 in Tucson after losing to Bethesda University, 14-13, on March to open its spring trip.
 
Carthage leads the Luther series, 4-3.  The Red Men defeated the Norse, 6-3, on May 18, 2007 in the third round of the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championship in Bloomington, Ill. The two teams last met on March 20, 2016 in Tucson.
 
Jake Martin took over as head coach for Wabash in 2019 after six years (161-138) at DePauw University (75-52, 3 years at Wabash/236-190, 9 years overall).  Last year's team went 21-19 (9-8, 4th North Coast Athletic Conference) but bowed out of the conference tournament on the first day of competition.
 
Senior pitcher Zach Moffett (4-1, 4 saves, 3.62 earned run average, .209 opponent batting average) and junior outfielder Matthew Annee (.304, 8 doubles, 5 home runs, 35 RBI), both honorable mention all-conference honorees in 2019, lead the returnees.  The Little Giants have a 1-0 edge over the Red Men in the series, with the two teams meeting for the first time at last year's Tucson Invitational.
 
Jordan Baitinger (53-66, 3 years) coaches Marian (Wis.).  The Sabres went 24-15 last year (12-10 Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference) before bowing out in two games at the conference tournament.  Junior first baseman Sean Meyer (.434, tops in the NACC and eighth in NCAA Division III, 32 RBI, 66 base hits, a .539 slugging percentage), an ABCA second-team All-Great Lakes Region pick in 2019, leads the returnees.  Carthage leads the Marian (Wis.) series, which dates to 1995, 30-5.
 
Ryan Kragh (302-261, 15 years) is the head coach for Bethany Lutheran.  Last year's team went 23-18 (13-3, 2nd Upper Midwest Athletic Conference) and won its second-straight conference tournament.  In the NCAA Division III Regional championship at Whitewater, Wis., the Vikings were eliminated in their second game by CCIW-champion North Central College.
 
Junior outfielder Ross Beumer (.410, 45 runs scored, 41 RBI) was named ABCA second-team All-Midwest Region last year and tops the returnees.  Carthage leads the Bethany Lutheran series, 2-0, with the Red Men tying team single-game record with 26 runs batted in a 27-14 victory over the Vikings in their first matchup on March 10, 2019 in Tucson.
 
Brad Baker (102-76, 5 years) is the Gustavus Adolphus head coach and was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference "Baseball Coach of the Year" in 2019 after guiding the Gusties to a 25-13 mark (14-6, 1st MIAC).  Gustavus Adolphus fell to St. John's College in the conference tournament championship game.
 
Junior shortstop Cole Pengilly earned all-conference honors last year with a .386 batting average, 49 base hits, eight doubles and a .512 slugging percentage and anchors the 2020 returnees.  The Red Men lead the series with the Gusties, which dates to 2013, 5-3.  The two teams last met on March 7, 2018, also in Tucson.
 
Steve Eddie (438-333-2, 19 years entering the season) coaches Buena Vista.  The Beavers went 26-19 in 2019 (15-9, 2nd tie American Rivers Conference) and won the conference tournament with a 5-1 decision over Coe College in the title game.  Buena Vista reached the third round of the NCAA Division III Regional Championship in River Forest, Ill., before losing to eventual-regional-champion Concordia University (Chicago).  This year's team (5-2 thru March 8) was ranked 43rd and listed as "others receiving votes" in the March 10 "D3baseball.com" poll.
 
Senior left-handed pitcher Gage Smart (5-1, 1.14 earned run average, .119 opponent batting average, 54 strikeouts in 47.3 innings) returns after being named second-team All-America by both the ABCA and "D3baseball.com" last year.  Also returning for the Beavers is senior second baseman Bryce Rheault (.399, 5 triples, 3 home runs, 24 stolen bases).  Rheault was ABCA second-team All-America and "D3baseball.com" honorable mention All-America.
 
Buena Vista leads the Carthage series, 5-3.  The Red Men played the Beavers three times at 2011 NCAA Division III Central Region Championship in Bloomington, Ill. Carthage lost a first-round game and won a championship-round contest before losing the title game to Buena Vista, 7-6. The two teams also played twice on the Red Men's 2016 spring trip to Tucson.
 
Augsburg is coached by Keith Bateman (288-321-1, 15 years).  The Auggies struggled to a 9-27 mark in 2019 (4-16, 11th Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).  This year's team took a six-day playing trip to Cuba in January.  In the only other meeting between Carthage and Augsburg, the two teams split a 1989 twinbill in Sherman, Texas.