WILLMAR — Ridgewater College just completed a 6-2 Florida trip which included three victories over NJCAA Division III programs. You can call it the best start in Tyler Hebrink’s tenure as the Warriors’ head baseball coach.
“Offensively, that was the best southern trip we’ve ever taken,” Hebrink said. “We were just good one through nine throughout the lineup.
“It made it really difficult, to be honest. Usually, we like to give everyone a chance down in Florida to sort out our lineup. But it came down to, who the heck do we take out? Everyone’s hitting right now.”
Ridgewater freshman third baseman Blake Morris hauls in a grounder during Game 1 of a MCAC doubleheader against Riverland on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
The Warriors returned to Minnesota with a .401 batting average, including six home runs, two triples and 17 doubles in eight games. They have a .573 slugging percentage and a .512 on-base percentage.
“I think the most impressive thing is that we didn’t strike out at all,” Hebrinks aid. “In eighth games, our strikeouts to walks were (30 strikeouts, 37 walks).”
Ridgewater’s current batting average leader is Luke Jeseritz. The sophomore second baseman from
is batting .522 with three home runs and a triple. He’s driving in 10 runs and scored 11, stealing two bases.
Ridgewwater freshman left fielder Elliot Domagala throws the ball into the infield during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
Next is Nolan Eischens. The sophomore from New Prague is batting .480 with 13 runs and three doubles. He’s back this year after missing last season with a back injury.
Luke Kester is hitting .467 with five doubles and 10 RBIs. He’s a freshman from Truman.
Davis Patzer is batting .423 with six RBIs and four stolen bases. He’s a freshman outfielder from
.
Kael Nelson, a sophomore from Hutchinson, is at .375 with three doubles and six RBIs. Joe Liebl, a sophomore from Wabasso, is hitting .368 with a home run and eight RBIs. Elliot Domagala, a sophomore from Luverne who just wrapped up his
junior hockey season with the Willmar WarHawks
, has two home runs and eight RBIs with a .300 average. Dylan Kluis is hitting .294 with six runs and five RBIs. He’s a freshman from Murray County Central.
“Elliot’s down there batting average wise for us and he’s got two home runs,” Hebrink said. “He’s doing great.”
Hebrink said he believed that going into the season,
would be its greatest asset. The Warriors had some good moments on the mound in Florida, but the results were mixed compared to the offense.
Ridgewater freshman right-handed pitcher Dominic Rose fires off a throw during Game 2 of an MCAC doubleheader against Alexandria Tech on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Klemmetson Field in Willmar.
Joe Brown / West Central Tribune
The team earned-run average is 7.64 with 52 strikeouts and 40 walks in 53 innings. Dominic Rose have led the way so far.
Rose is 2-0 after two starts. He has one complete game, has struck out 15 and walked one in 11 innings, posting a 3.27 ERA. The sophomore right-hander from Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop has committed to Division II Southwest Minnesota State University next season.
“Dominic really set himself apart (in Florida),” Hebrink said. “He was so dominant in his two starts. He really only had one bad inning.”
Dirksen, who is a freshman left-hander from
, tossed a complete game in Florida. He is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He struck out six and walked three, allowing eight hits and one earned run.
“He’s just very consistent,” Hebrink said. “He’s got good control. He throws three pitches for strikes and keeps guys off balance.”
Ridgewater hopes to play four games March 28-29 at Century College in White Bear Lake.
“Who knows?” was Hebrink’s response about the games. “It’s a little frustrating to come back from our trip and have to practice indoors again. We’ll wait and see.”
Ridgewater’s first scheduled home games are a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4 against Alexandria Technical & Community College at Elsie Klemmetson Field.