D3baseball.com Team of the Week
WINONA, Minn. —
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) played a big part in the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team's 3-1 record last week—a mark that included a sweep of Concordia that earned the Cardinals their fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff appearance in the last five years.
The conference took note on Monday—naming the Cardinal junior its Player of the Week.
And on Tuesday, D3baseball.com followed suit, as Kinne was selected to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week.
Kinne—who joins teammate
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) as members of MIAC Player of the Week/D3baseball.com Team of the Week Club—hit a team-leading .563, going 9-for-16 with a double, two home urns, five runs scored and eight RBIs in helping the Cardinals to a 3-1 record—not to mention a berth in the MIAC post-season tournament.
And it was in the two Game 2s where Kinne really made his presence felt.
After going 1-for-4 in a 5-2 win in the opening game of the Cardinals' MIAC doubleheader against Concordia last Wednesday, Kinne turned up the heat in Game 2, putting together a 3-for-4, two-run, four-RBI effort—including a home run and a key, two-run, two-out single in the Cardinals' six-run ninth—in their 10-6, come-from-behind victory.
Kinne's performance in the team's regular-season finale against Bethel four days later was eerily similar to his effort against the Cobbers. Kinne finished 2-for-3 in the Cardinals' 5-2 loss to the Royals in the opener, before banging out three hits in five at-bats—including his fourth home run in the last six games—scoring twice and driving in four more runs in Saint Mary's 14-6 victory in the nightcap.
Kinne, who has started all 39 games this season, is hitting .380 (54-for-142), with 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs. Along with his team-high six home runs, the junior outfielder also leads the team in RBIs (44), total bases (91), and slugging percentage (.641).
The Cardinals (13-7 MIAC, 25-13-1 overall) kick off post-season play on Thursday against regular-season champion St. Thomas in the first game of the four-team double-elimination tournament. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Saint John's Becker Park in Collegeville, Minn.
The Team of the Week is D3baseball.com's weekly honor roll, in its fifth season of recognizing the top performers at each of nine positions from the previous week. Players are selected from nominations from their school's sports information directors.
