Sorry, it's pretty long.
ROSTERS FILLED WITH EXPERIENCED STARS - by Randy Kindred, Bloomington Pantagraph
Intercity high school baseball teams combined for a 101-68 record last year, with four of the five schools finishing above .500.
It appears they were just getting warmed up.
Each team is blessed with some talented and experienced players, perhaps none more than Normal West. The Wildcats will be led by two Division 1 signees in Georgia-bound Luke Stewart and Illinois-Chicago recruit Zach Zwaga.
Unit 5 rival Normal Community has a Division 1 player as well in Illinois recruit Craig Lutes; Bloomington returns first-team all-Big 12 Conference standouts Brett Moore and Mike Reu; University High welcomes back Intercity Triple Crown winner Tyler McNeely; and Central Catholic has three four-year starters in Louie Joseph, Paul Kabbes and Andrew King. The following is a look at each team:
BLOOMINGTON
Seniors Moore and Reu helped BHS to an 18-12 record last year. Moore, a shortstop, batted .363 with 35 runs scored, 25 stolen bases and 18 runs batted in. Reu, a third baseman/pitcher, led the Raiders with a .412 batting average and 27 RBI.
Reu will start the season as the No. 2 pitcher behind junior Ryan Juris, who overcame early arm problems last year to post a 4-2 record and a 3.28 earned run average.
Coach Steve Clapp said junior Zach Watkins likely will be the No. 3 starter, with junior Steven Esch , sophomore Brian Huff, junior Josh Lincoln and senior John Kramp also among the pitching candidates.
"We'll lean a lot on Ryan and Mike in the big games, but I think Zach Watkins is very capable," Clapp said. " We have eight or nine guys who I think can throw it. And if we can throw strikes, I think our defense is going to be pretty good."
Moore and Reu will anchor the defense on the left side. Senior Jason Solberg started at second base a year ago and also is "a gifted defensive player," Clapp said. However, Solberg has been slowed by illness in the preseason.
Kramp is back at catcher after batting .338 last year, while Juris split time at first base when not pitching. The outfield figures to include Esch, Huff and junior Dennis Koth.
"Offensively, we'll be a little different from years past, where we were looking to hit the homerun," Clapp said. "We're going to have to move some runners and use the bunt. I think we'll be a pretty good contact team.
BHS has done extensive work on Howard Saar Field, raising the outfield up nearly five feet in some places and moving the fences back as much as 60 feet in some areas.
"It's great," Clapp said, "It's a little more pitcher friendly now."
CENTRAL CATHOLIC
The Saints finished 15-16 a year ago and head coach Jeff Paul hopes this team "can take that next step this year."
Joseph is back for his fourth year at shortstop after hitting .313 with 25 RBI last season. Kabbes, a third baseman/pitcher, hit .340 with 29 RBI, and King, a catcher, batted .317 and drove in 30 runs.
"It's nice to have that experience coming back," Paul said. "They've been through the rigors of our conference (the Corn Belt) and know what to expect."
Kabbes was 4-5 on the mound last year with a 4.26 ERA. Junior Grant Loiselle returns after going 4-1 with a 5.73 ERA. Paul said Joseph and juniors Matt Boyden, Zach Lauer and Marc North also should help form an improved pitching staff.
Loiselle, North and Brody Mikel are among those likely to play in the outfield.
"We have pretty good team speed, we're deep on the mound and I think we're a very strong defensive team," Paul said. "Offensively, we hope to incorporate part of our short game and manufacture some runs."
The Saints will begin the year with three games in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The trip was made possible through fundraising and the players parents will accompany the team.
NORMAL COMMUNITY
Lutes begins his fourth season on the varsity and will play centerfield. He batted .355 last year with four homeruns and 23 RBI for the 19-16 Ironmen.
While he is headed to Illinois as an outfielder, the left-handed Lutes will also see considerable pitching duty. He was 5-3 last season with a 5.38 ERA.
"The rest of our players will look to Craig for an example," said Coach Ryan Short, who has moved up from assistant coach to replace Andy Turner, now the NCHS athletic director. "Craig is not the most boisterous of leaders, but he sets the example that a coach wants a leader to set."
Junior Brian Weekes will open as the No. 1 pitcher after going 5-7 with a 3.66 ERA last year. Lutes and seniors Jonathon Moore and Dexter Peak also figure to get early starts. Others in the mix include juniors Scott McFarland, Brad Jahnke and Cody Gilles and senior Blake Bloodworth. Jahnke and Bloodworth are left-handers.
"I think we're going to be above average on the mound," Short said. "We have a lot of guys with a P next to their name (on the roster). We just need to find out who are going to be the heavy innings men and who are going to be role-type pitchers for us."
Senior Casey Vercruysse returns after seeing action at second base last year. Senior David Lammers will be at shortstop, with Gilles at first and sophomore letterman Alex Buck in the outfield.
"I think we should be strong defensively in the outfield," Short said. "Offensively, our kids do a pretty good job of handling the bat. One of our strengths is we have intelligent kids who do well in school. They're real coachable and they pick up on things."
NORMAL WEST
Zwaga earned first-team all-Big 12 honors last year as the Wildcats' starting catcher, batting .357 and driving in a team high 42 runs.
Stewart was a first-team all-Big 12 pick in 2004, when he batted .305, drove in 33 runs and went 4-1 on the mound. He was 4-3 with a 2.59 ERA last year while hitting .264 with 25 RBI.
Also back is senior outfielder/pitcher Zach Williams, who has signed with Olivet Nazarene. Williams hit .352 with 27 RBI last year and was 2-2 with a 1.35 ERA.
"We're going to look to those three guys for a lot of leadership," Coach Chris Hawkins said.
Stewart will play third when not pitching, with junior Cory Phillips at short, senior Seth Astroth at second and junior Max Sylvester at first. Senior Tyler Leipold returns to the leftfield spot, Williams will be in center and either junior Matt Haas or senior Matt Hadsall in right.
Senior Matt Caslow will start the year as the No. 3 pitcher and play third base when Stewart is on the mound. Senior Andy Dicken will be among the pitchers and also can play a variety of infield and outfield positions. Junior Lucas Sylvester will see action in the outfield, with senior Matt Summers and junior Brian Kirby vying for infield time.
West went 26-13 last year, ending with an extra-inning loss to Limestone in the super-sectional.
"I feel we have a good core of kids who have postseason experience," Hawkins said. "On the other hand, we lost a good amount of our pitching from last year with (Drew)Stephens, (Eric)Birky and (Cory)McCullick. We have some inexperience there, but we're pretty confident with the group coming back on the mound.
"I just think this group works hard every night and is excited to play baseball."
UNIVERSITY HIGH
McNeely, a senior shortstop/pitcher, led the Intercity last year with a .436 average and 44 RBI and shared the homerun title with five. His six triples also were most in the Intercity.
"He has real quick hands and a lot of power and a lot of pop," U-High coach Greg Bee said. "Having him in the middle of the line-up is a good place to start for us."
McNeely joins senior outfielder Josh Cox(.402, 24 RBI) as the most experienced Pioneers. Cox will be in centerfield and may be the leadoff hitter, Bee said.
"He is a very solid hitter," Bee said. "He has a real compact swing and hits the ball to all fields. We'll look to have him as an offensive leader too."
The Pioneers have six other lettermen back from last year's 23-11 team. Senior Justin Allen and junior John Mersch had some productive outings on the mound and will be counted on this year. Junior Tyler Cook, an infielder/pitcher, is healthy after being injured early last season.
Other returning lettermen are senior pitcher/first baseman Aaron Kaufman, senior first baseman/catcher Nick Heckleman and sophomore catcher Joe Waropay.
"We're pretty young. We have five sophomores up with us and nine juniors," Bee said. "The encouraging thing is we have a lot of kids who can pitch. Our freshmen last year were 24-3, so we have a few of those sophomores and I think we have a good junior class as far as pitching goes.
"We'll start off on the inexperienced side, but hopefully we'll grow and toward the end of the season we'll have a pretty solid staff. This group also is pretty versatile. A lot of these kids have played travel baseball and are used to being pretty flexible."
Original Post
