SPASH baseball eyes state championship By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette Eleven years after winning the state championship, the Stevens Point Area Senior High baseball team wants to get the gold trophy back. The defending Wisconsin Valley Conference champs, who are ranked No. 3 in the state pre-season poll, were one game away from the state tournament a year ago. SPASH opens its season Saturday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at Bukolt Park in a game against Oconomowoc. In the state poll, Janesville Craig and Appleton East are ranked No. 1 and 2, while Beaver Dam and Appleton North are fourth and fifth, respectively. "Our goal is to go to the state tournament and win it, quite frankly," longtime SPASH coach George Roman said. "I think in order to do that, we have to do three things. Number one, we have to stay healthy. We have to behave ourselves. And we have to get better every time we play because the schedule will demand that of us. "We've won the Valley 14 times since we've been here, so the expectations are high, to say the least." A pair of pre-season all-state picks, junior pitcher and third baseman Kyle Bohm and senior shortstop Chad Kingston, will lead the Panthers. The duo will anchor an infield that will include senior second baseman Matt Pacyna, first baseman Gabe Bauer and third baseman/shortstop Steve Wiczek. Junior Adam Pezewski will also see time at second base and junior Dan Yudchitz will fill in in the infield too. "We may have the best infield in the Valley, I think," Roman said. In the outfield, seniors Justin Haley, Mike McCarthy and John Bergeron will start the season. Seniors Chase Moore and Chris Jahntz, as well as junior Matt Barden, will also play in the outfield. Kevin Fitzgerald, a senior, will be the team's designated hitter. The race is wide open for the team's catching spot, Roman said. Seniors Kevin Polito and Chris Golla are battling with juniors Craig Miller and Tony DeVivo. Last season the Panthers, who finished 18-5 overall and 6-2 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, were an offensive juggernaut. SPASH set a school record with a .384 batting average, tied the school mark with 32 home runs and was one shy of the runs scored record with 240. SPASH's pitching staff will consist of Bohm and fellow right-handed pitchers Brent Thauer, Ben Peterson, Wiczek, Jahntz and Yudchitz. The Panthers have two left-handers - Casey Bielen and Andy Widdle. "We're pretty well settled on the majority of the positions. We'll know more on April 8th," Roman said. In the conference, SPASH is the odds-on favorite to win. The road will be a little longer than usual, though. The conference will now play a round-robin, 16-game conference schedule this season. In prior years, teams only played each other once. "I think you'll get a better champion," Roman said. Besides a state title and a conference crown, Roman is chasing a state record. The coach has a 446-154 career record (336-84 at SPASH) and with 14 more wins, he will pass Frank Thorton of La Crosse Central (459) for most wins in state history. One of SPASH's strengths, Roman said, is speed. "We have excellent team speed. This may be our fastest team since the '89 state championship," he said. The team may not get off to a very fast start, though because several starters are suspended for several games. Pacelli Two-time Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference player of the year Josh Owens is back but he will join a group of new faces on the field. "We'd like to win conference," coach Wayne Sankey, who led the Cardinals to a 15-7 record (7-3 for second place in the CWCC) last year, said. "One of our goals is to get back to the state tournament and win that last WISAA title. "We really believe, as a coaching staff, we don't have a weakness. We'll have a lot of good ballplayers that play hard." Owens will lead the way for the Cardinals, who advanced to the state tournament last year. The senior finished 6-2 with a 1.70 ERA and one save a year ago. He also struck out 53 batters in 45 innings and pitched six complete games. At the plate, he hit .344 with one home run and 15 RBI. "He'll carry us on the mound," Sankey said. Senior Josh Konz will be the team's No. 2 starter after pitching mainly in relief last season (2-1, 3.42 ERA in seven games). Mark Schwarz (2-0, 3.15 ERA, one save), a senior, will be the main reliever while juniors Chris Jacobson and James Hackl battle for the No. 3 spot. Sophomore Brad Heeg may also see some time on the mound. Offensively, the Cardinals will have to replace four of their leading hitters from last season - catcher Greg Treml, third baseman Chris McCarten, and outfielder Andy Cashin. Junior outfielder Adam Brazzale is the team's leading returning power hitter. As a sophomore, he tied for the team lead with three home runs and batted .317 with 19 RBIs. Seniors Charlie Usher (.364 in 22 at-bats) and Schwarz will join him in the starting lineup in the outfield. In the infield, junior David Blaha and Jacobson will platoon at first base. Konz will start at third base and when he's not pitching, Owens will play shortstop. Heeg will play second base but moves over to shortstop when Owens is on the mound. Junior Pat Schmitt will handle the catching duties. Senior Wayne Zelhofer (outfield); junior newcomers Cal Wysocki (catcher), James Hackl (second base) and Jason Lepak (outfield); and sophomore Jim Milkowski (second base) will come off the bench. "The kids have improved from last year (defensively)," Sankey said. "They're working hard, they're working to get better. We had question marks coming in but when they came in, we saw they improved." Sankey said offensively, the Cardinals will have to manufacture runs. "We're not going to hit too many home runs. We need to make solid contact, run and bunt, all those good things. We'll run and run, hit and run, we're going to go old-school," Sankey said. "We might even bring out the wooden bats," he joked. Sankey thinks the CWCC will be a three-team race, with defending champion Eau Claire Regis and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption battling with Pacelli for the top spot. Amherst With seven starters gone from last year's team, the Falcons will count on young players and hope they will catch on quickly. Four-year starters Michael Schweitzer (infield) and Joe Orsund (catcher) and three-year starters Kevin Pionkowski (pitcher/infield), Ben Wacker (infield/pitcher), Jeff Krutza (outfield/pitcher) and Ahern Groshek (outfield) all graduated, leaving Amherst to fill holes with players with little or no varsity experience. "We're hoping to improve with every game. We'll be competitive as the season goes on," Amherst coach Bill Schweitzer, who is in his 23rd year at the school (205-153 career record), said. "We have very little varsity pitching experience. We are very young and inexperienced at most positions." Sophomore Matt Mehne is the only returning pitcher with any varsity experience. He threw only four innings and had an 8.75 ERA. Junior transfer Luke Aubut and fellow juniors Casey Neuville and Jeff Peskie all pitched at the junior varsity level last season. Offensively, the Falcons returnees have a .200 combined batting average. Mehne, who also will play shortstop, leads the returnees with a .289 batting average. Seniors Todd Orlowski (designated hitter/outfield), Dustin Yenter (third base/infield), Paul Konkol (catcher/outfield) and Jason Heinz (second base/infield) are back along with Neuville (first base). Varsity newcomers include senior Joe Dambroski (outfield/designated hitter); juniors Nick Cottrill (infield), Willie Hill (infield/outfield), Kyle Trebe (outfield), Aubut (shortstop) and Peskie (outfield); sophomore Derek Konkol (catcher/outfield); and freshmen Philip Koback (outfield/pitcher) and Nolan Kayon (infield/catcher/pitcher). In the Central Wisconsin Conference large division race, Schweitzer said Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Bonduel and Marion will battle for the top spot and then the other teams will fight for fourth place. The Falcons were 7-7 in the conference a year ago and 9-9 overall. "If I can get some pitching, I think we can be in the middle of the pack," Schweitzer said. "Hopefully we can peak at tournament time and get on a roll." Almond-Bancroft With experienced starters returning at several positions, the Eagles are hoping to turn some heads in the CWC small division race. Five seniors and a pair of juniors give A-B some players with seasoning at the varsity level and coach Keith Mlodik believes other teams in the conference will notice. "I think we're going to surprise some people. We have a little more experience than last year," Mlodik said. "A lot of them played last year." On the mound, senior pitchers Kent Dernbach and Jake Erickson are back with junior Matt Cummings. "I think pitching will be solid. They won't overpower people but they have good control," Mlodik said. In the infield, Dernbach will play shortstop when he's not pitching. Cummings will also see time at shortstop. Senior John Ruzicka will share time at first base with freshman Adam Berry, freshman Joel Erickson will play second base and junior Gavin McIntee will play third base. Senior Trevor Dernbach is the team's catcher. "Our infield will be solid. I'm real pleased with the way we're going there," Mlodik said. Nick Brehmer (rightfield) and Jake Erickson (centerfield) are back from last year's varsity team and newcomer Pat Hotchkiss, a junior, hopes to take over the leftfield spot. "Outfield is very inexperienced," Mlodik said. "Hopefully it will be competitive between the players because we will switch people around to see who can do what." The team's bench is young with a senior and a quartet of freshman. Senior Shadi Awwaad will be joined in the outfield by Jacob Barden and Tony Harn (catch, outfield). Ross Brehmer will play in the infield while Dave Johnson will play both infield and outfield. The Eagles lost one major contributor from last year's team, four-time All-CWC team member Chad Newby, who pitched and played shortstop for A-B. In the conference, Mlodik said the four-time defending champion Rosholt Hornets are the favorites. "I think Rosholt's the team to beat," Mlodik said. "Hopefully we can get in the thick of things, at least in the middle of the pack up. We'll just have to wait and see how things go." Rosholt The Hornets, a perennial CWC small division power, is in search of its fifth straight conference title. With three-time all-conference pitcher Ryan Zdroik back for his senior season along with a mix of experience and youth, Rosholt is considered the early favorite. Zdroik is the team's power pitcher and power hitter. In the team's 3-0 start, he has three home runs, including a grand slam. "In the conference, you look at Iola-Scandinavia, Bowler, Gresham and Almond-Bancroft," Rosholt coach Jack Brooks said. "It should have a pretty good balance. We should keep our nose in it. "We've got depth at every position. I haven't had that in 14 years." Joining Zdroik on the pitching staff is junior Tom Stanislawski; sophomores Brad Zdroik and John Stanislawski; senior Senica Omernik and sophomore left-hander Bryce Domask. "Ryan's a power pitcher and the others are finesse pitchers. They can throw strikes, they have breaking balls," Brooks said. "We've got some guys who've got their feet wet. If we do get in trouble, we have a guy to put in. We have some depth." In the field, Omernik will catch, Stanislawski will play first base, Brad Zdroik will see time at second base, junior Kevin Flick plays shortstop and sophomore Jake Zakrzewski is at third base. Senior Chris Yenter (second base/designated hitter); juniors Andy Hartvig (first base/designated hitter), Justin Keller (catcher); and sophomore Dane Zdroik will also play second base and backup at other infield spots. Senior Roche Rossier (leftfield), freshman Randy Printz (centerfield) and sophomore Bryce Domask (rightfield) will start in the outfield. They will be backed up by junior Lee Kostka. "We should be able to hit. We've got some guys who can hit for power, hit for average," Brooks said. "Our defense is young but they know the game. It gives the pitchers a lot of confidence when you have eight who can play defense." Last year, the Hornets finished with a 15-2 record. Rosholt will have to try and replace pitcher Ryan Kuklinski, outfielder Jason Grezenski, pitcher/outfielder Pat O'Neill, second baseman Mike Hastings and third baseman Nate Check. The quintet graduated last spring. Brooks said his seniors are stepping into one important role. "The team has had a great attitude in practice. We have seniors who are willing to be leaders," he said.