By TYLER DRUMMOND
of The Gazette
The Plover Black Sox have just completed another successful regular season. The Sox finished the season 30-12 (10-5 in conference play) and are on their way to the regional tournament this weekend in Marshfield.
"We knew we were going to have a pretty good year when we started," said head coach Wayne Sankey. "We returned all but one player from last year's team so we knew we'd have a successful ball club."
Sankey feels that the success of the ball club is a direct result of the team's phenomenal hitting. "As a team we're batting .347 this year, which is just incredible."
Being able to score a ton of runs isn't all that will win games and the pitchers for this year's team have also been solid. "It's nice to have five guys who can pitch really well," said Sankey.
Sankey says that shoring up the defense is what needs to be worked on in practice if they are going to make it to the state tournament. "Our defense has been pretty good this year, however, at times it hasn't been so great. We've played well enough to keep us in most games but it's something we'll have to work hard on before the tournament."
The breakdown of the 2003 Plover Black Sox lineup looks like this:
At catcher is Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) standout Ted Schlafke. "Ted is having an excellent year," said Sankey. "He's a two-year starter batting .314 with 28 RBI's. He's a great defensive catcher with a strong arm, and he's a really hard worker."
The first basemen for the Sox is Adam Evanoff. "Because of the new rule change that some 19-year-olds can return to play one more year, Adam is the first player to play Legion ball for five years," said Sankey. "He's hitting .412 this year with 12 home runs and 42 RBI's."
At second base is Pacelli standout Jake Owens. "Jake is one of our best all-around players," said Sankey. "He's batting .485 this year with 41 RBI's and 66 hits. The amazing thing is that 26 of those hits have been for extra bases.
Shortstop was the only position that needed to be filled this year and the man for the job is Mitch Miskowski. "Mitch is a first-year starter for us. He's also our leadoff hitter and has exceptional speed. He gets on base so our three and four hitters have runs to knock in," said Sankey.
Playing at the hot corner for the Sox is Derrick Lepak. "Derrick is really coming on strong this year with a .352 batting average. He's really hitting the ball well," said Sankey. Also seeing time at third base is Wes Sutton, who plays when Lepak is on the mound. "Wes is batting .303 for us this year and he's just coming off an injury, but he's almost back to 100 percent," said Sankey.
The left fielder for the Sox is Joel Hojnacki. "Joel is batting .372 for us this year with 43 RBI's and seven home runs," said Sankey. "He had a tremendous year for us at the plate and also in the field." Hojnacki has also been selected as the Black Sox representative for the Aug. 10 All-Star game at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
The center fielder for the Sox is Amherst track star Phil Koback. "Phil's batting .343 for us this year and, with his unmatched speed, he is able to cover a huge amount of grass in the outfield," said Sankey.
The time at right field has been split pretty evenly this year between Ahern Cashin and Garret Wroblewski. "Both of these guys are great players, and it's always a game time decision as to who will be playing in the game," said Sankey. "They are both so close in ability and it's nice to have two players like that. If Ahern is in the game and is 0-2, we can put in Garret to see if he can get us a hit."
The ace for the Sox this year on the mound is Lepak. "Derrick is a great pitcher and he really keeps us in games," said Sankey. "He's 6-1 on the season with a 1.87 ERA. He leads the team in wins, innings and ERA."
The other pitchers for the Sox this year are Jeff Saddlemeyer who is 5-2 with a 3.45 ERA. Evanoff pitches when he's not at first base and is 4-1 with a 2.49 ERA. Jason Pezewski also sees time on the mound for the Black Sox and is 4-2 this year with a 4.20 ERA. Jason Higgins (4-2 with a 4.52 ERA) and Nate Tuen (3-2 with a 4.55 ERA) round out the staff.
Sankey, who coached the state champion Pacelli Cardinals, enjoys the best of both worlds as a high school and Legion coach. "I really enjoy coaching both clubs. It's nice to be able to practice mechanics in a gym for a month before the season with high school but it's also nice to play everyday and have a pitching staff with the Legion club."
If anyone is thinking about making the trek to Marshfield to watch the Sox battle Wisconsin Rapids at regionals on Friday, July 25, Sankey encourages anyone to come out to the ball field. "It's definitely not boring when we're at the plate, because we produce a lot of runs and we're hitting the ball like crazy. We've scored 32 runs in the last two games and because the kids are going for a state championship, they're going to bring a little more energy to the field."