Warsaw Ready To Hit The Diamond
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Gone from last year's 17-12 Warsaw Tigers are Derek Freds and Justin Hanson, along with Tommy Reinholt, Hans Sale and Mike Pownall.
"Freds and Hanson were a big part of our offense and defense," Hepler said. "But Tommy Reinholt also gave us a big contribution."
Of their 17 wins a year ago, 11 came in the Northern Lakes Conference, where Warsaw claimed the conference title with an 11-3 mark. And just like any other year in the NLC, 2008's not gonna be an easy one.
"The NLC is always competitive," Hepler said of the conference with the likes of Goshen and NorthWood. "It's always a conference where no matter who you play, you're gonna get their best game. Each game is played with a lot of intensity."
To defend that NLC crown, the Tigers will look to four seniors - Jordan Kistler, Braden Kline, Daniel Conrad and Jeff Himes.
"The four seniors we have, have been a part of the varsity team for the better part of two years each," Hepler said.
Hepler cites his team's pitching as a strength, led by Kistler and Conrad.
"We have good pitching, and we're deep," he said.
Outside of the two senior hurlers, Hepler will also look to Chase Byerly, Josh Miller, Justin Ousley and Chris Utley as well.
"We're going to try to help those kids along," Hepler said of the underclassmen.
When at the plate, it will once again be seniors Kistler, Kline, Conrad and Himes that the Tigers will look to.
"With four seniors, they're the ones you look to for a lot of leadership," Hepler said. "All four bat in the middle of the lineup and each provide some pop for us."
With those guys providing the "pop," Warsaw will look to produce even more runs with speed on the base path.
"We've got quite a bit of speed," Hepler said. "Andy Conrad will be out there for us. As a three-sport player, he's already shown that he can get up and down the football field and basketball court."
Joining Andy Conrad in the speed category will be Jake Bloom, Blayke Kaufman and Andy's older brother, Daniel Conrad.
"I really like our team and what each guy brings to the offense," Hepler said. "I feel good about our kids."
The big thing for those kids will be to produce wins for the Tigers, not producing numbers for themselves.
"I don't really set a specifc number on anything," Warsaw's third-year head coach said. "I just want them to play the best they can each time they go out there. We don't have a lot of goals, like winning 20 games or being ranked by the end of the season. Sometimes, you start chasing numbers instead of playing your opponent."
Regardless if a number was set, it's plain to see that avenging last season's sectional championship loss may be on the minds of many Tigers.
"We're really chomping at the bit," Hepler said about starting the 2008 campaign. "Having the weather the way it's been, keeping us indoors, the kids have still been real excited and they've been working hard."
Manchester Squires
With just two guys gone from his 9-15 team from a year ago, Manchester coach Jack Rupley has a lot of experience returning this season.
"We have a good portion of our team back from last year," Rupley said of his nine returning lettermen. "A big thing for us will be not making mistakes at the wrong time. We did that last year."
Gone from last year are Brian Hays and Ethan Miller, but Manchester does return its entire pitching staff with Matt Mathias, Blaine Miller, Spenser Penrod, Cody Semler and Matt Carver.
"Our whole pitching staff is back," Rupley said. "They're gonna have a year of experience under their belts, which is something they didn't have last year, when none of them had prior experience."
Offensively, Manchester's returning hitter is Derrek Freshour and his .410 batting average.
"He had a couple of home runs, but he's more of a gap hitter with good speed," Rupley said of Freshour.
Other returning bats for the Squires are DJ Brown and Corey Thomas, with Brown returning with a .300 BA and Thomas a .285.
If his pitching staff can capitalize on their experience, while the bats bring in the runs, Rupley is looking for a competitive TRC season.
"Northfield can always be counted on in the conference," he said. "Tippecanoe Valley is also there, with Scott (Backus) doing a good job, so they should also be right in the mix. But overall, I'd say it could be wide open."
Wawasee Warriors
The Wawasee Warriors return a majority of their players from last season's 9-18 squad, giving skipper Steve Phillips hope for this season.
"I think we can keep improving, as long as we make that extra step," Phillips said. "We were in a lot of games last year, so this season, it's a question of whether or not we can finish them."
Last year's 9-18 mark was a four-game improvement over the previous season, and after losing just two seniors in Kyle Champoux and Steve Hoover, Wawasee returns plenty of experience.
"Our goal is to be at least .500," Phillips said. "We went 9-18 last year, but just 2-12 in the Northern Lakes Conference. Once we got into conference play, our season went downhill. We lost a couple of close games, so now we need to be able to turn those games into wins."
In order to improve, Phillips is going to lean on junior Jose Rodriguez and senior Dan Dingeldein. As a sophomore, Rodriguez was named to the All-NLC team as a third baseman, with Dingeldein earning an honorable mention nod in left field. Last season, Rodgriuez batted .420 with 23 RBI and 20 doubles, while Dingeldein finished the year with a .360 batting average, including four home runs.
Those two may return with the most accolades on the team, but the coach has seen others stepping up this offseason.
"(Junior Jake) Goldenberg has done the most this offseason," Phillips said. "Returning from our sectional team last year, we have six starters and other people who saw significant time on the field."
Other returnees from Wawasee include Mike Milligan, Chas Amadeo, Josh Vallejo, Brad Sorensen, Keegan Beer and Devin Miller, with freshman Dylan Wallace likely to start behind the plate.
With so many players back from last year, the team looks more than capable of improving this year, but in the NLC, Phillips knows it's not going to be easy.
"Warsaw is probably the No. 1 team," he said about the NLC. "Obviously, NorthWood lost some guys, but should be good. Elkhart Memorial had a down year last year, so that tells me they'll probably be better."
Tippecanoe Valley Vikings
If you're going to lose in the postseason, it might as well be to the eventual state champion.
After reaching the Peru Sectional championship game, the Vikings bowed out of the 2007 postseason with a 9-3 loss to eventual 3A champion Norwell, ending their season at 15-14.
By finishing last season with a winning record, 2007 seniors Brady Kinsel, Ben Carnes, Kevin Kindig, Nick Huffman and Bret Hunter were the first class at Valley to be a part of four-consecutive winning seasons. But those guys are gone now.
"We return a solid core of players from last year's 15-14 team, but we have an abundance of questions to answer," ninth-year Valley coach Scott Backus said.
Top on his list of concerns is his pitching staff, which has had been prone to injuries in recent years.
Returning pitchers for Backus are Bryce Fisher (4.92 ERA), Graham Groninger (5.49), Travis Hedington (4.08), Keith Koser (4.96) and Zach Prater (6.84).
While the majority of Valley's pitching staff returns, it's infield does not, with only Prater returning at first base, while Kinsel, Nick Huffman and Kindig are gone.
Other returnees Backus will look to are outfielder Jared Baize and catcher Justin Newsome, with Kameron Akers, TJ Bauters, Robert Bauters, Seth Kamp, Matt Smith and Taylor Burkhart also expected to contribute.
Of all his players, Backus may rely most heavily on preseason all-state candidate Koser.
"We have to replace a couple big bats in the lineup," Backus said of the loss of Kinsel's .432 batting average and four home runs, as well as Carnes' .316 BA.
As a sophomore, Koser batted .471 with two home runs, 38 runs, 36 stolen bases and 33 RBI.
If Koser's offensive output can be accompanied by others, Valley is hopeful to at least match last year's 4-3 Three Rivers Conference record, as well as a longer run in the postseason.
"We are excited as always to see what our boys can do," Backus said.
Triton Trojans
Following a 5-23 season, the Triton Trojans are eager to get back on the field.
"Last year, we had two seniors, and one quit during the year, so we finished with one," seventh-year Trojan coach Ted Downey said. "We played with a lot of sophomores. We were able to be competitive, but then we'd make one mistake, which would turn into more. We'd end up giving up two or three runs in an inning, so we'd be competitive, but we just couldn't find the way to win."
Downey's lone senior to finish out last season was catcher Blake Espich, who had been filling in for the injured junior A.J. Fleagle.
With Fleagle back in the lineup this year, accompanied with fellow seniors Mitchell Mellott and juniors Brandon Anthony and Dustin Kreft, as well as sophomore Brett Houlihan, Triton's hoping for a better campaign in 2008.
"The kids are the most excited I've seen to play in the last four years," Downey said.
Mellott returns as Triton's top hitter, batting .395 last year to go with 18 runs. Anthony also provided some lumber for the Trojan's last year, hitting .333 to go with five home runs and 28 RBI, with Kreft hitting four round-trippers, batting .301.
The Trojans may have some good hitters, but it's the pitching staff that Downey cites as a team strength. Anthony and Houlihan will return as pitchers from a year ago, with senior Troy McIntyre returning to the baseball team after taking last year off to focus on track and field.
"I'm counting on our pitching staff to be strong," Downey said.
The combination of a strong offense and defense will be needed if the Trojans expect to compete in the Northern State Conference, where they finished 2-12 last year.
"It's gonna be pretty tough this year," Downey said of the NSC. "Bremen's gonna have a good team, Jimtown's gonna be good, as will New Prairie. And John Glenn is always good. It's really anybody's this year."
If they can't win a conference crown, there's still another title Triton would like to obtain.
"Our one goal is always to win a sectional championship," Downey said. "Other than that, the important thing will be to play hard every day and practice hard every day. If we do that, good things will happen."
Whitko Wildcats
After coming to Whitko following an 0-25 season, coach Erik Hisner's second year should be a bit easier on the footsteps of a 10-19 2007 season.
"We're looking to do a little better," Hisner said.
In order to do better, he's gonna have to find a way to replace three-quarters of his pitching rotation.
"We have some question marks, but we've looked pretty good this spring," Hisner said.
Gone from last year's team are pitchers Bryan Boggs, Casey Boggs and Brandon Reiff, along with catcher Dane Starkey. Along with carrying a 3.36 ERA, Bryan Boggs also batted .315 for Whitko, hitting three home runs.
However, of his four pitchers from last year, Hisner does return his No. 1 in senior Brenden Hart. As a junior, Hart pitched 61 innings, earning four wins with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 68 batters. At the plate, Hart batted .378, with 10 doubles and 20 stolen bases.
"Our biggest thing will be pitching, losing our two, three and four guys," Hisner said. "But the guys have put in a lot of work, with James Stoddard and Trevor Sleighter battling for the second and third spots, respectively. Taylor Kessie may be our fourth guy, so that gives us four solid guys, and hopefully another will step up."
Offensively, Hisner will look to Cole Mishler to add some punch along with Hart. Last season, Mishler batted .302 with 20 RBI.
Other returnees for Whitko include Tyler Linn and Ryan Busz.
Whitko's 4-3 TRC record last year, left them in a second-place tie with Tippecanoe Valley. And if things go well for the Wildcats, Hisner wouldn't mind seeing an even better conference placing this year.
"It's going to be pretty competitive," Hisner said of the TRC. "Up and down, it's gonna be pretty good. Northfield and Southwood may be the teams to beat, but Tippecanoe Valley is also up there. We could be there too, if we get our pitching right, play good defense and get better offensively."
Gone from last year's 17-12 Warsaw Tigers are Derek Freds and Justin Hanson, along with Tommy Reinholt, Hans Sale and Mike Pownall.
"Freds and Hanson were a big part of our offense and defense," Hepler said. "But Tommy Reinholt also gave us a big contribution."
Of their 17 wins a year ago, 11 came in the Northern Lakes Conference, where Warsaw claimed the conference title with an 11-3 mark. And just like any other year in the NLC, 2008's not gonna be an easy one.
"The NLC is always competitive," Hepler said of the conference with the likes of Goshen and NorthWood. "It's always a conference where no matter who you play, you're gonna get their best game. Each game is played with a lot of intensity."
To defend that NLC crown, the Tigers will look to four seniors - Jordan Kistler, Braden Kline, Daniel Conrad and Jeff Himes.
"The four seniors we have, have been a part of the varsity team for the better part of two years each," Hepler said.
Hepler cites his team's pitching as a strength, led by Kistler and Conrad.
"We have good pitching, and we're deep," he said.
Outside of the two senior hurlers, Hepler will also look to Chase Byerly, Josh Miller, Justin Ousley and Chris Utley as well.
"We're going to try to help those kids along," Hepler said of the underclassmen.
When at the plate, it will once again be seniors Kistler, Kline, Conrad and Himes that the Tigers will look to.
"With four seniors, they're the ones you look to for a lot of leadership," Hepler said. "All four bat in the middle of the lineup and each provide some pop for us."
With those guys providing the "pop," Warsaw will look to produce even more runs with speed on the base path.
"We've got quite a bit of speed," Hepler said. "Andy Conrad will be out there for us. As a three-sport player, he's already shown that he can get up and down the football field and basketball court."
Joining Andy Conrad in the speed category will be Jake Bloom, Blayke Kaufman and Andy's older brother, Daniel Conrad.
"I really like our team and what each guy brings to the offense," Hepler said. "I feel good about our kids."
The big thing for those kids will be to produce wins for the Tigers, not producing numbers for themselves.
"I don't really set a specifc number on anything," Warsaw's third-year head coach said. "I just want them to play the best they can each time they go out there. We don't have a lot of goals, like winning 20 games or being ranked by the end of the season. Sometimes, you start chasing numbers instead of playing your opponent."
Regardless if a number was set, it's plain to see that avenging last season's sectional championship loss may be on the minds of many Tigers.
"We're really chomping at the bit," Hepler said about starting the 2008 campaign. "Having the weather the way it's been, keeping us indoors, the kids have still been real excited and they've been working hard."
Manchester Squires
With just two guys gone from his 9-15 team from a year ago, Manchester coach Jack Rupley has a lot of experience returning this season.
"We have a good portion of our team back from last year," Rupley said of his nine returning lettermen. "A big thing for us will be not making mistakes at the wrong time. We did that last year."
Gone from last year are Brian Hays and Ethan Miller, but Manchester does return its entire pitching staff with Matt Mathias, Blaine Miller, Spenser Penrod, Cody Semler and Matt Carver.
"Our whole pitching staff is back," Rupley said. "They're gonna have a year of experience under their belts, which is something they didn't have last year, when none of them had prior experience."
Offensively, Manchester's returning hitter is Derrek Freshour and his .410 batting average.
"He had a couple of home runs, but he's more of a gap hitter with good speed," Rupley said of Freshour.
Other returning bats for the Squires are DJ Brown and Corey Thomas, with Brown returning with a .300 BA and Thomas a .285.
If his pitching staff can capitalize on their experience, while the bats bring in the runs, Rupley is looking for a competitive TRC season.
"Northfield can always be counted on in the conference," he said. "Tippecanoe Valley is also there, with Scott (Backus) doing a good job, so they should also be right in the mix. But overall, I'd say it could be wide open."
Wawasee Warriors
The Wawasee Warriors return a majority of their players from last season's 9-18 squad, giving skipper Steve Phillips hope for this season.
"I think we can keep improving, as long as we make that extra step," Phillips said. "We were in a lot of games last year, so this season, it's a question of whether or not we can finish them."
Last year's 9-18 mark was a four-game improvement over the previous season, and after losing just two seniors in Kyle Champoux and Steve Hoover, Wawasee returns plenty of experience.
"Our goal is to be at least .500," Phillips said. "We went 9-18 last year, but just 2-12 in the Northern Lakes Conference. Once we got into conference play, our season went downhill. We lost a couple of close games, so now we need to be able to turn those games into wins."
In order to improve, Phillips is going to lean on junior Jose Rodriguez and senior Dan Dingeldein. As a sophomore, Rodriguez was named to the All-NLC team as a third baseman, with Dingeldein earning an honorable mention nod in left field. Last season, Rodgriuez batted .420 with 23 RBI and 20 doubles, while Dingeldein finished the year with a .360 batting average, including four home runs.
Those two may return with the most accolades on the team, but the coach has seen others stepping up this offseason.
"(Junior Jake) Goldenberg has done the most this offseason," Phillips said. "Returning from our sectional team last year, we have six starters and other people who saw significant time on the field."
Other returnees from Wawasee include Mike Milligan, Chas Amadeo, Josh Vallejo, Brad Sorensen, Keegan Beer and Devin Miller, with freshman Dylan Wallace likely to start behind the plate.
With so many players back from last year, the team looks more than capable of improving this year, but in the NLC, Phillips knows it's not going to be easy.
"Warsaw is probably the No. 1 team," he said about the NLC. "Obviously, NorthWood lost some guys, but should be good. Elkhart Memorial had a down year last year, so that tells me they'll probably be better."
Tippecanoe Valley Vikings
If you're going to lose in the postseason, it might as well be to the eventual state champion.
After reaching the Peru Sectional championship game, the Vikings bowed out of the 2007 postseason with a 9-3 loss to eventual 3A champion Norwell, ending their season at 15-14.
By finishing last season with a winning record, 2007 seniors Brady Kinsel, Ben Carnes, Kevin Kindig, Nick Huffman and Bret Hunter were the first class at Valley to be a part of four-consecutive winning seasons. But those guys are gone now.
"We return a solid core of players from last year's 15-14 team, but we have an abundance of questions to answer," ninth-year Valley coach Scott Backus said.
Top on his list of concerns is his pitching staff, which has had been prone to injuries in recent years.
Returning pitchers for Backus are Bryce Fisher (4.92 ERA), Graham Groninger (5.49), Travis Hedington (4.08), Keith Koser (4.96) and Zach Prater (6.84).
While the majority of Valley's pitching staff returns, it's infield does not, with only Prater returning at first base, while Kinsel, Nick Huffman and Kindig are gone.
Other returnees Backus will look to are outfielder Jared Baize and catcher Justin Newsome, with Kameron Akers, TJ Bauters, Robert Bauters, Seth Kamp, Matt Smith and Taylor Burkhart also expected to contribute.
Of all his players, Backus may rely most heavily on preseason all-state candidate Koser.
"We have to replace a couple big bats in the lineup," Backus said of the loss of Kinsel's .432 batting average and four home runs, as well as Carnes' .316 BA.
As a sophomore, Koser batted .471 with two home runs, 38 runs, 36 stolen bases and 33 RBI.
If Koser's offensive output can be accompanied by others, Valley is hopeful to at least match last year's 4-3 Three Rivers Conference record, as well as a longer run in the postseason.
"We are excited as always to see what our boys can do," Backus said.
Triton Trojans
Following a 5-23 season, the Triton Trojans are eager to get back on the field.
"Last year, we had two seniors, and one quit during the year, so we finished with one," seventh-year Trojan coach Ted Downey said. "We played with a lot of sophomores. We were able to be competitive, but then we'd make one mistake, which would turn into more. We'd end up giving up two or three runs in an inning, so we'd be competitive, but we just couldn't find the way to win."
Downey's lone senior to finish out last season was catcher Blake Espich, who had been filling in for the injured junior A.J. Fleagle.
With Fleagle back in the lineup this year, accompanied with fellow seniors Mitchell Mellott and juniors Brandon Anthony and Dustin Kreft, as well as sophomore Brett Houlihan, Triton's hoping for a better campaign in 2008.
"The kids are the most excited I've seen to play in the last four years," Downey said.
Mellott returns as Triton's top hitter, batting .395 last year to go with 18 runs. Anthony also provided some lumber for the Trojan's last year, hitting .333 to go with five home runs and 28 RBI, with Kreft hitting four round-trippers, batting .301.
The Trojans may have some good hitters, but it's the pitching staff that Downey cites as a team strength. Anthony and Houlihan will return as pitchers from a year ago, with senior Troy McIntyre returning to the baseball team after taking last year off to focus on track and field.
"I'm counting on our pitching staff to be strong," Downey said.
The combination of a strong offense and defense will be needed if the Trojans expect to compete in the Northern State Conference, where they finished 2-12 last year.
"It's gonna be pretty tough this year," Downey said of the NSC. "Bremen's gonna have a good team, Jimtown's gonna be good, as will New Prairie. And John Glenn is always good. It's really anybody's this year."
If they can't win a conference crown, there's still another title Triton would like to obtain.
"Our one goal is always to win a sectional championship," Downey said. "Other than that, the important thing will be to play hard every day and practice hard every day. If we do that, good things will happen."
Whitko Wildcats
After coming to Whitko following an 0-25 season, coach Erik Hisner's second year should be a bit easier on the footsteps of a 10-19 2007 season.
"We're looking to do a little better," Hisner said.
In order to do better, he's gonna have to find a way to replace three-quarters of his pitching rotation.
"We have some question marks, but we've looked pretty good this spring," Hisner said.
Gone from last year's team are pitchers Bryan Boggs, Casey Boggs and Brandon Reiff, along with catcher Dane Starkey. Along with carrying a 3.36 ERA, Bryan Boggs also batted .315 for Whitko, hitting three home runs.
However, of his four pitchers from last year, Hisner does return his No. 1 in senior Brenden Hart. As a junior, Hart pitched 61 innings, earning four wins with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 68 batters. At the plate, Hart batted .378, with 10 doubles and 20 stolen bases.
"Our biggest thing will be pitching, losing our two, three and four guys," Hisner said. "But the guys have put in a lot of work, with James Stoddard and Trevor Sleighter battling for the second and third spots, respectively. Taylor Kessie may be our fourth guy, so that gives us four solid guys, and hopefully another will step up."
Offensively, Hisner will look to Cole Mishler to add some punch along with Hart. Last season, Mishler batted .302 with 20 RBI.
Other returnees for Whitko include Tyler Linn and Ryan Busz.
Whitko's 4-3 TRC record last year, left them in a second-place tie with Tippecanoe Valley. And if things go well for the Wildcats, Hisner wouldn't mind seeing an even better conference placing this year.
"It's going to be pretty competitive," Hisner said of the TRC. "Up and down, it's gonna be pretty good. Northfield and Southwood may be the teams to beat, but Tippecanoe Valley is also up there. We could be there too, if we get our pitching right, play good defense and get better offensively."
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092