Heights picked to finish second

Editor’s Note: The 2020 baseball season is on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the possibility of a season still exists, and in an effort to provide recognition for the athletes and teams, here’s a look at the Southern Capitol Conference compiled by the Baseball Wisconsin Yearbook. For those interested in purchasing a copy of the Yearbook, contact Joe Waite at baseballwisconsin@gmail.com.   Outlook: The Capitol South was turned on its head last spring when Cambridge, which hasn’t won a title since 2013 and Belleville, who hasn’t won a title in possibly decades, shared the title with identical 8-2 records. It was a terrific year for both programs.    1. MARSHALL The pick to win the title, almost unanimously, is Marshall. West Virginia bound Tyler Chadwick will lead the pitching staff and is looking to have a huge senior season before heading for the Appalachians. Almost every starter returns for coach Shane Murphy, many of whom are still young. The Cardinals could get on an extended run.    2. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS  Vanguards head coach Rod Howard needs just two more wins to hit the 100 career win mark. Still very young, the Vanguards will be depending on several underclassmen. They don’t have any returning all-conference players.    3. CAMBRIDGE  The Blue Jays weren’t expected to win the title either having been picked fourth last year. Third year coach Larry Martin’s squad expects to make another turn despite being picked third this year.  First-team all-conference picks Jordan Marty and Kolby Kapsner return to lead an experienced squad.    4. WATERLOO  The Pirates are the dark horse in the Capitol South this year. Despite finishing last a year ago, they were just two games under .500 overall and return almost every starter including first-team all-conference junior Blake Huebner and two second-team all-conference picks.  This could be the year that veteran coach Dennis Klubertanz’s club starts making their climb.    5. NEW GLARUS Coach Chris Rear is looking for his experienced squad to flip its 6-17 record this year. The Glarner Knights are experienced and return from last year largely intact.  Two junior second-team all-conference players return in Darris Schuett and Cooper Dreyfus.    6. BELLEVILLE Griffin Rear, head coach at Belleville, was able to guide his Wildcats to that title despite being picked to finish third. Belleville’s non-conference schedule didn’t go so well at 2-7, but it was a step in the right direction for the Wildcats. Belleville has just one second-team all-conference player returning in senior Kody Fahey. But the Wildcats have seen the top and that’s a start to turning the program around into a consistent winner.     TEAM CAPSULES     MARSHALL Last Year: 5-16. JV: 12-1  Coach: Shane Murphy-6th year (54-61)  Assistants: Larry Witkowski (20th), Shane Millin (10th), Lucas Millin (10th), Brock Riege (2nd), Jaden Wilke (2nd) Jake Miller (2nd).  Returning Pitchers-50%  Tyler Chadwick-12th-R (1-2) 3.04  Dylan Horstmeyer-12th-R (0-2) 4.85  Cole Denniston-10th-R (0-0) 9.02  Returning Hitters-87%  Tyler Chadwick-12th-S-U-.355  Dylan Horstmeyer-12th-R-OF-.333  Haiden Nolden-10th-R-OF-.263  Dawson Kalish-11th-L-1B-.250  Cole Denniston-10th-R-SS-.226  Kelby Petersen-11th-R-C-.205  Outlook: Marshall’s team strengths will be their offense. The Cardinals have some younger players that showed a lot of promise last year and expect to take a big step forward. Tyler Chadwick and Dylan Horstmeyer will carry the offense as seniors that have been starting varsity since they were freshman. Chadwick will also be the workhorse on the mound. He is a D1 commit for West Virginia and is looking to have a big spring in his final high school season.          WISCONSIN       HEIGHTS Last Year: 12-9.  Coach: Rod Howard-7th year (98-45) Assistants: Clint Williams (5th), Mitch Howard (4th). Returning Pitchers-65%  Dayne Louis-12th-R  DeShawn Barsness-11th-R  Will Ruland-12th-R  Returning Hitters-50%  Jack Holcom-11th-L-IF  Devin Brabender-10th-R-1B  Jaeger Schoenemann-10th-R-U  Carson Hosking-10th-R-C  Lathan Parman-R-2B  Outlook: Wisconsin Heights will be fundamentally strong and have above average baseball IQ. Offensively, the Vanguards need to be more consistent with their approach.        CAMBRIDGE Last Year: 9-10. JV: 6-5 Coach: Larry Martin-3rd year (12-24) Assistants: Dan Graczkowski (3rd) Returning Pitchers-30%  Jared Marty-10th-L (0-0) 0.96 Jordan Marty-12th-R (1-1) 10.78 Tucker Tesdal-10th-R (0-0) 3.93 Returning Hitters-62% Jordan Marty-12th-R-1B-.298 Kolby Kapsner-12th-R-SS-.333 Tyler Curtis-12th-R-OF-.245 Derek Glesinger-11th-2B-.381 Thomas Hoffmann-11th-R-3B-.321 Outlook: The Bluejay offense will be a strength, with four returning all-conference players. If the expected growth is made, there will be several difficult outs in the lineup this year. Cambridge’s experience on the mound will be a concern to start the season, but the talent is there for it to become a strength.     NEW GLARUS Last Year: 6-17. JV: not reported Coach: Chris Rear-5th year (60-137) 11th overall  Assistants:  Robby Reuter (5th), Warren Howard (3rd), Eric Spanton (3rd) Returning Hitters-100% Connor Siegenthaler-12th-L-C-.286 Cooper Dreyfus-11th-L-OF-.236 Holden Latsch-11th-R-IF-.273 Darris Schuett-11th-R-.284 Nathan Streiff-11th-R-OF-.255 Returning Pitchers-95%  Peyton Mendleski-11th-R (0-5) 3.64 Ben Melvin-11th-R (2-5) 4.92 Carter Siegenthaler-10th-R (3-1) 3.36 Outlook: New Glarus’ strength is defense and lots of varsity experience. Their entire pitching staff is back and the majority of their hitters return as well. The Glarner Knights need to limit strikeouts, and stop committing outs while running the bases.       WATERLOO Last Year: 9-11. JV: 5-11 Coach: Dennis Klubertanz-8th year (102-117) 11th overall Assistants: Annan Davidson (14th), Craig Setz (4th), Keith Setz (3rd), Ryan Radloff (1st). Returning Pitchers-90% Blake Huebner-11th-R (4-5) 2.00 Brody Tschanz-11th-R (1-3) 3.54 Wyatt Peterson-11th-R (2-2) 4.88 Returning Hitters-87% Blake Huebner-11th-R-OF-.388 Jacob Filter-12th-R-IF-.321 Brody Tschanz-11th-R-IF-.246 Antonio Unzueta-10th-R-IF-.233 Reynol Limon-11th-C-.160 Daniel Aguero-12th-R-OF-.125 Eduardo Rodriguez Lara-12th-R-OF-.250 Outlook: The Pirates return their top four pitchers and seven starters overall. Waterloo’s pitching and defense should be very solid. Waterloo’s leadership should be very good as well. The Pirates still struggle to score runs which puts tremendous pressure on the pitching and defense to keep them in games.      BELLEVILLE Last Year: 10-9. Coach: Griffin Rear-4th year (35-61)  Assistants:  Van Rear (4th), Alex Schauff (3rd). Returning Pitchers-25%  Kody Fahey-12th-R Trevor Syse-10th-L Carson Syse-10th-R Returning Hitters-37% Kody Fahey-12th-R-U Trevor Syse-10th-L-OF Carson Syse-10th-R-IF Outlook: The Wildcats will bring a lot of young talent, eager to make their mark on the team and the conference. Belleville will be anchored by a few solid returning players, looking to continue to move their program forward. The relative lack of varsity-level experience on the team will challenge the Wildcat players to focus on the aspects of the game that they can control.