Sauk Prairie picked to finish sixth

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 Northern Badger Conference compiled by the Baseball Wisconsin Yearbook. For those interested in purchasing a copy of the Yearbook, contact Joe Waite at baseballwisconsin@gmail.com.   1. Waunakee The Warriors’ decline to the bottom of the Badger North standings is such a long time ago that the current crop of Waunakee seniors were in middle school the last time Spencer Lee’s squad didn’t win a conference championship. They did something last year that those seniors wouldn’t have seen since they were in third grade: won the title outright.  The Warriors are poised to do it again, which would be their second consecutive undisputed title and seventh conference crown this past decade. With four of the five first-team all-Badger North picks returning to the lineup this year, and most of their mound-innings coming back, Lee will be closing in on 350 career victories which he could pick up in late May as the team goes for 20 wins.  Waunakee will be extremely tough to beat.    2. DeForest  The Norskies had high hopes entering last season but finished a disappointing two games below .500 in the Badger North after being picked to finish second by conference coaches. Maybe they were a year away.  Coach Harold Olson returns a veteran, though a junior-dominated squad this year. The Norskies bring back almost all of last year’s innings, including first-team all-conference pick Cal Olson, a junior, who went 5-3 last season and posted a 1.67 ERA.  He’ll no doubt match up against Waunakee at least once, giving fans just north of the Capitol a chance to see a great baseball game or two.    3. Reedsburg Coach Chris Hahn’s first season for Reedsburg went very well as he led the Beavers to a 13-7 record and a second place finish in the Badger North. The Beavers will be filling in losses from graduation from a junior varsity team that went 16-4 last year.  They are definitely a team on the rise, especially if youngsters getting their first varsity action can produce immediately and keep them in the race.    4. Portage  The Warriors enter the 2020 season with several returning players including second-team all-conference pick Matthew Miles, who has the chance to become one of the conference’s best players.  He’ll continue the tradition of great catchers coming out of the Badger North Conference and will once again take the hill for some innings for veteran coach Mike Hemming as well.    5. Mount Horeb The Vikings, like Portage, are a Division 2 school that traditionally does well in the playoffs because they play tough Division 1 programs during the season.  Eleventh year coach Ryan Finley returns a third of his roster, including players who got a lot of experience in the playoffs last spring.   6. Sauk Prairie  The Eagles finished a few votes behind Mount Horeb in the preseason rankings. Coach Darin Pape returns quite a bit of experience, so the Eagles could be a darkhorse in the race.   7. Beaver Dam  The Golden Beavers are still in a rebuilding mode after winning just eight games last spring having won a share of the title in 2018, their first year in the Badger North. Beaver Dam returns several starters, but will be relatively inexperienced on the mound.   8. Baraboo The Dan Pavlue era starts at Baraboo, as he tries to get the Thunderbirds out of the cellar.   TEAM CAPSULES     WAUNAKEE Last Year: 19-6. JV: 9-16  Coach: Spencer Lee-24th year (330-219)  Assistants: Tim Mommaerts (15th), Micah Thingvold (8th), Brett Jacobson (3rd), Bob Freimuth (12th), Micheal Gurkowski (2nd). Returning Pitchers-85% Nick Smith-12th-R (6-0) 1.76  Joe Hauser-12th-R (3-0) 2.52  Taiten Manriquez-12th-R (0-2) 3.77  Returning Hitters-62%  Joe Hauser-12th-R-U-.386  Nick Smith-12th-R-1B-.368  Taiten Manriquez-12th-R-SS-.353  Will Ross-12th-R-OF-.345  Charlie Fisher-12th-R-2B-.216  Outlook: As long as everyone is healthy, pitching quality and depth should be strong. Waunakee returns about 85% of its innings on the mound from last year, so there is a lot of experience. Offensively, the Warriors return several players who have been all-conference, or better.  Hitting with runners in scoring position and two-out hitting are areas where Waunakee needs to be more consistent this year. Less strikeouts in those situations are needed.         DEFOREST Last Year: 13-12. JV: 12-10  Coach: Harold Olson-21st year (283-260) 26th overall  Assistants: Dave Lapp (20th), Matt Andrews (6th), Taylor Mack (6th), Kyle Borland (5th), Dave Haas (3rd). Returning Pitchers-90%  Cal Olson-11th-R (5-3) 1.67  Keagon Kaufmann-11th-R (3-3) 3.03  Mason Kirchberg-11th-R (1-0) 1.43  Returning Hitters-87%  Justin Hausser-11th-L-IF-.412  Jack Olver-12th-L-IF-.386  Cal Olson-11th-R-OF-.384  Mason Kirchberg-11th-R-IF-.312  Trey Schroeder-12th-L-OF-.266  Garrett Esse-12th-R-OF-.256  Isaac Knutson-12th-R-U-.222  Outlook: The Norskies return enough starting pitching, a proven bullpen, and an offense that should keep a conference championship within their reach. DeForest needs to improve its overall defense if it expects to compete.        REEDSBURG Last Year: 13-7. JV: 16-4. Coach: Chris Hahn-2nd year (16-4) 4th overall Assistants: Brandon Peyer (2nd), Ryan Budnik (2nd), Mike Hahn (2nd), Erik Ribbke (5th). Returning Pitchers-32% Danny Kast-12th-R (1-2) 4.35 Jake Wegner-12th-R (2-0) 3.62 Returning Hitters-37% Jake Wegner-12th-R-OF-.323 Dominic DeJesus-12th-R-OF-.244 Outlook: Reedsburg’s team cohesion, work ethic, and player versatility will be strengths. The Beavers have a lot of players who can throw. They just need to be more consistent in the strike zone.  Reedsburg will need to focus on hitting. All of its top hitters graduated, but they have some seniors with the ability to take that next step and to be competitive offensively. The Beavers will need some juniors and underclassmen to step up, as well.        PORTAGE Last Year: 14-9. JV: 6-10 Coach: Mike Hemming-21st year (280-175-1)  Assistants: Jerry Kabele (11th), Bill Greene (14th), Tim Drager (7th), Mike Nelson (7th), Jake Nelson (5th), James Burns (4th). Returning Pitchers-64% Ethan Bauer-12th-R (2-2) 2.70 Ryan Schultz-12th-R (4-2) 4.20 Matthew Miles-12th-R (3-1) 1.40 Returning Hitters-62% Colton Brandsma-12th-R-.345 Kendal Thomson-12th-R-.229 Matthew Miles-12th-R-C-.254 Ethan Bauer-12th-R-3B-.274 Outlook: Portage returns some solid players from last year who are as being three year varsity players. They return players that have played a lot of innings and played in big time spots in their careers. Portage needs to take advantage of solid team speed and to put the ball in play as much as possible.    MOUNT HOREB Last Year: 13-10. JV: 8-8 Coach: Ryan Finley-11th year (114-109)  Assistants: Eric James (11th), Bing Albrent (4th), Dick Russell (3rd), Michael Loger (3rd), Tyler Bass (1st), Bryce Hopwood (1st). Returning Pitchers-30%  Zeke Klais-12th-R Mitchell Hellenbrand-11th-R Sam Kellesvig-11th-R Returning Hitters-37% Jonas Kittoe-11th-L-2B-.382 Charlie Bogue-11th-R-C-.296 Kolton Schaller-L-SS-.390 Outlook: The Vikings have a lot of young guys returning that gained some valuable varsity experience during the playoffs last year. Mount Horeb will need to throw strikes more consistently to give themselves a chance defensively.    SAUK PRAIRIE Last Year: 12-14. JV: 11-10. Coach: Darin Pape-4th year (35-40) Assistants: Paul Ranzenberger (21st), Bill Dettman (38th), Lucas Koenig (9th), Jon Adair (4th), Brendan Coy (4th), Alex Mayer (2nd). Returning Pitchers-56% Ben German-12th-R (2-3) 2.70 Dylan Andrews-12th-R (1-5) 4.47 Domenic Adair-12th-R (0-1) 4.46 Returning Hitters-75% Ben German-12th-R-U-.373 Dylan Andrews-12th-R-IF-.325 Tyler Uselman-11th-R-IF-.284 Dominic Adair-12th-R-U-.265 Jay Liedtke-12th-R-OF-.245 Brooks Leister-12th-R-IF Outlook: Having lost only two seniors from last year, the Eagles return several players with varsity experience. Sauk Prairie’s pitching depth will be a strength this season. The Eagles will be very athletic, and opportunistic on the bases.  The returning offensive players should lead the way for their run production. The Eagles will need to build team chemistry and have leaders step in to take ownership. Consistent defense and solid pitching outings will be the key to their success.     BEAVER DAM Last Year: 9-12. JV: 10-10 Coach: Nate Wilke-3rd year (23-18-1)  Assistants: Terry Kieffer (40th), Dylan Ziegler (9th), Shawn Panetti (10th), Andrew Gibbons (1st), Carib Romero-Rivera (1st) Returning Pitchers-20% Wesley Biel-11th-R (2-1) 1 save 3.06 Adam Chase-12th-R (0-0-1) 6.50  Bradon Franke-12th-R (0-2) 5.60 Returning Hitters-75% Broden Boschert-12th-R-OF-.291 Wesley Biel-11th-L-U-.308 Adam Chase-12th-R-OF-.353 Bradon Franke-12th-R-U-.387 Ian Wendt-Utrie-12th-R-C-.283 Eli Wilke-12th-L-1B-.200 Outlook: The Golden Beavers have a lot of returning talent offensively and defensively. Beaver Dam is athletic and should be able to run the bases and create runs.  The Beavers’ biggest question mark will be pitching. They lost their top three pitchers from last year. Beaver Dam’s success will depend on how their returning players do on the mound. Many of them got action on the mound during Legion season and did well.          BARABOO Last Year: 9-16. JV: not reported Coach: Dan Pavlue-1st year (101-76) 6th year Assistants: AJ Strong (1st), Carson Carmody (1st), Tyson Kruse (1st). Returning Pitchers-NA Calvin Peterson-12th-L  Returning Hitters-75% Outlook: The Thunderbirds will rely on their talent and depth on the mound and in the field. The offense should be much improved from last season with a good number of bats returning with varsity experience.  A brand new coaching staff will lead the way as Dan Pavlue takes over for Steve Considine.  Baraboo needs to work on offensive production and team defense to take the next step. Pavlue is confident with this group’s abilities.