With an earlier start to the season, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn baseball is fortunate to have some veteran players who can better adapt to the situation.
The Hawks have six returning starters this season and eight returning letter winners. There are a total of 20 athletes out for baseball this season with eight of them being upperclassmen. The returning starters are seniors Nick Bronstad, Keith DeBoer, Keaton Graves and Jordan Ortega, junior Trenton Vollink and sophomore Jacob Cates.
“Trying to coordinate different schedules, sports, and events is always a struggle in early May,” noted HMS head coach Jeremy Gloden, who is assisted this season by Jacob Riedemann. “This year it is a little more magnified with the state moving the baseball schedule up a week. The weather hasn’t cooperated much either, but we have battled through it and guys have been working hard.”
The Hawks were able to gauge their progress by facing some athletes wearing a different uniform and the results were positive. “I really liked what I saw from our scrimmage against Sheldon back on May 14th,” said Gloden. “This was one of the first times we had everyone together as a unit. I thought we pitched pretty well and our defense was put into some pressure situations. My biggest takeaway was our hitting. I thought we made a lot of contact and put a lot of balls in play. If we can play like this during the regular season, I think we will be just fine. I know we saw a jump in our hitting stats last year, but this year we are looking for more consistency at the plate – looking to try and avoid the mid-season slump again this year.”
Despite what the hitters showed in the scrimmage, the coach cites two other aspects of the game as team strengths. “So far, I have been impressed with our pitching and our defense,” said Gloden. “Our defense has been very solid and our pitching has come a long way this spring. Again, this comes with experience and consistency. Even though we lost three starters, we will have eight upperclassmen in our lineup. We have been working together for three years now and they know what is expected.”
The experience on the team has meant that there are few holes to fill. “With six returning starters, I have a good idea of who is playing where,” declared the coach. “Trenton Vollink and Keith DeBoer return in the outfield. Ethan Diehm will be stepping into the center fielder role this year. Keaton Graves and Nick Bronstad return to play the corners of our infield.”
Gloden continued, “Jacob Cates returns at catcher. He was top five in the state last year in runners thrown out stealing. I look for him to have another solid year for us. He does a nice job of controlling the game from behind the plate. Jordan Ortega returns as our utility guy. This is a great asset to have on our team. He will be either at shortstop, second base, or left field when he isn’t on the mound. It all depends on who else is pitching at the time.”
However, it’s not all plug-and-play when it comes to putting a lineup together. “The biggest adjustment we will have to make is replacing our middle infield,” acknowledged Gloden. “Tanner Tesch and Tyson Tessum will be taking on those duties. They have great chemistry and they work well together.”
Despite Ortega’s return, graduation has left a big hole in the pitching staff. “Our pitching has been a work in progress this spring,” the coach admitted. “We lost 77 and one-third varsity innings from last year. We do return our top innings guy in Jordan Ortega. He will be our senior leader on the mound. I also see Jacob Cates getting more innings this year. I think Jacob and Jordan could become a solid 1-2 punch for us on the mound. Both can mix speeds and keep guys off balance. The other guys that will be in the pitching mix will be Nick Bronstad, Tyson Tessum, Tanner Tesch, Trenton Vollink, and Evan Eilers. I feel like we have more depth on the mound this year, but the key to our success will be throwing strikes consistently and allowing our defense to work behind us.