PREP BASEBALL PREVIEWS: Spartans low on numbers, strong on mound

The Superior High School Spartans are beginning the season with just 13 players on their varsity roster, including just three seniors.

“We’re starting out with a pretty small varsity roster, but we like what we have,” SHS coach Don Dembroski said. “We also have a couple of other younger guys that could get some experience down the road.”

The strength of this year’s team should be pitching with seniors Ryan Myhre (5-3, 3.19 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 21 walks) and Jordan McDonald (0-2) and juniors Grant Rindal (3-2, 2.28, 53 strikeouts, 23 walks) and Spencer Severson (3-0, 2.67) anchoring the staff.

Other players likely to see time on the mound include juniors Nik Mattson, Dane Sislo and Clayton Yeazle.

“We return two of our top pitchers from last year (Myhre and Rindal), plus with McDonald and Severson, so we’ll have plenty of varsity pitching experience, however, we have to replace about half of our regular batting lineup from last year.

“Pitching and defense can always keep you in games, we’ll just have to continue to improve offensively throughout the year.”

Lost through graduation are Rob Dembroski (C/1B), Dylan Ramage (P), Taylor Olson (2B), Nick Sitek (OF), Zach Magdzas (SS) and Marty Manion (OF).

Dembroski and Ramage were first-team Lake Superior Conference all-conference selections. Olson, who led the team in most offensive categories, was the Telegram Player of the Year and a second-team pick in the LSC, and Sitek was named honorable mention.

Competing for spots in the outfield are senior Paul Edwards and juniors Trent Sislo, Jordan Hughes and Sislo.

Competing for infield positions at first and second base are Myhre, McDonald, Yeazle, junior Andy Glonek and sophomore Taavi Mattson and at third base and shortstop will primarily be Severson and Rindal.

Battling for the top catching position will be Nik Mattson and junior Colton Yepma.

“Nothing is set in stone,” Dembrski said. “Guys will be moving around a lot, depending who is pitching and who is hitting the ball.”

The Spartans were 13-9 last season (JV 6-12) and finished second in the LSC, behind Cloquet. They also won their first WIAA playoff game since 2005 with a 5-4 victory at Eau Claire Memorial.

Dembroski, who in entering his 13th season as head coach of the Spartans with a record of 134-110, has Kyle Peterson and Ryan Hendry as varsity assistant coaches and Jesse Samarzya and Andrew Urbaniak as junior varsity coaches.

The Spartans will once again play one the of the toughest schedules around. They opened the season last night with a doubleheader at Eau Claire North, which won the Division 1 state championship last year and they play April 12 at Spooner, which lost in last year’s Division 2 state championship game.

Superior will also play doubleheaders with Ashland, Grand Rapids and Chippewa Falls, play home and home game with Duluth East and single games against Menomonie and LSC foes Hermantown, Proctor, Duluth Marshall and Cloquet. The Spartans will also play in the Hibbing Wood Bat Tournament May 18-19.

New on the schedule this year is a home game against the Northwestern Tigers on May 22.

SPARTAN SPIN: Superior’s student managers are Lexi Archambeau, Kaitlyn Corbett, Patrick Buelt, Alyssa Fredericks, Julie Strewler and Racheal Raaflaub. … Rindal, Myhre, Olson and Dembroski were all members of last year’s Telegram All-Area Team. … Severson is Superior’s top hitter returning. He batted .308 (12-for-39) with three RBIs.

Superior Spartans

2012 Roster

2 Grant Rindal P/Inf. Jr.

3 Paul Edwards OF Sr.

5 Taavi Mattson P/Inf. Soph.

6 Dane Sislo P/OF Jr.

7 Spencer Severson P/Inf. Jr.

8 Clayton Yeazle P/Inf. Jr.

9 Nik Mattson C/P Jr.

10 Colton Yepma C/OF Jr.

11 Jordan Hughes OF Jr.

12 Andy Glonek Inf. Jr.

13 Ryan Myhre P/Inf. Sr.

16 Trent Olson OF Jr.

17 Jordan McDonald P/Inf. Sr.

Junior Varsity

Sophomores: Pete Guski, Will Mullens, Erick Anderson,

Freshmen: Nate Kunkel, Morgan Moren, Sean O’Neill, Kyler Krob, Logan Giffith, Brandon Moe, Jake Libal, Grant Hanson, Drew Magdzas, Peyton Flanders, Philip McCotter, Tyler Lehikoinen, Nick Hesselgrave.

Superior High School

2012 Baseball Schedule

Thur., April 5 at Eau Claire North (2)

Thur., April 12 at Spooner, 4:30 p.m.

Mon., April 16 at Herm., 4:30 p.m.

Tue., April 17 home vs. E.C. Mem., 5 p.m.

Sat., April 21 at Menomonie, noon

Tue., April 24 at East (Ordean), 4:30 p.m.

Thur., April 26 at Cloquet, 4:30 p.m.

Tue., May 01 vs. Denfeld, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., May 03 at Dul. Marshall, 4:30 p.m.

Sat., May 05 at Chip. Falls (2), 10 a.m.

Tue., May 08 at Proctor, 4:30 p.m.

Fri., May 11 at Ashland (2), 4 p.m.

Tue., May 15 Grand Rapids (2), 4 p.m.

Fri., May 18 Hibbing Wood Bat Invite

Sat., May 19 Hibbing Wood Bat Invite

Tue., May 22 vs. Northwestern, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., May 24 vs. Duluth East, 4:30 p.m.

Tue., May 29 WIAA Regional Semi Final

Fri., June 1 WIAA Regional Final

Tue., June 05 Sectional Finals at C.F.

June 12-14 State at Grand Chute

Northwestern Tigers

The Tigers got the season off on the right foot with a 7-0 win over Mellen on Monday.

Northwestern’s roster includes nine seniors and seven juniors.

Returning as the Tigers head coach is Steve Lahti, Dan Widiker is the assistant coach and head coach of the JV.

Highlights of this year’s schedule are a doubleheader at Solon Springs on April 21 and a road game at Superior on May 22.

The Tigers will once again play two games against each team in the Heart O’ North Conference as well as a non-conference game against Rice Lake on April 12 and a game at Wade Stadium in Duluth on May 18. The opponent in Duluth is currently unknown.

TIGER TALES: This year’s team managers are Hannah Cottew and Hannah Bell. … The Tigers will once again play their home games in Iron River (behind the school). … Among those the Tigers lost through graduation were T.J. Polkoski, Jake Schiff and Cody Kontny, all members Telegram all-area baseball team members

Northwestern High School

2012 Roster

1 Kyle Hanson Sr.

3 Paul Langford Sr.

4 Tanner Follis Jr.

7 Micah Olson Jr.

8 Nolan Graff Sr.

9 Jadon Stone Sr.

10 Bo Higgins Jr.

11 Andrew Perry Sr.

12 Brock Haugrud Sr.

14 Weston Ogren Sr.

17 Matthew Sharp Jr.

23 Jacob Grigsby Sr.

24 Matt Hlina Jr.

25 Jeremy Pittman Sr.

32 Brandon Dodge Jr.

33 Brody Pellman Jr.

Northwestern High School

2012 Baseball Schedule

Mon., April 2 at Mellen, W 7-0

Tue., April 10 vs. Siren, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., April 12 vs. Rice Lake, 4:30 p.m.

Tue., April 17 at Hayward, 4:30 p.m.

Sat., April 21 at Solon Spgs (2), 10 a.m.

Tue., April 24 vs. Cumberland, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., April 26 vs. Bloomer, 4:30 p.m.

Sat., April 28 at Chetek (2), 11 a.m.

Tue., May 1 at Spooner, 5 p.m.

Thur., May 3 at Ladysmith, 5 p.m.

Sat., May 5 at Barron (2), 11 a.m.

Tue., May 8 vs. Hayward, 5 p.m.

Thur., May 10 at Cumberland, 5 p.m.

Mon., May 14 at Bloomer, 5 p.m.

Tue., May 15 vs. Spooner, 5 p.m.

Thur., May 17 vs.Ladysmith, 5 p.m.

Fri. May 18 at Wade Stadium, 7 p.m.

Tue., May 22 at Superior, 4:30 p.m.

Wed., May 23 at Two Harbors, 4:30 p.m.

Fri., May 25 WIAA Regional

Tue., May 29 WIAA Regional

Wed., May 30 WIAA Regional

Fri., June 1 WIAA Regional Final

Tue., June 5 WIAA Sectional Finals

June 12-14 State at Grand Chute

Solon Springs

The Eagles return most of their players from a team that finished 10-8 overall last year, including a 1-1 record in the playoffs.

After a fourth-place finish in the Indianhead Conference, Solon Springs defeated Mellen 9-1 in a regional semifinal but then lost to Drummond 7-3 in the regional finals.

The Eagles return their entire starting infield, with the exception of catcher Josh Taylor. Battling for the starting catching job are junior Joe Androsky and senior Phil Larson.

“Our pitching will be solid, led by junior Tyler Long, senior Nick Skaggs, senior Cody Utyro and junior Brett Missinne, who look to log many innings this season,” SSHS coach Nate Ahlberg said. “If we have any team strengths is our experience, with juniors and seniors starting at eight positions, and depth of pitching.

“A team weakness may be how we respond to a 20-game regular-season schedule with three doubleheaders. We’ve never scheduled that many games so I don’t know if the schedule will be a positive or a negative.”

Solon Springs will be looking to replace Cole Klinzing (CF), Dustin Lietha (LF) and Josh Taylor (C/P), who was on the Telegram All-Area team.

Tyler Long, a member of the Telegram team as well as first-team all-Indianhead Conference, will play shortstop; Kevin Zamzow is returning to second base and Utyro will be back at first base.

As for the IC, Ahlberg sees Drummond, Ironwood and Hurley as the teams to beat.

“With our experience I expect us be vying for a conference and regional championship as well,” Ahlberg said. “Drummond won the region championship last season and return solid pitching and defense, Ironwood is a well-coached disciplined team and Hurley is a perennial conference contender.

“The run for a conference title this season should be very exciting.”

The Eagles opened the season with a 16-12 loss to Shell Lake.

Schedule highlights include hosting Northwestern and Nashwauk-Keewatin on April 21, playing in the Bruce Tournament May 12 and a game at Grantsburg on May 15.

One disappointment with the schedule was losing a game with local rival Northwood. Because of a low number of players out for this year’s team, the Evergreens cut their schedule down to 14 games and one of the game eliminated was with Solon Springs.

EAGLE EXTRAS: Ahlberg, who is in his eighth season as head coach at Solon Springs, has an overall record of 37-73. His assistant coach is Marcus Besonen. … The Eagles’ last IC title came during the 1997 season. They are still looking for their first state tournament appearance.

Solon Springs Eagles

2012 Roster

1 Ryan Johnson OF Fr.

2 Justin Andren IF Fr.

3 Austin Haskins OF Jr.

4 Brett Missinne P/IF Jr.

5 Joey Androsky C/P Jr.

6 Mike Drewa OF So.

7 Logan Long CF/P Fr.

8 Cody Utyro 1B/P Sr.

10 Kevin Zamzow 2B Sr.

11 Riley Gibson P/IF Fr.

12 Corey Utyro OF Sr.

13 Nick Skaggs P/IF Sr.

15 Caleb Utyro OF Sr.

16 Tyler Long P/SS Jr.

18 CJ Zamzow 1B So.

20 Mac Ohm UT Sr.

23 Lucas Shepard OF Sr.

24 Phil Larson C/UT Sr.

Solon Springs

2012 Baseball Schedule

Tue., Apr 3 vs. Shell Lake, L 16-12

Thur. Apr 5 at Butternut, 4:30 p.m.

Tue., Apr 10 vs. Bayfield, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., Apr 12 at Hurley, 4:30 p.m.

Mon., Apr 16 vs. Mellen 4:30 p.m.

Thur., Apr 19 at Drummond, 4;30 p.m.

Sat., Apr 21 hosting Northwestern and Nashwauk-Keewatin, 10 a.m.

Mon., Apr 23 at Ironwood (2), 4:30 p.m.

Thur., Apr 26 at Washburn, 4:30 p.m.

Mon., Apr 30 home vs. Butt., 4:30 p.m.

Thur., May 3 at Bayfield, 4:30 p.m.

Mon., May 7 home vs. Hurley, 4:30 p.m.

Thur., May 10 at Mellen, 4:30 p.m.

Sat., May 12 at Bruce Tournament, 10 a.m. (W/Mellen, Fall Creek), 10 a.m.

Mon., May 14 home vs. Drummond

Tue., May 15 at Grantsburg, 5 p.m.

Mon., May 21 home vs. Wash., 4:30 p.m.

Northwood Evergreens

Northwood School

2012 Baseball Schedule

Sat. April 14 at Glenwood City (2)

Mon., April 16 at Prairie Farm, 5 p.m.

Thur., Apr 19 at Shell Lake, 5 p.m.

Mon., Apr 23 home vs. Turtle Lake, 5 p.m.

Tue., Apr 24 home vs. Cameron, 5 p.m.

Fri., Apr 27 home vs. Drum., 5 p.m.

Mon., Apr 30 at Turtle Lake, 5 p.m.

Thur., May 3 home vs. Clear Lake, 5 p.m.

Mon., May 7 home vs. Pr. Farm, 5 p.m.

Thur., May 10 home vs. Shell Lake, 5 p.m.

Sat., May 12 at Bruce Tournament

Thur., May 17 at Cameron, 5 p.m.

Fri., May 25 WIAA Regional

Tue., May 29 WIAA Regional

Wed., May 30 WIAA Regional

Fri., June 1 WIAA Regional Final

Tue., June 5 WIAA Sectional Finals

June 12-14 WIAA State at Grand Chute

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