NHS’ Sedin ‘simply an excellent player’

Emily Kram

For the Superior Telegram

Northwestern High School junior Justin Sedin has a strong family history of baseball.

He remembers getting his introduction to the sport when he was just 3 years old. His cousin DJ Lahti, who played baseball for the College of St. Scholastica in the early 2000s, was the instigator – playing catch with Sedin in the backyard.

From there Sedin moved on to T-ball, and he began pitching at 8 or 9.

“It took a lot of work and practice,” Sedin said.

Most evenings, the junior can be found working with his father, Shane, in the batting cage set up at their home.

Sedin has made improvement a priority because, in line with family history, he has his eye on an eventual collegiate career.

“Justin has shown tremendous growth in the last year as an athlete and as a baseball player,” said Jovin Kroll, head coach of the Tigers. “He understands the game; he is a positive leader on and off the field.”

Sedin delivered for Northwestern as both a pitcher and an infielder this season.

On the mound, he finished with a 5-1 record and had 30 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched.

Offensively, Sedin held a .522 batting average with nine doubles and 28 RBIs. The junior struck out only seven times in 69 at bats and had a .548 on-base percentage.

“At the plate, he is excellent fundamentally: He can hit for power all over the field, and he rarely strikes out,” Kroll said. “Justin is simply an excellent baseball player.”

Sedin was named to the Heart O’ North All-Conference first team as an infielder and was also named to the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All-Northwest District team.

The Tigers finished with a 14-7 overall record, placed second in the HON Conference and advanced to the WIAA Division 2 regional finals.

Northwestern's biggest test of the season came in the regional semifinals. The No. 4-seeded Tigers advanced to the semifinals with an 11-4 victory over Spooner to take on top-seeded Ashland.

The Oredockers had defeated HON champion Hayward twice during the regular season.

Sedin, however, felt Northwestern’s outlook was favorable from the first pitch.

"The first pitch was a pop-up to the catcher," he said. "That's when I knew we could win."

The Tigers proceeded to play error-free ball and made big plays in the field to claim a 1-0 upset over Ashland.

Sedin went the distance on the mound, throwing a two-hitter and striking out six Oredockers. At the plate, he contributed two hits to help his own cause.

"At the conclusion of the season, he was pitching as well as any pitcher I've been around," Kroll said. "And his performance in the team's upset of No. 1-seeded Ashland was dominant on the mound."

Sedin, meanwhile, focuses on the solid fielding and consistency at the plate that contributed to the victory.

"It was a team win," Sedin said.

And with the bulk of this year’s team slated to return, the junior hopes to see more wins next season.

He considers this year’s second-place HON finish – with an 11-3 conference record – to be a “decent” accomplishment for the Tigers.

But with the team’s growth toward the end of this season and a strong class of incoming freshman, Sedin is hoping for the conference crown in 2019.

Northwestern won its last HON baseball title in 2006. Their only other title came in 1987.

A WIAA regional title has eluded the Tigers for even longer.

“I don’t think we’ve won (the regional title) in the last 40 years,” Sedin said. “We’d love to get that title.”

NOTES: In addition to thanking his family and high school coaches and teammates, Sedin said three other people have had a strong influence on him: Ron Hansen, George Hansen and Steve Brill. The three coach Sedin during the summer with the Four Corners team.

Sedin said he has worked with George Hansen for at least eight years and learned the fundamentals of the game from him.

“He taught me a lot,” Sedin said. “He worked with me on my mechanics and balancing on one leg.

“He’s worked with me for a long time.”