|
|
|
The Morton baseball team is ready to defend its Mid-Illini Conference championship.
Like nearly every other year, there will be plenty of challengers in a balanced league.
The Potters were 20-13 in 2009 and, with an 11-3 M-I record, shared the title with Washington and East Peoria.
It was the program’s third conference crown in the last seven years.
Limestone was just a game back in an exciting race down the stretch.
Morton head coach Jeff Millard identified those three opponents as possible frontrunners. He said Dunlap, under coach Jack Esterdahl this year, could be a surprise team.
Although the Potters lack a lot of experience, they have the tools to emerge on top.
“The key for us is our pitchers have to do well for us to be successful this year,” Millard said.
The Potters lost their entire infield from last year, so they will rely on their hurlers to take charge.
Pitching options include: sophomores Will Headean, Brett Bisping and Cole Brunton, juniors Tyler Weber and Nate Eigsti and seniors Jake Laktas and Zach Fisher.
The players who throw the most innings are likely to be non-seniors.
Headean was a first-team all-conference selection after a freshman season in which he was 6-2 with a 2.14 earned-run average and a league-high 83 strikeouts in 59 innings.
Eigsti also was highly productive on the mound with a 4-2 mark and 1.72 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. He tied for second on the staff with 52 Ks.
Eigsti also batted .293 last spring with 13 RBI.
The target the pitchers will throw to with the most returning experience is senior Matt Wiegand.
Wiegand hit .276 a year ago with 11 RBI.
Junior Stefan Sauder and Brunton also could get some innings as catchers.
Sauder, the probable left fielder, drove in 19 runs with a .303 batting average in ’09.
Last week, there was a center-field battle between Laktas, classmate Josh Lamprecht and junior Andrew Starkey.
With similar defensive abilities, Millard said whoever hits the best will get the bulk of the playing time there.
In right field, Brunton is emerging as a candidate.
Senior Joel Backs and juniors Taylor Hartseil and Brent Rassi also are possible outfielders.
There are a host of athletes seeking playing time in the infield.
Juniors Adam Craven and Ian Hoby and sophomore Matt Hungate, along with Weber, Eigsti, Brunton and Fisher likely will play the bulk of the innings.
Lost to graduation were: first baseman Cody Anderson, second baseman Matt Schmidt, shortstop Nick Craven and third baseman Ryan Meehan.
The Morton baseball team is ready to defend its Mid-Illini Conference championship.
Like nearly every other year, there will be plenty of challengers in a balanced league.
The Potters were 20-13 in 2009 and, with an 11-3 M-I record, shared the title with Washington and East Peoria.
It was the program’s third conference crown in the last seven years.
Limestone was just a game back in an exciting race down the stretch.
Morton head coach Jeff Millard identified those three opponents as possible frontrunners. He said Dunlap, under coach Jack Esterdahl this year, could be a surprise team.
Although the Potters lack a lot of experience, they have the tools to emerge on top.
“The key for us is our pitchers have to do well for us to be successful this year,” Millard said.
The Potters lost their entire infield from last year, so they will rely on their hurlers to take charge.
Pitching options include: sophomores Will Headean, Brett Bisping and Cole Brunton, juniors Tyler Weber and Nate Eigsti and seniors Jake Laktas and Zach Fisher.
The players who throw the most innings are likely to be non-seniors.
Headean was a first-team all-conference selection after a freshman season in which he was 6-2 with a 2.14 earned-run average and a league-high 83 strikeouts in 59 innings.
Eigsti also was highly productive on the mound with a 4-2 mark and 1.72 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. He tied for second on the staff with 52 Ks.
Eigsti also batted .293 last spring with 13 RBI.
The target the pitchers will throw to with the most returning experience is senior Matt Wiegand.
Wiegand hit .276 a year ago with 11 RBI.
Junior Stefan Sauder and Brunton also could get some innings as catchers.
Sauder, the probable left fielder, drove in 19 runs with a .303 batting average in ’09.
Last week, there was a center-field battle between Laktas, classmate Josh Lamprecht and junior Andrew Starkey.
With similar defensive abilities, Millard said whoever hits the best will get the bulk of the playing time there.
In right field, Brunton is emerging as a candidate.
Senior Joel Backs and juniors Taylor Hartseil and Brent Rassi also are possible outfielders.
There are a host of athletes seeking playing time in the infield.
Juniors Adam Craven and Ian Hoby and sophomore Matt Hungate, along with Weber, Eigsti, Brunton and Fisher likely will play the bulk of the innings.
Lost to graduation were: first baseman Cody Anderson, second baseman Matt Schmidt, shortstop Nick Craven and third baseman Ryan Meehan.
Each a two-year starter, they combined for six first- or second-team all-conference honors.
Anderson, Meehan and Nick Craven were Morton’s top-three run producers with a combined 82 RBI and whacked nine of the team’s 12 home runs. Schmidt compiled 21 steals and scored 34 runs, both team-high totals.
Meehan, who was tabbed a second-team all-M-I pitcher as a senior, went 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 52 strikeouts.
Josh Sellers and Kevin Waibel also concluded their prep careers.
Millard said with the favorable March weather, the Potters are ahead defensively of where they normally would be at this stage.
There are also have been a few more sore arms with the extra throwing that has taken place.
Possibly facing five collegiate pitchers in as many games to open the year, the Potters again will be tested early.
“We’ll have to learn on the fly how to hit,” said Millard.
The coach said the squad’s depth is improved. An injury this year likely will not be as critical as it was the previous season.
Even in the preseason at the indoor batting facility, the 17 players stayed on task.
“They’re a good group of guys,” Millard said. “That makes coaching easier.”
Morton opened the season Tuesday with a 3-1 home win over Bloomington.
Thursday, it faces Normal West in the road opener.
The schedule is the same this year with the exception of no contest at O’Brien Field.
The opportunity to play at the home of the Peoria Chiefs was structured differently this year due to a smaller window with the schedules of the Class-A affiliate and Bradley University baseball.
The Potters could return there in the future.
