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Higher expectations for War Eagles baseball team this season

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Members of the War Eagle baseball team are (front, left to right) Owen Hammersland, Braxton Bormann, Elliot Kelly, Nate Meier, Kahne Bolsinger; (back) coach Kole Brandel, Max Nuehring, Owen Ludovissy, Ashton Thiese, Caden Helle, Kylar Millard and coach Casey Zarr.

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

 

It’s Casey Zarr’s second season at the helm of Clayton Ridge-Central baseball—a spot that keeps him close to the game of baseball and “around the guys,” so to speak. But this season is not about learning the basics or any other metaphor. It’s about improving, setting expectations and being better than last years statistics and five-win season would imply. 

 

“Expectations are to go and be more competitive in conference. Goals are to make it deep into playoffs and shock some people,” Zarr said. 

 

That’s not to say the previous year didn’t teach him anything, and as the new season arrives, Zarr explained this year there is a focus on “being present” on the field, in the clubhouse, in the batter’s box, on the bench and on the mound. It’s about always knowing where their feet are. 

 

When it comes to being present, the War Eagles will miss two key contributors, Drake Ostrander and Caleb Helle, who graduated. They accounted for 36 percent of total hits, 32 percent of stolen bases and 23 percent of RBIs, and on the mound, they were responsible for 32 percent of all strikeouts. So who is capable of duplicating those numbers if the War Eagles are going to be more competitive? 

 

According to Zarr, a lot will fall on a senior heavy team that includes Kylar Millard, Kurt Ross, Nate Meier, Ashton Thiese and Elliot Kelly, as far as offensive production goes. 

 

When it comes to pitching, Caden Helle is expected to lead the charge. Helle led the team in strikeouts last year, while being near the top in several other noteworthy statistics, including ERA and opponent batting average. Zarr believes he is due to “have a big year on the mound.” 

 

Helle, Max Nuehring and Ross are also the anticipated leaders in the clubhouse—the “big glue guys on and off the field,” Zarr said. 

 

Not to be overlooked are the younger players with breakout potential, who show up to play and “keep challenging the seniors for their best every day.” At the forefront is freshman catcher Braxton Bormann, who hit .214 with three RBIs as an eighth grader, as well as sophomore outfielder Owen Ludovissy, who hit .273 with five RBIs last year in just 10 starts. 

 

Throw in up-and-coming eighth grader Owen Hammersland, who Zarr expects to make the lineup early in the season and have the ball in his hand on the mound, and there is a reason Zarr believes “success is growing.” 

 

However, that success will depend on Zarr’s ability to fix some of last year’s issues, including on the mound, where the War Eagles posted a near conference worst ERA of 7.83, while allowing the second most walks. This is where Hammersland should help out, and repetition and gained experience for Helle and Nuehring should start to see those numbers decrease and limit scoring opportunities for the opposition.

 

“Looking to just be in the zone more and produce ground balls. I feel like some moments got away from us last year and that’s on me,” Zarr said.  

 

Another area the War Eagles will need to focus is scoring runs, something they struggled to do last season, ending just under the 100-run mark with 96, which was the second lowest total in the conference. Looking at the statistics, the problem didn’t appear to be batting average or strikeout related, but not moving runners in key situations. Zarr will look to close this gap by being more competitive and aggressive on the base paths.

 

“We are looking to take a bag within the first two to three pitches once we get on,” he said.

 

But none of that will matter if the War Eagles haven’t solved defensive issues, specifically having the second lowest fielding percentage in the conference, which ultimately leads to giving up more runs. 

 

“We’ve hammered home taking care of the baseball and getting easy outs. We need to field it better this year, plain and simple. We do an infield routine daily at practice and this should help,” Zarr said. “We need to grow throughout this season from start to finish. We need to be a better team than where we started.”

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