As this, the 49th season of the Central Valley League begins, several teams are vying to win their respective divisions and advance to the regional tournament.
Following is an outlook for the season. (Luxemburg and St. Augusta did not respond.)
Cold Spring Rockies
The Rockies are coming off a successful 2013 CVL ?Äì a season that found them coming up one win short of qualifying for the state tournament. For the past decade, the Rockies have consistently been region tournament participants, but have not been back to the State Tournament since their appearance in 2008.
The 2014 roster is filled with a mix of veterans as well as some talented young players. Manager Jeff Lindbloom is expecting great depth this year.
Two players who took a season off ?Äì Mike Ficker and Josh Porwoll ?Äì return to the lineup where they have been staples for the past 10 years.
Most of the pitching duties will be handled by Chris Lardy, Blaine Athmann, John Rossman, and Lindbloom. David Jonas will handle the catching duties. Lindbloom said Jonas is ?Äúan excellent defensive catcher who knows how to handle his pitchers, while also providing some power in the heart of the Rockies batting order.?Äù
The outfield will be anchored by center fielder Ryan Bell. ?ÄúHe provides great speed in the offensive lineup and must be considered as one of the top defensive players in the Central Valley League,?Äù Lindbloom said.
Eden Valley Hawks
The Eden Valley Hawks will be sporting new home and away uniforms this year and hoping to build on last season?Äôs fine performance, which took them to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the division and advancement to the regions.
?ÄúThe Hawks should once again be competitive this year,?Äù said Manager Robert Geislinger.
Even though there will be some big shoes to fill ?Äì retired are Chuck Geislinger, Joe Thiel, and Mike Arnold ?Äì a strong lineup of veterans will be joined by some new, fresh faces.
Returning are pitchers: Heath Kramer, Nathan Geislinger, John Bautch, and Cam Knudsen, who has been moved into the starting rotation for St. Cloud Technical College, and Hayden Willner who is a freshman pitcher for Southwest University in Marshall.
Veterans Jeff Haag, Matthew Pennertz, Chad Hesse, Dan Hansen, Jake Anderson, Gary Peters, and Josh Schumacher are all returning. The Hawks also have younger ball players on the team this year including Zac Schlangen, Austin Schlangen, Austin Berg, and Mitchell Geislinger. This year the Hawks have signed two high school seniors from Annandale, outfielder Alex Schumacher and infielder/pitcher Tanner Olean.
Kimball Express
Kimball is expecting another strong season because of the return of a large group of veteran ball players. Heading the list is catcher Scott Marquardt, entering his 23rd season, all with the Express, followed by his brothers Brooks and Brian. Other veteran players will include Adam Beyer, Kyle Winter, Ben Johnson, Matt and Andy Dingmann, Adam Theis, and Jordan Joseph. Other players that will be playing important roles are Austin Ruehle, Aaron Laabs, Tory Savage, Mathies Hennen, Ben Serbus, Mitch Klein, and newly signed Zach Dingmann, a cousin of Matt and Andy.
Said manager Tom Marquardt: ?ÄúThe overall outlook is promising and, if our pitching continues to improve, the Express hope to make a deeper post-season run. Pitching is the name of the game.?Äù
Pearl Lake Lakers
Last year was a bit of a struggle for the Lakers as they battled injuries, said Manager Tim Voigt.
?ÄúNick Roeder, who I would have argued in 2012 was one of the best pitchers in the league had an off-season neck surgery that effected his pitching early in 2013. Nick rebounded and came back towards the end of the year, and we are hopeful he will be back in full swing this year. With that said, Tony Garding picked up the slack and did a great job for us last year. Tony, one of our veterans, had no problem picking up the extra innings and battling for us. Tony is back for the 2014 season and will play a key role in our success.?Äù
The Laker?Äôs No. 3 hitter, Steve Krippner, also went down last year with a pulled hamstring. He?Äôs back this year and hopes to continue to hit for average and power to the lineup.
Other Lakers to watch are Mitch Denne, who has been a staple in the field, and as the team?Äôs closer. Bryan Hennen, who is a long-ball threat will man the cleanup spot. Mitch and Ryan Wieneke, who anchor the middle infield, will be back and joined by ROCORI High School senior Justin Kunkel.
Said Voigt: ?ÄúYoung pitchers I am very excited about are Derek Schlangen and Andy Lenzmeier. Both Derek and Andy were seniors in high school last year and were able to get some experience on the mound for us. Both have shown that they have the ability to pitch at the amateur level.
?ÄúOne key loss we have is Steve Loesch. Steve who played with the Lakers for 21 years has decided to hang up the cleats. Steve was an asset both on the field and in the dugout so his presence will be missed.?Äù
St. Nicholas Nicks
Manager Robert Lutgen is hoping the Nicks can improve on last year?Äôs 3-11 mark by playing team baseball. Much of the lineup remains intact but hopes to get a boost from some young players joining the squad.
?ÄúThe biggest issue with our team has always been pitching depth. We are a small-ball type of team that will try to move the runners up whenever possible. Our main core has been around for 10-plus years.?Äù
Jeff Lutgen will be playing in his 18th season and joined by his brother Robert and other veterans such as Joe Wehlage, Matt Schott, and Jon Hofer, all who have been around for 10-plus years.
?ÄúWe have a good group of young kids that joined the last few years like Derek Kuechle, Tanner Anderson, Connor Nelson. And then we have Kevin Drontle who has been around CVL or Stearns County League baseball for a long time. Kevin is a pitcher who just turned 50 this last year.?Äù
Watkins Clippers
The Clippers think this will be a good year as they return many players younger than 22 plus have a group of some experienced veterans. The team made it to the state tournament last year as the No. 1 seed from its region only to lose a disappointing game to Maple Lake, 9-2 in the second round. The Clippers finished with a 13-7 mark and finished the league 8-6.
?ÄúI hope that will fuel us to get into the state tournament once again and make a run, but all things have to fall in place for that to happen with a very respectable region,?Äù said manager Dan Berg. ?ÄúAs of right now we have seven players that are playing college ball this spring.?Äù
Key returnees are pitchers Matt Geislinger, Bruce Geislinger, and Dan Berg. Top position players include center fielder Kevin Kramer, right fielder Dan Berg, shortstop Adam Hiltner, third baseman Grant Warren, and catcher Brendan Ashton. The new players looking to make an impact are Shane Gutormson, Charlie Oltz, and Logan Linn.
How the league divisions are determined
This year, the CVL North consists of Kimball, Luxemburg, St. Augusta and St. Nicholas. The CVL South consists of Watkins, Cold Spring, Eden Valley and Pearl Lake. Every year the leagues change.
The north and south divisions are determined by how each team finishes the year before. The teams finishing the previous year 1, 4, 5 and 8 are in one division; teams finishing 2, 3, 6 and 7 are in the other.