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The high school baseball season is on hold for now, but that won’t stop us from taking a look at how teams will look. Here is a preview of area teams.
Benet Redwings
Coach: Scott Lawler
2019 record: 9-21
Top players
NAME YEAR POS.
Connor Hincks sr. SS/P
Jared Novak sr. IF/P
Ben Wright sr. C
Colin Gorz sr. IF/OF
Jack Rodi jr. P
Josh Conrad sr. P
Outlook: The Redwings are poised to get back on the winning side, led by a talented roster with several college players. Senior shortstop Hincks, a Virginia recruit, is among the best players in the state after batting .433 with 20 RBIs last season. Senior pitcher/infielder and Bradley recruit Novak, who batted .393 with 24 RBIs and finished with a 1.11 ERA last season, is also back. Junior pitcher Rodi, a Creighton recruit, is one of the leaders on the staff. Senior catcher Wright, a Rose-Holman recruit, is one of the top hitters back for the Redwings.
Downers Grove North Trojans
Coach: Kyle Briscoe
2019 record: 6-26
Top players
NAME YEAR POS.
Trey Kaiser sr. IF
Eli Carter sr. OF
Lucas Nielsen jr. IF/P
David Marshall jr. IF
Ryan Schindler sr. IF
Cameron Demos sr. P
Larry Arndt sr. P
Outlook: The Trojans are aiming to end a short drought and return to the winning column behind a strong group of experienced players. The Trojans return seven starters from last season, with a good blend of juniors and seniors leading the way.
“We return a lot of guys with varsity experience from last year’s team,” Briscoe said. “We feel we have a solid core that will be ready to compete for us this year. We have a good mix of kids that are prepared and working hard to get better.”
Downers Grove South Mustangs
Coach: Darren Orel
2019 record: 20-11
Top players
NAME YEAR POS.
Jack Blazevich sr. SS
Noah Edders jr. P
Ethan Patera so. P
Outlook: Blazevich, a Northern Illinois recruit, is coming off a strong junior season in which he batted .436 with 23 RBIs. Edders, a junior pitcher, committed to Bradley and will shoulder the bulk of the innings because of a season-ending injury to senior Chris Gory.
Lemont Indians
Coach: Brian Storako
2019 record: 21-16
Top players
NAME YEAR POS.
Cameron Nagel sr. OF
Austin Murray jr. IF
Anthony Fornero sr. IF/C
Brady Small so. IF/P
Mike Ciesla sr. C/1B
Blaine Luevano sr. 1B/P
Nick Muscolino sr. IF/OF
Outlook: Paced by numerous three-year starters, Lemont is one of the most experienced teams in the South Suburban Blue Conference. Nagel, Fornero and Muscolino are among the three-year starters. Nagel, a returning all-conference selection in football and baseball, provides top end speed on the bases after a 28-steal junior season. Fornero, an Evansville recruit, drove in 32 runs and battled .369 last year. Small, a highly recruited player, is slated to bat leadoff or in the four-spot.
“We have a good core of returning players,” Storako said. “Our players have worked hard to improve defensively from last year. If we can limit the errors, we will be in a very good position. We have guys that can drive the ball to all fields. There will be pressure on our pitching staff to fill in our innings lost from last season. We’re looking forward to having guys step up and produce for us.”
Westmont Sentinels
Coach: D.J. Cocks
2019 record: 21-13
Top players
NAME YEAR POS.
Ryan Midgley sr. 1B/P
Zak Fischer sr. IF/P
Joey Dobrovolny sr. IF/P
Riley Basit sr. C/P
Caleb Kleinz so. SS/P
Nick Machacek jr. OF/P
Jason Czaplewski so. C/OF
Jeff Whitburn sr. OF
Spencer Anton jr. OF/P
James Postawa so. IF/P
Outlook: After losing numerous top players from last season’s team, the Sentinels will look to rebuild behind a quality pitching staff. Dobrovolny and Fischer are slated to be the mainstays in the rotation. Dobrovolny broke the school record for lowest ERA in a season (0.83) en route to finishing 6-1. Fischer compiled a 4-2 record with a 2.36 ERA. Basit, an Aurora University recruit, is back for his fourth varsity season looking to build off last season’s totals of four home runs and 27 RBIs.
“We will be tested with our offense,” Cocks said. “But I feel we have the talent to do it. We will have to find a lot of different ways to score runs on a consistent basis. The top of our rotation is very solid and will compete with anyone.”