Pistol Shrimp hope to ‘put together a special summer’

Last summer, the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp struggled early in the season, going 3-7 in their first 10 games.

Manager John Jakiemiec hopes to change that this season.

“What shot us in the foot the last couple years is we stumbled out of the gate and had some slow starts, so we’ve basically been chasing where we’ve just kind of been competing for the second half division win,” Jakiemiec said. “We’re going to talk [when everyone reports], and that’ll be one of the things we talk about is we need to get off to a better start this year.”

The Shrimp, who finished 11-15 in the first half and 27-31 overall last season, hope the return of double digit players helps the team start better.

Illinois Valley’s home opener is at 7:05 p.m. Thursday against the Normal CornBelters.

“We have 10 or 11 guys coming back from last year, which is a huge advantage from my perspective in terms of player expectations and passing on the culture of how we do things,” Jakiemiec said. “In the early part of the year I’ll be leaning on those guys.”

Hall graduate Chance Resetich, an infielder, and Ottawa alumnus Jared Herzog, a pitcher, are among the players returning to the Shrimp.

Also returning are pitchers Finn O’Meara, David Andolina, Daniel Strohm and Evan Clark, outfielders Joseph Stagowski and Tyler Dorsch and infielders Jake Ferguson and Jack Johnston.

Outfielder Louis Perona, who graduated from Illinois Wesleyan and will be a graduate transfer at Cincinnati next year, will join the team for the second half.

“It’s one of those rosters where on paper we’re going to score enough runs, but we have a lot of pitchers who haven’t necessarily gotten a lot of work this spring for their collegiate teams, and this is a really important summer for them to get their work in because they’ll be counted on next year,” Jakiemiec said. “I would say if our pitching comes around, we’ll be just fine.”

Returners Stagowski and Dorsch are expected to be key offensive contributors.

Stagowski hit .333 last summer with six doubles, 13 RBIs and nine runs in 16 games, while Dorsch hit .262 with six doubles, one triple, a home run, 24 runs and 17 RBIs in 44 games.

“Joe Stagowski had a stellar year for Rockford,” Jakiemiec said. “He not only hit for power but for average also. He’s one of those guys who I think really improved. He had a good year for us last summer and statistically, it looks like he took another step up. We’re really excited to have Joe back.

“Tyler Dorsch had a great summer for us last year. He hit at the top of the lineup for Concordia and had another great year.”

Several newcomers are expected to have good offensive numbers as well.

Ryan Niedzwiedz hit No. 3 for Southern Illinois-Edswardville, Pambos Nicoloudes was an every day player for Illinois-Chicago as a freshman, Kyle Gibson was the No. 2 hitter for Millikin and Makana Olaso, who will play at Hawaii next year, is a catcher who led California junior colleges in home runs this spring.

“He’s a big guy at 6-3, 235 with incredible power numbers,” Jakiemiec said about Olasko. “I think he’s going to be a guy who will be in the heart of our lineup.”

Returners Andolina and Clark will be counted on on the mound.

Andolina was 2-1 with a 4.69 ERA last summer with 61 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings, while Clark, who just transferred to Illinois from Southern California, was 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

Josh Katz is expected to be a big contributor once he joins the Shrimp following Pennsylvania’s postseason run. Katz and the Quakers open NCAA Regional play Friday against Virginia.

“Penn just won the Ivy League, so we’re excited for Josh going to a regional,” Jakiemiec said. “He was one of the main pitchers for Penn, so we know he’s going to be a front-end guy for us.”

Jakiemiec also expects Central Florida freshman Kyle Rossy to be a pitcher the Shrimp can rely on.

With a strong offense and potential for the pitching staff, Jakiemiec said he hopes the Pistol Shrimp can return to the playoffs after missing out last summer.

“We want to win some games,” Jakiemiec said. “We missed the playoffs last year. My expectation is we’re a playoff team. I think we’re one of the better teams year in and year out in the league. This year my goal is for the team to make a deep run in the playoffs. We’re certainly as capable as any team in the league, so I want us to put it together.

“I’m an optimist. Every year I like our chances. I know we’re going to get the community support. If we can get out of the gate early and our pitching comes around, I think we can really put together a special summer.”