Baseball preview: Tyler Wargo takes over, expectations haven’t changed for Ottawa

The Ottawa baseball program has a new head coach, but the goals and enthusiasm for the game haven’t changed from years past.

Tyler Wargo, a 2010 graduate of Streator High School, knows his stuff, having been a Times All-Area player in his junior and senior years with the Bulldogs, then earning all-conference and all-region honors while an outfielder for Division III Elmhurst University. Wargo has been coaching the underclassmen at OHS for the past two years and was former head coach Brent Moore’s top assistant in those seasons as well.

“Brent and I worked very well together, and he has put this program in a spot where it can thrive,” Wargo said. “I’m just hoping to continue that, pick up where he left off.

“This first week or so, the guys have shown a lot of discipline and focus, because it’s not easy to get good reps inside. But they have really come in ready to work and get better.”

The Pirates, who lost 10 players and eight starters from the 2021 team that finished 13-7-1 overall, 8-5-1 in Interstate Eight Conference play and reached a Class 3A regional championship game, boast a roster of 17 players, including six seniors and 11 juniors.

The senior group is led by the lone returning starter in shortstop Luke Cushing, as well as Levi Figenbaum, Zander Baxter, Payton Mangold, Justus Mason and Jack Olson. The juniors on the squad are Aiden Mucci, Rylan Dorsey, Dillan Quatrano, Aiden Gutierrez, Conner Price, Ryan Chamberlain, Tim Henson, Payton Knoll, Branden Aguirre, Daniel Bruner and Kaeden Haywood.

Ottawa lost its top two pitchers from last season, Jace Addis and Jake Serby, but Wargo feels he has a number of guys who can collectively fill the roles left by the two 2021 Times All-Area picks.

“We have two seniors who are going to get big innings for us, in Olson and Mangold, and we also have a bunch of juniors that will be counted on,” Wargo said. “Dorsey, Knoll and maybe even Price will also be asked to fill the starter role at times. We have a lot of pieces to our pitching puzzle, and it will be interesting to see how they all fit together as the season goes along.

“I’m excited to see how those guys respond and who steps up.”

In the infield, Wargo feels it will be a mix of Mucci and Mason at third, Cushing at short, Baxter at second with Chamberlian, Dorsey, Price and Bruner seeing time, and depending on who is on the mound, Dorsey, Chamberlian or Haywood at first. The new skipper also said Aguirre and Gutierrez are the front-runners to be behind the plate.

The outfield spots likely will feature Price and Knoll in left or center and Bruner in right, with Mangold and Figenbaum filling in.

“I think this team is going to be very similar to last year’s group in that, if our pitchers throw strikes, we are going to play good defense behind them,” Wargo said. “I think we are going to be an athletic, dynamic defensive team. I feel like this group is going to make all of the routine plays with a few more non-routine ones thrown in.

“As far as hitting goes, it’s hard to tell how we will be. We’ve only been able to work out inside, and hitting in a cage and hitting live in game action on the field are pretty far apart in terms of telling, ‘How well are we going to hit the ball this season?’ I feel like with who we have we should hit the ball well, but until we can get outside and until we face opposing pitching, it’s kind of an unknown.

“The goals aren’t any different this year than in every other year for Ottawa baseball: compete for a conference championship and a regional championship. Those goals are at the top of the list, and where our program is right now, those are things we should expect to strive for.”

Ottawa is scheduled to open its season at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Seneca.