Wildcats chasing CWC-10, state hopes

Capturing a WIAA Division 4 regional championship was a big confidence boost for the Gresham baseball team last spring.

The Wildcats, who dominated Sevastopol for an 8-3 win, went on to defeat Niagara in the sectional semifinal 6-2 before falling to Rib Lake in the sectional final, 11-1, in six innings.

“Getting into sectionals for baseball was huge, and I think that competition level, and the desire to want to compete at that level, was huge for these kids,” Gresham head coach Scott Cerveny said.

Starting pitcher Derek Bowman worked his way through the Niagara contest, walking two batters and hitting another before settling down. He threw four scoreless innings in the four-run victory.

“Derek is really good. He just lacks a little confidence,” Cerveny said. “He’s a great young man. Even in the sectionals last year, he lacked a little confidence at times, and he’s a type of kid, he loves to compete, but those are growing moments for him, so he grew a little bit in that sectional semifinal game.”

The Wildcats, who lost just Beau Hoffman and Dustin Tomas from last season’s squad, will look to unseat Almond-Bancroftatop of the Central Wisconsin Conference-10 standings.

Gresham, which finished 2016 at 16-6 and 13-5 in the CWC-10, dropped back-to-back games against the Eagles late in the season, ending its conference title hopes.

Cerveny expects to 14 or 15 players on his roster, up from the 10 he had last season. Without a JV team, balancing playing time and winning conference could present a challenge.

“Obviously, we’re going to be looking at trying to get a conference title, but when you’re trying to do that, you’re trying to play at that high level, and getting these younger kids some reps is going to be a little bit of a challenge,” Cerveny said. “We’re going to have to fit them in somehow.”

Seniors Neal Cerveny, Ray Creapeau and Legacy Skenandore join Bowman as the eldest on the team, but juniors Drew Haffner and Todd Otradovec and sophomore Nathanial Juga also return after starting last spring.

Justy Paiser, who did not play last year, will also be on the diamond.

With Creapeau dealing with an arm injury after starting the season 4-0 on the mound, Drew Haffner pitched the sectional final contest against Rib Lake. Cerveny can also throw some innings for Gresham, allowing the team’s rotation to go four-deep, a vast advantage over most Division 4 schools.

“This is a confident group of kids that have been together a long time. I’ve had the opportunity to coach these kids all through the youth programs,” Scott Cerveny said. “I think just staying loose. You know, mental focus now, obviously, is a key. These kids play the best when they are playing loose.”

With all of the experience returning, anything short of a sectional finals appearance would be a disappointment.

“We have the potential to be able to go back, and we have the experience,” Bowman said, who added that he expects the team to compete at state.

And after making the sectional final in basketball just two weeks ago, expectations are even higher for this group.

“The whole community is expecting it. No one would think we could make it that far, but we did,” Neal Cerveny said of last year’s run. “I think we have the opportunity and the ability to be able to get there and hopefully go to state.”