Jacy Zollar sports@wolfrivermedia.com
With its core group returning and young talent ready to assume larger roles, Bonduel has high expectations at the start of the season, as evidenced by a 12-5 victory at Crivitz in its season opener.
Bonduel pulled ahead to a 6-0 lead in the first four innings Thursday before Crivitz scored three in the fifth. The Bears added five more in the sixth inning and the Wolverines couldn’t catch up.
Senior Wyatt Erb started for Bonduel and pitched three innings. Erb gave up no hits or runs while striking out eight. Jordan Boldt and Isaac Boldt each threw two innings.
The Bears were led at the plate by Cole Letter with three hits and Bryce Weier with two hits and three RBIs. Dalton Cairns added three hits, including two doubles and three RBIs.
The successful start plays into the Bears’ plans to make a run for the conference title this year.
Coming off an 11-9 overall season, and 8-6 in the conference to finish in the middle of the pack, the Bears have their eyes set on the top spot in the Central Wisconsin Conference-Large.
“Last year didn’t go as we planned, but I think we have a legitimate opportunity for a run at the conference title this season,” head coach Don Gruenewald said.
The team’s confidence comes from its deep pitching staff and strong defense. All-conference first team pitcher Wyatt Erb and second team honoree, senior Jordan Boldt, will lead the Bears’ rotation on the mound. Sophomore Isaac Boldt will also be relied on to pitch and Parker Bohm and Weier are among others who could add depth to the rotation.
“It’s a good feeling knowing we have (Erb and Jordan Boldt) as our pitchers,” Gruenewald said of the lefties. “Being all-conference selections, you know they’ve proven themselves. They’ve both been pitching for two years on varsity and they’re very competitive. They’re going to go out there, they’re going to throw strikes and they’re going to get people out.
“Wyatt (Erb) has one of the strongest arms, if not the strongest, in the conference. He’s the kind of player where if you can get to him in the first couple innings, he could get rattled, but if you don’t get to him in the first couple innings, then he’s going to take you down, you won’t have much success against him.”
When not pitching, Erb and Boldt will contribute in the outfield. Weier returns at second base and senior Bryce Maule rounds out the Bears’ returning starters at third base.
Bonduel lost four seniors to graduation, including outfielders Brandon Olson and Bryce Engel, first baseman Brent Pieper and catcher Josh Richter, but the team isn’t worried.
“We’ve got some good young guys coming up, so we expect to be able to fill the roles we lost from the seniors last year,” Erb said.
“I have a lot of confidence in our young guys,” Jordan Boldt said. “On top of that, we have more pitching this year and I think we’re more solid on infielding ground balls, so I think we’re pretty well-rounded in talent this season.”
The Bears struggled scoring runs last season, and Gruenewald said offense will again be their weak point this year.
“Our biggest question is whether we can hit,” Gruenewald said. “Writing up our starting lineup for the first game, it was a struggle. There’s not a lot of production there. I don’t know how many runs we can score. We’re trying to move everybody along base by base because we don’t have a lot of power. Hopefully we can string a lot of hits together and move one base at a time and be successful that way.”
The Bears expect their strengths to outweigh their weaknesses as they vie for the top spot in the conference amidst a competitive group, including CWC champs Wittenberg-Birnamwood and returning state-qualifier Iola-Scandinavia, which returns several young players.
“It’s a tough conference, definitely,” Gruenewald said. “Wittenberg and Iola are obviously very good, Weyauwega-Fremont always plays us tough, Shiocton is just Shiocton…we love beating them, they love beating us. So it’s very competitive all around. We’re absolutely in that mix.”
“I feel like we’re more solid this year than my previous years on the team, so I’m excited to see what we can do this season,” Jordan Boldt said. “I think we’re good enough to make a deep run in the playoffs, and I’m very confident in this team.”