Hawks ready to ‘surprise a lot of teams’

After two years falling short of expectations, the senior-heavy Shawano baseball team is ready to turn the program around.

The Hawks finished at the bottom of the Bay Conference the previous two seasons with a 6-17 overall record last year. Understandably, head coach Rob Wolff expects his team to be underestimated this spring.

“I think we’re really going to surprise a lot of teams,” Wolff said. “Of course seeing how we struggled the past couple years, nobody’s going to pick us to be a top team. Well, I’m around these guys all the time. I know what they can do. We’re going to open some eyes this year.”

For the eight seniors on varsity, the difference maker this season will be leadership. Five seniors return as three-year starters — Cole Nelson, Alex Hoffman, Jacob Lacy, Casey Baumann and Joey Tadych — and are eager to take on the mentor role. Having played together since tee-ball, the five guys have a natural rhythm on the field.

“Our senior group all gets each other a lot better,” Hoffman said, “and last year we didn’t really have that cohesive senior group and there were a lot of distractions. This year we’re all on the same page and I think that’s going to really help us mentally.”

“I think a big part of it is that we’ve been playing together all our lives,” Baumann added, “so we’re a pretty tight knit group of seniors and we’ve all been so invested in this, and the past two years of not getting where we wanted to be just gives us more motivation to work harder.”

The group of four infielders, along with Tadych in the outfield, expects their chemistry to facilitate a steady defense this year.

“I think our defense in general is locked down this year.” Lacy said. “The majority of the seniors play the field and we’re all on the same page. And being such a close senior group, now that we’re all together on the field we’re going to get each other better and trust each other.”

“I think we’re going to have one of the best defensive teams in the Bay,” Wolff said. “I’m very confident in that. I told our pitchers this year we’re going to pitch to contact because these guys can make the plays behind them.”

The team lost its starting pitcher, Dylan Sumnicht, to graduation, which Wolff said was a big loss for the group. But with a starting rotation of Tadych, Baumann and Nelson, the team expects to be fine on the mound.
At the plate, Wolff is confident the team will produce a couple top hitters in the conference, and the players agree.

“The ball coming off the bat sounds really good hitting in the cage so I think as long as we keep an aggressive mindset, it’ll translate on the field,” Tadych said.

“I think a positive mindset is going to be the biggest thing there,” Hoffman added. “If we have an inning where no one hits, that can carry into the rest of the game and then all of a sudden no one’s hitting. So everybody just needs to stay positive and put any bad at-bats behind us during the games, because we definitely have the talent. We just need to be there mentally.”

Shawano begins its climb to the top of the conference Tuesday against a strong Menasha team.

“We’re ready to prove ourselves,” Nelson said. “Knowing its our last year all playing together, we want to make it the best last year and make a run at state, and the road there starts next week.”