Longtime friends excited to work together coaching baseball co-op

A crash in participation numbers put the Gilman baseball program in peril as the 2021 season approached, but it appears a happy ending has been achieved thanks to the neighboring Thorp Cardinals.

With the WIAA allowing co-ops wherever needed to keep student-athletes playing during this COVID-affected school year, the two programs are joining forces this spring to create a one-year partnership that gives Gilman’s four ball players a team to play with and Thorp’s program enough players to form a varsity and JV squad to assure everyone gets the playing time they need and crave, especially after the cancellation of the 2020 season.

The seed for the co-op was planted in conversations between the head coaches of both schools, Gilman’s Dave Kroeplin and Thorp’s Cory Drost, two good friends who have known each other since they were kids.

“It was a tough go in trying to figure it out this spring and what to do,” Kroeplin said Monday, which was the first official day of practice. “Cory and I, we’ve been friends for years and when we talk, we always talk baseball. One night we were talking and I asked him how his numbers looked and he was unsure, and I said my numbers aren’t looking good. He brought it up about co-oping if we can. I had tried contacting Stanley-Boyd, but they have enough. We were just trying to get the kids to play.

“Cory and I we just talked and talked and got everything through with the school boards, administration and the ADs,” he added. “Brian Phelps and their AD, Molly Schraufnagel, they both dug in to help us out so we could get these boys to play. That was our main goal to get the boys some playing time. We didn’t want them to miss another year.”

Kroeplin and Drost are operating as co-head coaches for the program, while Gilman’s Justin Young and Thorp’s Chad Hauser, a Gilman alum, are the assistants. Kroeplin had been set to lead the Pirates for the first time last spring before the pandemic changed everyone’s spring plans.

Like most spring programs, the team took full advantage of its expanded allotment of contact days in late March and early April. Kroeplin said those 15 days gave the coaches an idea of what they’ll be working with this spring. This first week of practices and a Saturday scrimmage with visiting Athens will help unravel the mystery of who plays where and bats where and so on.

The season opens Tuesday with a non-conference game in Thorp against Columbus Catholic. The team will play Loyal in Gilman on Friday, April 30.

“It’s gone really good so far,” Kroeplin said. “I’ve known Cory for years. The kids have played together with youth here and there so they all knew each other really well. They get along, they’re playing well together so far, practicing well together. I’m thankful the boys get to play, the four that we got from Gilman.

“Cory and I really get along. We see the game the same way. We have the same perspective of, of course you’d like to win, but it’s about the kids, getting them to work together and so far we haven’t had any problems with that.”

“I am very happy with the camaraderie between the players and coaches from each community,” Drost said. “It feels as though they have all been playing together for years. Our respective coaching staffs have mirror-like coaching philosophies and that makes things so smooth during our practices. Overall I believe we will have an outstanding baseball team this spring.”

Thorp, ironically, ended Gilman’s seasons in 2018 and 2019, both of which were strong seasons for the Pirates. Gilman won the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference title in 2018 with a 7-1 league mark and finished 11-4 overall after falling 7-2 in a WIAA Division 4 regional final to the Cardinals. Thorp went all the way to the state title game that year, losing to nearby Athens 13-10. The Cardinals ended Gilman’s 9-7 season in 2019 with an 8-3 regional semifinal win and reached the sectional final, where they lost to undefeated and eventual state champion Webster.

The four Gilman representatives on this year’s co-op are seniors Kade Kroeplin and Brayden Boie, sophomore Grady Kroeplin and freshman Dalton Wisocky.

Boie was a first-team All-ECC selection in 2019, while Kroeplin was a secondteam pick. Boie hit .426 (23 for 54) with eight doubles, four triples and 13 runs batted in that season. He also went 2-3 on the mound with a 5.11 earned run average in 26 innings pitched with 25 strikeouts.

Kroeplin hit .351 (13 for 37) with four doubles and seven RBIs. He led Gilman that year with 20 runs scored and 19 walks drawn and his speed on the base paths made life difficult for opposing defenses.

Kroeplin got some catching experience with the Pirates but also spent a lot of time in leftfield. This year, he’s expected to spend more time catching. Boie, who played a lot of shortstop with Gilman when he wasn’t pitching, is likely making a move to first base, but as Dave Kroeplin noted, Boie’s capable of playing anywhere the team needs him.

Grady Kroeplin is getting an early look as the team’s centerfielder as he gets his first varsity experience. Dave Kroeplin is excited that Wisocky should at least get plenty of JV playing time in his freshman season.

From the Thorp side, core players include seniors Charlie Hauser and Logan Kroeplin, who can pitch and play any- Thorp-Gilman

where needed. Kroeplin also gives the team another catcher.

“Logan Kroeplin and Charlie Hauser are multiple-year starters who have really good baseball skills,” Drost said. “I am expecting some good things from them and also for them to develop the younger players. Charlie is a leader on the middle infield and has a really good baseball IQ. Logan is just an overall really good baseball player. He has a rocket arm and is a gap-togap hitter.”

Junior Gavin Boie is another versatile defender who can play several spots.

He figures to start at third base and pitch. Drost said command is Boie’s strength as a pitcher. Sophomore Aiden Rosemeyer could be a breakout player.

“(Rosemeyer) has played a ton of baseball over the last several years and gets better every day,” Drost said. “He also has some good power to all fields at the plate.”

Senior infielder Jack Syryczuk, senior designated hitter Ayden Webster and sophomores Ashton Kroeplin, Korbin Rosemeyer and Stephen Franewicz round out the projected varsity roster.

And in case you were wondering, yes, the Kroeplins from both sides of the co-op are cousins and the Boies are part of that family tree as well.

“We look pretty strong,” Dave Kroeplin said. “I don’t want to jump the gun too much because baseball can happen. We haven’t seen a lot of batting, but our defense looks like it’s going to be pretty good. As long as we can get pitches across the plate and minimize our walks and mental mistakes I think we’ll be just fine.”

The team will play in the Western side of the Cloverbelt Conference, which Gilman left following the 2010 season. Predictions might be a bit tough after losing last season, but the 2019 standings showed Fall Creek winning the league, followed by Eau Claire Regis, Altoona and Osseo-Fairchild. All were 10-4 or better in league play.

While Thorp will serve as the co-op’s primary home base, the team is scheduled to play three games in Gilman. Included with the April 30 Loyal game, those contests are May 20 against Cadott and June 1 against Stanley-Boyd.

“We’re very happy (to be playing),” Dave Kroeplin said. “It’s a blessing Thorp let us go over there to help them out and they helped us out so our four kids could play. That’s Cory’s strongest suit, he was doing everything he could to help these kids get playing time. Cory’s a guy who doesn’t want to see any kid go without playing baseball if it’s a main sport that they love.

“(The games in Gilman) was all Cory too. He cares about those kids and he wanted them to have some home games on their home field and he made it happen for them. It was awesome.”