EXPECTING TO CONTEND AGAIN

Experienced, versatile baseball team will get tested often

With two straight Great Northern Conference championships –– not counting the lost 2020 season –– and a run to the WIAA Division 2 sectional final last June, the Medford Raiders baseball program is obviously in the middle of an impressive run. And they certainly believe they aren’t done yet.

With eight returning letters back from last year’s 24-4 squad, including one of the state’s top players, pitching depth, hitting depth and plenty of defensive versatility, the Raiders are again looking for big things under 18th-year head coach Justin Hraby.

It might be tough to equal last year’s winning percentage because the Raiders have compiled what could arguably be their toughest schedule ever. But, as the players who also were part of the recently- completed basketball season proved, those tough regular-season lessons can pay off come tournament time.

The toughest opponent so far has been Mother Nature, which has limited outdoor practice in the first week and a half to about an hour on Sunday and about 90 minutes Tuesday before the freezing rain moved in. The Raiders have three games scheduled for this weekend on the turf at Mauston’s Woodside Sports Complex, which should give the Raiders a nice jumpstart on the season, win or lose.

The Raiders will face New Richmond at 1:15 p.m. on Friday and then face defending WIAA Division 2 state champion Denmark at 3:30 p.m. Medford wraps up the weekend against Hudson at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday.

If the weather allows, the Raiders are slated to play at Wausau West on Tuesday and host Merrill on April 7.

“We’ll hopefully learn a lot this weekend and then next week with West and Merrill,” Hraby said Tuesday. “Having those five games would be nice.” Medford’s roster carries a lot of baseball experience and talent. As always at this early stage, the big question for Hraby and his coaching staff will be finding the best ways to use it, both offensively and defensively.

Leading the list of returning players is senior Caleb “Chubs’ Guden, the 2020 Great Northern Conference and Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association District 2 Player of the Year. Guden was a third-team All-State selection and will play NCAA Division I baseball at the Air Force Academy next year.

Guden will pitch and play shortstop. He hit .446 last year with 21 extra-base hits and 33 runs batted in, plus he went 8-1 on the mound with a 2.11 earned run average and 69 strikeouts in 53 innings.

“He’s probably going to start the year batting third,” Hraby said. “We’ll see how the lineup shakes out, if we have to move him up to get more at-bats or if we can spin that order and get to him there. He’s looking better than last year.”

Junior Logan Baumgartner figures to be Medford’s other pitching ace, will be the shortstop when Guden pitches and will play some third base, alongside Guden when neither pitches. He went 5-0 as a pitcher last year with a 3.06 earned run average and hit .341 with 17 RBIs.

“He’s looked good. He’s throwing hard,” Hraby said of Baumgartner’s pitching. “Him and Chubs are going to be very similar. I couldn’t even tell you who the ace is going to be because they’re both good. Logan is going to hit. Last year he really came on at the end of the year and into the summer. I expect him to continue doing that. He’ll be a nice bat to stick right behind Chubs.”

Senior Aiden Gardner returns as one of the top catchers in the area. An honorable mention pick in the GNC last year, he hit .409 with 25 RBIs and had an outstanding .985 fielding percentage with just three errors in 206 total chances that included 16 assists.

“He would have been a four-year starter if it wasn’t for 2020,” Hraby said. “He looks really good too. I thought he was the best catcher in the conference last year offensively and defensively.”

Second-team All-GNC infielder Tanner Hraby is back as the primary second baseman after a solid freshman season where he hit .347, drove in 21 runs and scored 23. Senior Seth Mudgett will play third base and in the outfield, he’s the team’s number-two catcher and its number-three pitcher. He hit .343 last year and scored 18 runs, plus he ate up 30 key innings on the mound, going 4-0 with a 2.80 earned run average. Mudgett and Hraby figure to hold down the one and two spots in the batting order and will be counted on to get on base for Guden, Baumgartner and Gardner in the third, fourth and fifth spots.

Senior Brigham Kelley is back at first base and could see time at third. Senior Steve Hraby has played himself into consideration for a starting outfield spot and senior Colby Elsner returns in an outfi eld/situational base running role. Coach Hraby identified a handful of emerging players that appear ready to step into varsity roles this spring.

After a strong summer season with Medford’s Legion team, junior Tucker Kraemer should see outfield time and is a solid second baseman. His speed will be an asset offensively and defensively as well. Junior Miles Searles can play several infield and outfield positions. Another junior, Ty Metz, could see some time at third base but is also a solid outfielder.

Sophomore Max Dietzman will find playing time because of his bat and he’s a capable first baseman as well.

“He’s got a lot of tools you can’t coach,” Hraby said. “He’s big and strong and athletic at the same time.” Sophomore Braxton Weissmiller is, according to Hraby, one of the program’s best hitters, the catcher of the future and could see some outfield time. Freshman Parker Lissner is another youngster to watch as a versatile fielder who can play several positions and as a solid hitter.

Kale Klussendorf and first-year player Braden Carstensen round out the senior class. Peyton Gilles, Alex Dittrich, Gavin Fuchs and Jake Eckert add to some superb depth in the junior class though they are likely to see more JV time to prepare for next year. Sophomores Nick Steliga and Jack Wojcik are working with the varsity too early on but will get their innings with the JV.

“I’ll need those guys next year, so those guys are going to have to play,” Hraby said. “Our JV team is going to be loaded.”

With Baumgartner, Guden, Mudgett, Kelley, Hraby and even Steve Hraby capable of eating innings, coach Hraby called pitching depth one of the team’s top strengths. He feels infield defense should be very good, the team has speed and a versatile and capable offense. If there is a question, it might be the outfield after losing two rock-steady players in Blaine Seidl and Nate Retterath.

“We’re going to have plenty of speed out there,” he said. “The only thing is some of those guys lack experience out there. To replace Blaine and Nate, who were about as good as it gets out there, that’ll be tough. I don’t think we’ll be able to match that, but I think we’ll have guys that will catch balls out there and make some plays.”

The hitting order, especially the bottom half, could go any number of ways, depending on the day.

“Our lineup is going to be pretty versatile and what I mean by that is we could go power with Braxton, Max and Brigham or we could go speed with guys like Tucker and Miles,” Hraby said. “It’s kind of scary. Some of it will probably depend on who we play. The possibilities are endless. It’s just a matter of finding the one that works and we may never find it.”

The schedule

In the Great Northern Conference, the early odds favor Medford and Mosinee being the main contenders for the title. The Indians were just 7-5 in league play and 14-7 overall in 2021, but they bring several key players back and added three sophomore transfers that could be huge for them in Keagen Jirschele, Gavin Obremski and Taylor Lemanski.

Medford plays Mosinee at home on April 26 and in Mosinee three days later. “Mosinee is going to be tough,” Hraby said. “They might be the team to beat ahead of us.” Mosinee also could be Medford’s biggest hurdle in the WIAA Division 2 regional, which also includes Merrill, Abbotsford- Colby, Lakeland, Rhinelander, Antigo. Not only does Medford play the defending Division 2 champion Friday, the Raiders will face the top-ranked team in Division 1, Whitefish Bay, as well as the pre-season 15th ranked team, Muskego, in a weekend event in the Milwaukee area April 15-16. Whitefish Bay features five players who could play NCAA Division I baseball including Jack Counsell, the son of Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell.

Medford’s schedule includes five of the seven Wisconsin Valley Conference schools, the always-competitive Adams-Friendship tournament and a visit from Appleton West on Saturday, April 23.

The June 7 Division 2 sectional tournament was recently moved to Abbotsford and could feature defending champion Rice Lake and Altoona, who is ranked 11th in the state’s pre-season poll. Medford is ranked ninth.

“I’m excited about sectionals being in Abbotsford,” Hraby said. “Now we just have to get there.”