Prep baseball: Carlton-Wrenshall unite for the first time

The Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minn.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 13—Head coach: Ryan Schmidt

Assistant coaches: Paul DeVall and Kyle Siiter

Returning starters: Gunner Fadum, Peyton Johnson, Brysen Jessup, Uriah Loucks, Sam Ojibway, Judah Sjodin, Brody Vernon, Jeshua Sjodin, Jack Vernon and Bryce Bartczak.

New faces to watch: "We have a lot of experienced ball players coming back between the two programs, but there are also players that are going to push them for playing time," Carlton-Wrenshall head baseball coach Ryan Schmidt said. "Carter Woodall and Jack Korpela are both great athletes in other sports that are playing baseball for the first time in a while and could be impact players for us. Bryant Magnuson is a senior who has been with the program for many years and will be looking to push for playing time."

"We are also going to be able to field a full JV squad this year unlike in the past, and players that perform well there will definitely be looked at to potentially crack the varsity lineup," Schmidt went on to say.

Team strengths: "We have some depth and will be able to use some different lineups. Though we are going to be pretty young, we have experience," Schmidt said. "Now we will just need to gain experience at winning."

Biggest challenge: "Our biggest challenge will be translating the hard work the guys are putting in at practice into winning baseball," Schmidt said. "Also, having a bunch of guys who haven't played together before can be difficult in a spring like this one, where there's a better than average chance your first time on the field is your first game."

Goals and expectations: "Like everybody, we're going to try to throw strikes and pick up the ball. The talent is there that if we can do that, we'll compete in every game," Schmidt said. "And if we play our best ball at the end of the season, I think we can put together a solid playoff run."