Hawks set their sights high for 2021 season

A year removed from near-cancellation of their season due to COVID-19, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's baseball team is back to "normal" as it prepares for the 2021 season.

Unlike the months leading up to the shortened 2020 season, the Hawks could complete their usual workouts leading up to official preseason practices.

"We had a good offseason," said Hawk coach Jeremy Gloden. "We've been able to have our offseason hitting and working with pitchers and catchers."

A season's experience plus familiarity with their second-year coach are paying dividends.

"We've got a lot more experience than last year," Gloden noted. "The guys know me and know what is expected."

The Hawks have only been able to have a handful of practices with everyone able to participate, but that hasn't impeded their progress.

"We've been working hard and making the best of our time," Gloden said. "We're just fine-tuning things right now. That's a good place to be at."

The "1-2 punch" of senior Samuel Heyn and junior Jordan Ortega will lead the pitching staff. Together they pitched nearly two-thirds of H-M-S's innings in 2020, and Heyn was a first team all-conference selection.

Two seniors, Ben Haack and Dawson Schiphoff, also pitched last year and provide pitching depth. Gloden hopes that other players can develop into varsity pitchers.

"It helps to have those seniors who have experience," he said.

Those four will play other positions when not pitching, as will four other returning letter winners: juniors Nick Bronstad, Keith DeBoer and Keaton Graves (honorable mention all-WEC); and sophomore Trenton Vollink. Freshman Jacob Cates also saw some varsity action behind the plate last year.

Gloden said the defensive lineup will be more fluid than in 2020.

"We're moving guys to different spots to get used to them, so we're not locked into a certain situation, especially when pitching changes occur." he said.

Improvement at the plate is also an essential ingredient to the Hawks' success.

"We need to put more balls in play to help us win a lot more ball games," Gloden said.

With only 17 players on the roster, H-M-S does not have a deep team.

"The depth isn't where I want us to be, but the younger guys can step in," Gloden noted.

A full slate of games will be a challenge, especially in the tough War Eagle Conference.

"I think there is no off night. Everyone is a battle," Gloden said.

He feels Remsen St. Mary's, the undefeated 2020 champion, is the favorite "until someone knocks them off." They could be challenged by Unity Christian, West Sioux, Gehlen Catholic, Akron-Westfield and Hinton.

"Unity Christian is going to be tough. They have some seniors who are really good ballplayers," Gloden said. "West Sioux will make some noise."

The Hawks did not win any of the conference games played in 2020, but were credited with a win because the contest with Gehlen Catholic was cancelled due to COVID-related issues. The goal this year is to move up to the middle of the pack. Gloden acknowledges that may seem to be "shooting too high," but he feels the potential is there.

"If we go out and play well and pitch well, we can make a run at that," he said. "If we can be more consistent at the plate, we'll be in good shape."