2006 Baseball Preview
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This year's Blake Bears Baseball team will have an mix of old and new faces. Returning to the starting line-up will be senior captain Ryan Hultstrand (second base) and junior Erik Fiegel (SS/P). Hultstrand is the team’s emotional kingpin while Fiegel; a 2005 all Tri-Metro honorable mention pick is a quiet, confident and capable leader.
Key returnees are three sophomores; all-conference honorable mention catcher Thomas Wheeler, Jimmy Yablonski (OF/P) and pitching ace Phil Morgan. Other projected starters include juniors Andy Cohen (1B/C) and Sam McNerney (OF) along with sophomore Ben Hughes (OF/P).
New faces on the varsity squad will include sophomore Tyler Hoeg and freshman Jared Falkanger.
Veteran head coach Steve Johnson is in his 31st year coaching at Blake having logged 27 of them as the Bear’s head varsity baseball.
Johnson ponders, “Last year was a building year for us. We played many younger kids who paid their dues learning about varsity baseball in the Tri-Metro Conference. By the end of the season our better players were our "young guns". We were not very consistent throughout a ball game. We spent the time learning how to do things and gaining the feeling we belonged as varsity players.”
Johnson’s teams are known for their defense and work ethic and this squad will be no different. The are a hungry, confident hard working group of enthusiastic athletes.
The Bears took a Florida trip over our break to get a jump on the season and to get everyone on the same page. The Bears should be very solid defensively and everyone should put the bat on the ball. As the Bears develop some power and a better knowledge of the strike zone they will quickly become a championship caliber team.
“The key component in the equation is how long it will take us to mature. It could 3-4 weeks, 2 months or maybe a year, but all the right pieces are there,” analysis Johnson.
For the Bears, as with all teams around the state, there is the warm feel of leather in their hand, the smell of spring is in the air and optimism that abounds.
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