Spring Sports Update: Teams find success with multiple approaches
Baseball
The baseball season is well underway, and with only three weeks before Sections, the team will be looking to build on a successful season so far.
With ten wins and five losses, the team has been performing much better than expected. “So far the season has been great,” senior Riley Simonetti said. “We have a winning record and have played well against every team,” he said.
Senior Mitch Melquist believes some of this success can be attributed to the new coaching staff. “The new coaches have really helped a lot and and have been beneficial to our success and motivation this year,” he said.
While the coaching staff has helped, players such as junior Peyton James and and senior Mitch Melquist have been playing very well. “Mitch Melquist has come out strong as one of our top pitchers, he’s going deep into games and always consistent,” Simonetti said.
While Melquist has been successful on the mound, James has been successful at the plate. “Peyton James has been playing very well and seems to always be in the lineup somewhere because of his bat,” Melquist said.
One of James’ best moments was his walk-off home run against rival St. Louis Park. “Payton James hit a walk-off homerun to go up by 10 to mercy rule SLP, and he is the only other kid from SLP on the team, so that was definitely a highlight from the season so far,” Simonetti said.
The success seen so far has allowed the players to believe they can do even better than they expected at the beginning of the year. “At first I just wanted to win more games than last year, and now I have set going to state as a goal with how well we have been playing,” Melquist explained. “We were hesitant to set our goals to high at first,” Simonetti explained. “But now we know we can compete at a high level and a goal we think we can now complete is not only going to State but maybe even winning a few games [in State]. We really believe we can go far,” he said.
In order to complete these goals, Melquist just wants the team to play hard every time they step foot on the field. “We need to come to play everyday no matter who we are playing if we want to be successful,” he said.
With sections coming up in just a few weeks, the baseball team will look to continue what has already been a fun and successful season.
Boys’ Tennis:
With the spring sports season having gone by fast, the Boys’ Tennis team has had another great and successful season, and is ramping up for Sections. Last year the team finished with a record of sixteen wins and only three losses. Only losing to Edina, Blake, and Eden Prairie the team last season, this team has posted a regular season record of 11-6.
The team has had their work cut out for them after losing key seniors Robert Campbell and Hank Paulson last year. These seniors were consistent and strong parts of the team. “They won many important matches for our team last season,” junior Dawson Spindler said.
Figuring out the doubles lineup for this year was the greatest challenge facing the team as they struggled to get players in their place, but there is no doubt that they will be able to get all set and proceed to have a great season. “I think that our team has a lot of young talent that will help lead our team to a successful season,” Spindler said.
Senior Simon Guzan, sophomore Tristan Fjelstad, and Ryan Frost have been able to compensate for the talent lost after the graduation of last years’ seniors. “They bring a lot of talent to the team,” said Spindler. “I feel that their skills will make a big impact, particularly in some of the singles matches.”
The team is going to be facing some tough opponents this year, mainly Wayzata, who they only lost to 3-4 in the season opener. They are typically a strong team and were a very difficult opponent this year to beat. “They are a very competitive program and are always a challenge to beat,” said Spindler.
As for rivalries, Edina is looking like the biggest rival for this upcoming season as they ended the boys’ season last year. After defeating them 4-3 last year in the regular season, Edina defeated the Red Knights in the section tournament by one point, and then again 2-5 early in the regular season this season, but a Section rematch is possible. “I think our team will have something to prove when we play them this season,” Spindler said.
Softball:
As summer break nears, all spring sports also close in on their Section and State tournaments, and BSM Softball is no exception. Tryouts were held the week after spring break and the team’s first scrimmages were also held Wednesday and Saturday of that week. All BSM softball players are placed onto either the Varsity, JV, C Squad, or Junior High teams. This season, senior captains Jamie Dritz, Lilly Johnson, and Abby Wilgers will lead the varsity team. The coaches of the team are Adrian Wagner and Lindsey Kline.
A typical practice is usually filled with different drills and technique work. Team scrimmages are also important so that the girls can learn to work together. “Usually we start practice by warming up. We throw and receive grounders, fly balls, and we usually make some time for batting practice as well,” catcher Dritz said.
The team is currently 12-7 and has one more game left in a schedule where they play twenty games during their regular season, as they played St. Louis Park on Wednesday, May 18, and start Section play next week. “In general, Bloomington Jefferson is our biggest rival of the season. In our section, Waconia is going to be our toughest competition,” pitcher Johnson said.
Overall, the team is looking forward to playing well and creating a great team bond this season. “I am looking forward to getting closer with the team and having a good solid team this year,” center fielder Wilgers said.
For any sport at BSM the goal is always to do well in sections and hopefully make it to the state tournament. “Personally, I am looking forward to enjoying my last season. The team goal is always to go to state, whether or not that’s possible, we’ll have to see,” Johnson said.
