Apr. 11—SPICER — The New London-Spicer baseball team will look to once again navigate a tough Wright County Conference and Section 3AA schedule.
NLS, coming off a 10-4 conference and 16-8 overall record, graduated a talented class of athletes. Yet, it still returns a solid core of starters for the new season.
"Our conference is absolutely loaded with pitching talent and holds the defending state champs (the Rockford Rockets)," Wildcats co-head coaches Kyle Lieser and Eric Terres said. "The conference is incredibly well-coached and there isn't a game on the schedule that you can look past."
Lieser and Terres believe NLS' biggest strengths are pitching and defense.
That starts with some key seniors and juniors.
Brayden Skindelien, a junior shortstop/pitcher/outfielder, is coming off an All-Area Second Team sophomore season. He batted .405 with 32 hits and 17 stolen bases.
"Brayden had an incredible sophomore year," the coaches said. "He almost always has a quality at-bat and has the versatility to play virtually any position. We'll lean on him to be one of the best players in the conference/section."
Kaden Toutges is back and will lead the Wildcats' pitching staff. The senior right-hander had a 3-1 record with a 0.759 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched.
Lieser and Terres will also look to juniors Cole Laughlin and Logan Swenson on the mound.
Laughlin finished with a 3-0 record with a 2.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings.
The hope is for Swenson to provide big-time innings for the Wildcats this season.
Nolan Johnson and Blake Schultz will also provide strong bats and solid defense for NLS.
Johnson, a senior outfielder/pitcher, batted .294 with nine extra-base hits. Schultz, a senior, middle infielder, hit .230.
"Nolan returns with a big bat and a great outfield arm. We will need him to take that next jump and stay consistent at the plate to help boost our offense," the coaches said. "Blake stepped up for us big time last year when Skindelien went down with an injury. He made big play after big play for us and we look forward to having him back to help with anchoring our infield."
Lieser and Terres will also look toward seniors Garret White and Rylan Shimek to make impacts as well as sophomore Caleb Nelson, a sophomore who will serve as the team's starting catcher.
