Edgar seeks first trip to state
‘Cats are still unbeaten at 4-0 in 2021 season
Edgar’s baseball team boasts a wealth of experienced senior players and pitching depth this season, giving the Wildcats a good shot at winning their first conference championship in 24 years and making an inaugural trip to the state tournament.
The Wildcats’ only Marawood Conference baseball title was in 1997 since the conference’s inception in 1960. Baseball Wisconsin ranked Edgar No. 2 in Division 4 preseason rankings this year, behind only Boyceville. Webster, which has South Carolina recruit Owen Washburn, is ranked No. 3 behind Edgar.
Edgar alum Connor Handrick finally gets his chance to lead the Wildcats as their head coach this season, after the 2020 spring season was cancelled because of COVID-19. He was able to coach the team, which was not affiliated with the school district or American Legion, in some games last summer to prepare it for this season. Handrick was Edgar’s head junior varsity coach before taking the varsity head coaching job.
“I feel last summer was extremely valuable for the players and the coaching staff,” Handrick said. “If we were not able to have summer baseball, most of the players would have been away from the game for almost two years. Last summer was all about having fun playing and coaching the game we all love.
“I felt it gave the students some closure to a season that was taken from them, while also giving the boys some motivation for what was to come in the upcoming season. I can definitely say it was hard not to have a season last year, but being able to coach in the summer months gave me that drive to look forward to what the future had to hold for the Edgar baseball program.”
Handrick is relying on a strong core of seniors to guide the team to greatness this season.
“We have 10 total seniors, seven of which have varsity experience from their freshmen and sophomore years, along with two juniors that have experience from their freshman season,” Handrick said. “With having a strong core of experienced players in the room, the leadership is unmatched. We, as coaches, set the bar high for them and each day everyone shows up willing to put in the work necessary to achieve their goals.”
The core group of seniors on Edgar’s baseball squad were part of the school’s undefeated fall football season and winter basketball team that qualified for the state tournament. Now, these same players want to create history for the school’s baseball program. The baseball team’s strong pitching depth should carry them far into the postseason.
“Our pitching staff will be led by four experienced seniors in Konnor Wolf, Drew Guden, Kyle Brewster and Brayden Baumgartner; we also have two quality juniors in Jordan Bunkelman and Ashton Schuett that have a chance to showcase a lot of their skills yet,” Handrick said. “It will be very useful this year to have an abundance of pitchers that can step into the game at any time. The pitching staff will play a crucial part in our team’s success this year and lead us to achieving the goals we have set forth.”
Edgar’s baseball coaching staff includes two newcomers in Mitch Mueller as a varsity assistant and Shawn Bunkelman as the head junior varsity coach. Longtime volunteer baseball coaches Josh Eberhardt and Alex Mashak are also helping out the program this season.
The Wildcats opened the 2021 baseball season by beating Chequamegon, 11-3, in three innings when the home game was called because of rain. Edgar then easily beat Rib Lake, 9-1, Thursday on the road. Brewster struck out 10 batters while only surrendering two hits and a solo homer to earn the complete-game win.
Bunkelman, while playing third base, batted one for three with a walk, three RBIs and one run scored in the victory against Rib Lake. Brewster hit two for three with a walk, an RBI and one run scored. Brewster, Brady Lemmer, Bunkelman and Kaden Goodwin all hit doubles.
Ashton Schuett earned the pitching win in relief of starter Brayden Baumgartner in Edgar’s 11-8 home win against Abbotsford on Friday. Schuett struck out 10 batters while only giving up two hits and one earned run during his 4.2 innings in relief. Austin Dahlke batted two for three with a walk and three runs scored, while Schuett led the Wildcats with a pair of RBIs.
Edgar scored two runs in the eighth inning to beat Marathon, 6-4, on the road Tuesday to remain undefeated with a 4-0 record this season.
The Wildcats outhit the Red Raiders, 13-6, on Tuesday. Edgar also overcame four errors to gain the victory.
Konnor Wolf earned the pitching win and Jordan Bunkelman pitched one inning of relief for the save. Bunkelman led the Wildcats by batting four for five with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Edgar plays Marathon again this Thursday, May 6, at home.
