MEDFORD BASEBALL PREVIEW - STILL EXPECT TO COMPETE

MEDFORD BASEBALL PREVIEW

Much has changed since the Medford Raiders ended an extraordinary 2024 baseball season one win shy of earning a spot in the WIAA Division 2 state tournament.

Of course, the biggest change is at the top where, for the first time in 20 years, someone other than Justin Hraby will be filling out the lineup cards and sending the signals from the third-base coach's box.

Chandler Schmidt is the new man in charge, inheriting a team that brings back 11 players who were on the post-season roster. There are, however, some significant holes created by graduation to fill and some youth and inexperience to work through.

But all in all, Schmidt, a 2020 Stratford High School graduate and, more recently, a graduate of Winona State University where he was a relief pitcher for the baseball team, is pleased with how the transition has gone since pitchers and catchers first reported on March 17 and the full team started officially practicing March 24.

“The first week I was really happy with,' Schmidt said Tuesday as the team went through a series of hitting drills in practice at Medford Area Middle School. “We did a lot of fundamental work, just simple things like understanding how to field a ground ball, going back to the basics. I wanted to get our pitchers rockin' and rolling. I was very, very, very happy with how our pitchers threw in the scrimmage (Monday). You can tell that our two big points of emphasis, pitching and getting our defense up to par right away, have helped a lot.”

The hope, field conditions permitting, is to start the season Friday with a nonconference matchup against Wausau East. The game is now planned to be played in Medford. Getting the game in would be helpful for Medford to prepare for an early-season Great Northern Conference showdown Tuesday at defending GNC champion and WIAA Divisoin 2 state runner-up Mosinee.

The Raiders did get on the field Monday, scrimmaging Pittsville in Babcock. On a cold afternoon, Schmidt and his assistants generally came away pleased with what they saw. This year's staff includes varsity assistants Butch Wiegel and Dan Kraschnewski and JV coaches David Hecker and Stephen Reynolds.

'It's one thing where you can see in the cage what we've got or on the gym floor,' Schmidt said. 'But seeing it in an actual in-game setting was pretty good. The negatives, we probably could have put together some better at-bats, but that's expected really early in the spring. But there were a lot of positives. Our pitchers pitched excellent. I think we had maybe one error and that was a throwing error, it wasn't a fielding error. Overall we put pressure on their pitchers and that's what I wanted to get out of it.'

Finding consistent offense may be the biggest deciding factor that will determine how far this spring's team goes. But, as Schmidt said, defense and pitching are looking like early strengths.

Junior left-hander Hayden Strebig inherits the role of being Medford's go-to starting pitcher. He ranked third on last year's 25-4 squad with 34.2 innings pitched. He finished with a 4-1 record and converted all three of his save opportunities. He had 14 pitching appearances with four starts and struck out 30 batters while only walking nine.

Senior Charlie Gierl and junior Conor Anderson figure to get starts on the mound and, from there, Schmidt is hoping for a handful of other candidates who can throw strikes and get outs to emerge. Gierl pitched in a short relief role last spring and did well with it, posting a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings.

'I'm happy where we're at with our rotation,' Schmidt said. “Hayden and Charlie will give us a lot of quality innings. Conor Anderson has kind of emerged as potentially our number-two or numberthree starter. We have Ryder Kraschnewski, who has a good arm for us. Will Wojcik has a good arm. Sam Hierlmeier can come in and throw strikes. Ryder can throw strikes. Parker Lissner can even come in and throw strikes. I told the guys you better all know how to pitch this year because you just never know.' The defensive part of the equation is anchored by what the Raiders feel is strength up the middle. Lissner, a fourth-year varsity player and first-team All-GNC selection last spring, should see the majority of time at shortstop and Ryder Kraschnewski, a sophomore, is back at second base, where he got a lot of time in the second half of last season. Senior Evan Wilkins gives Medford a lot of speed and a strong arm in centerfield. He was a second-team All-GNC pick last spring.

'Wilkins will be a phenomenal athlete in centerfield for us,' Schmidt said. 'Just a fast kid. Parker Lissner, he's viewed as one of our bigtime leaders. He's going to solidify shortstop for us.'

Catching depth is a bit of an issue in the program, but the Raiders have high hopes for their new starter, junior Evan Czarnezki.

'I know he just transitioned into a catcher last year,' Schmidt said. 'He's a hard worker. Andy Guden has done a phenomenal job helping him and I've worked with him, but he's a sponge. He's absorbing everything. He has the work ethic. He's a great kid. I think he's going to be a very, very, very good catcher for us this year.'

Gierl will get a shot at winning the third base job, where he played for a stretch last year. First base to start the year belongs to Strebig and junior Brody Paulson. Outfield spots could be occupied by a number of guys and there are a handful more who are capable of helping out on the infield.

Senior Sam Hierlmeier and junior Broden Schilling are players Schmidt identified as utility types that could play multiple spots. Juniors Nick Krause and Sawyer Elsner and sophomore Carson Ingersoll are likely outfielders first. Elsner got varsity time last year, primarily as a situational base runner. Wojcik and Restyn Kraschnewski are two freshmen who will push for playing time, whether it's on the infield, in the outfield or even pitching.

'In the end, I told all of these guys we have everyone that we need to play quality defense,' Schmidt said. 'It's about who can hit. I'm an offensive guy. I know every coach says that. I'm an offensive guy, so if you hit we're going to find a way to get you in the lineup and I've made that known from day one. The guys have accepted it and they've kind of rolled with it.'

Lissner had the highest batting average a year ago of Medford's returning players at .326 (30 for 92) and drove in 21 runs. Gierl hit just .143 last year, but certainly has the capability to be a key run-producer with a strong left-handed swing. Wilkins hit .284 and was among the team leaders with 23 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. Schmidt feels the team has decent team speed and Wilkins is the standout in that department.

'A player like him can impact a game,' Schmidt said. 'I have guys who I call my auto-double guys where all they have to do is get on base. It always helps when you have a guy that is super-fast, a great athlete, playing centerfield. Then obviously if you can get him on the bases, look out. He's going to hopefully have a big impact on games this year.

'We're going to be very aggressive,' Schmidt added. 'We're going to steal a lot of bases. We don't have as many big kids. We have more guys who can live in the gaps and steal a lot of bases. I tell the kids all the time, you don't need to be fast to steal bases. It's all in the jump, understanding pitchers.'

The Raiders went 10-2 in GNC play last spring, losing only to Mosinee twice. They had a school-record 18-game win streak and then had a flair for the dramatic late in the year, coming from behind to win three straight WIAA tournament games before the ride ended with a 7-5 loss to La Crosse Logan in the sectional final.

Mosinee lost the core of last year's 25-6 team, but is a program that knows how to win. Each GNC team brings back some good players creating a wide-open feel when it comes to this year's title chase.

All GNC teams with the exception of Tomahawk are also part of the WIAA Division 2 sectional half-bracket, which also includes teams like Rice Lake, Ashland, Abbotsford-Colby, Osceola, Amery and St. Croix Falls. Merrill is the host for this year's sectional tournament, set for June 10.

'I just want to compete,' Schmidt said. 'I don't fall in love with thought of 'where are we going to place this year.' We're going to play our version of Medford baseball and see where we rank. We're just going to compete, compete, compete. No game will be easy. Obviously it's a great conference. We're going to have fun, we're going to play with confidence and do what we do and see where we end up at the end of the year.'

Hayden Strebig starts his swing during Medford’s baseball practice Tuesday. The junior is expected to be the Raiders’ top starting pitcher this spring. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS