Pitching staff fuels Athens baseball

By Casey Krautkramer

The Athens varsity baseball team has plenty of firepower remaining this season after only losing four seniors to graduation. This year’s squad is hoping to contend for the Marawood North Conference championship after finishing in third place with a 5-5 conference record last season. Athens finished last season with an 8-11 overall record after losing to Rib Lake, 65, in the WIAA Division 4 regional championship.

This is Todd Diethelm’s seventh season as Athens’ varsity head baseball coach. His assistant baseball coaches are Jeramie Penney, Aaron Doll and Dale Westfall.

Athens lost the following four players to graduation from last year’s team: Hunter Haehlke, outfielder and pitcher; Adam Belter, first baseman and catcher; Ty Johnson, infielder, outfielder and pitcher and catcher Logan Ebben.

The Bluejays’ top returning varsity baseball players this season are senior Nick Pittman, pitcher and infielder; senior Kaden Auner, infielder and outfielder; junior Kam Zarnke, catcher, infielder and pitcher; sophomore Mason Belter, catcher and infielder; sophomore Kaleb Cracraft, pitcher and infielder and sophomore Daxton Diethelm, pitcher, outfielder and first baseman.

The top newcomers to this season’s baseball team are senior Brayden Frahmann, pitcher and infielder; junior outfielder Evin Passehl; sophomore Jeffery Draper, outfielder and pitcher; sophomore Kian Ellenbecker, infielder and pitcher; sophomore Garrett Frahm, infielder and pitcher; freshman Alex Belter, infielder and pitcher and freshman Derek Yessa, outfielder and pitcher.

Athens’ pitching staff should be one of the team’s strengths this season.

“Our pitching will be a substantial part of our team and it needs to be,” Todd Diethelm said. “We are young but have a lot of experience on the mound. The kids have put in a lot of time in the sport of baseball. Pitching should benefit from the time spent on the field. We have three legit pitchers who throw strikes and have the right mentality, which is critical in high school baseball. I expect Nick Pittman, Kaleb Cracraft and Daxton Diethelm to lead us on the mound.”

Todd Diethelm explains his team’s hitting approach at the plate this season.

“We want to be aggressive yet hit good pitches,” he said. “We will work the count and play a lot of small ball when needed. We have to put the ball in play and put pressure on the defense, and high school players will make some mistakes so we will look to take advantage of the situations when we can.”

The Athens baseball team last won the Marawood North title in 2021 when it shared the first-place trophy with Abbotsford/ Colby and Rib Lake. Abbotsford/ Colby won the Marawood North championships in 2022 and 2023. Abbotsford/ Colby and Rib Lake shared the Marwood North title last season with each team having a 9-1 conference record.

Athens’ amount of experienced players back this season should give it a chance to contend for the Marawood Conference championship this season.

“I believe we have the right players and mentality to play with teams at the top of the conference, but things have to work out and the young players need to step up and take on critical roles throughout the season,” Todd Diethelm said. “My experienced players must take the lead when things aren’t going as planned and settle the situation. Rib Lake has to be the favorite to win the conference.”

ATHENS VARSITY BASEBALL- Introducing the 2025 Bluejays varsity baseball team. Players pictured, from left to right, front row: Kamden Zarnke, Kyle Belter, Alex Belter, Kian Ellenbecker and Derek Yessa; middle row: Shaylon Blake, Garrett Frahm, Evin Passehl, Jeffery Draper, Mason Belter and Daxton Diethelm; back row: Kaleb Cracraft, Nicholas Pittman, Brayden Frahmann, Kaden Auner, Joseph Servi and Chance Schienebeck.

PHOTO BY CHRIS KEPNER