Baseball

Lara, JV Castillo and Nevin Michlig.

They, along with their fellow freshman, comprise the second largest group of players behind this year’s seniors. They’ve had some good years with the Abby Heat, winning a state title in Marshfield several years ago, but even so, Bargender knows it will take time before they are ready to contribute.

“Our freshman group is our largest group, and they’ve played together a long time and have the potential to earn some playing time on varsity this year and get their feet wet. That will be crucial as they develop their careers,” Bargender says.

While it might be some time before they see a start at varsity, Bargender did tell them to be ready to come in at a moment’s notice, especially given how truncated this season is, with 25 games sandwiched into roughly two months.

“There will be times when they will be called upon in big situations. They’re going to be putting pressure on the guys above them, and I think everyone here embraces completion and wants to win. So having more competitive practices will be huge for our season this year.”

Of course, the biggest hurdle is just the year off from competition thanks to the coronavirus. Bargender has no idea what other teams look like, and he’s busy getting his players back up to speed.

That’s why the 15 contact days granted to them by the WIAA are so crucial.

“We’ve been fortunate that the WIAA has granted us 15 contact days. That’s given me 15 more days to get to know some of the freshman from Colby and even some of our Abby kids who have not played in a while. So practice-wise, that gives us a good base.”

With the season set to get underway this last week of April, there’s a feeling of excitement to be back, but also to put some respect on the co-op’s name. As a senior, Elmhorst is hoping to go out with a bang.

“I think we have a pretty good chance of winning conference,” Elmhorst says confidently. “We’re getting better and better every day. It’s going to be a crazy season, but as long as people are willing to grind, we should do OK.”

That’s a sentiment that he shares with Bargender, who also believes this is a year that Abby/Colby can make some noise. The co-op was in a lot of close games, and with strong pitching and hitting from Soyk, Elmhorst, Marco and Nico Olvera returning, Year Two has a lot of potential to be a big one.

“We want to compete. We’ve proven that we can do that two years ago. Kids just have to believe in themselves and their game,” says Bargender as practice gets over and the sun begins to set.

No matter what happens, Bargender said the team has already won just by having a season and proving their co-op could be successful.

“As far as the kids go, we just see baseball players. We all have the A/C logo on the baseball cap. The kids get along together, work hard together, and we all want to win together.”