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Shane Thielke steps into the Head Coach position for the Fergus Falls Baseball team having lost only four seniors to graduation. They will all be greatly missed though, as Carter Thielke (2 time All-CLC, 2 time All Section 8AAA, All State in 2022), Cole Zierden, Owen Krueger and Andrew Johnson, were all consistent 2-year contributors for the Otters at the varsity level. Thielke has joined former Otter Ashwin Stratton on the Concordia-Moorhead baseball team. The Otters will also be without current senior Isaac Johnson (All-CLC in 2022) who is playing Junior Hockey in Iowa.
“We return a handful of guys who had opportunities on the varsity last season and we bring in a potential for depth in many areas, especially pitching,” stated Coach Thielke. “I am excited about the attitudes and enthusiasm of the players coming back and many of them have had success in other sports this past fall and winter, preparing them for varsity competition.”
Seniors Ben Swanson (IF/P), Colin Becker (IF/OF/P), Brandon Brown (C/IF/P), William Gronwold (C/IF/P), Bo Bring (P/IF/OF), Riston Albert (P/IF), Jack Horgen (P/OF) and Jacob Wandersee (OF), juniors Ethan Gronwold (IF/P), Leighton Buckmeier (OF/P), Kellen Stenstrom (IF/P) and Griffin Babolian (OF), and sophomore Carston Fronning (IF/P, All-CLC Honorable Mention 2022) all return with varsity experience.
“We are very fortunate to have the number of juniors and seniors that we have,” said Thielke. “In that same respect, there is a ton of talent and athleticism in our sophomore class and I expect those guys to compete for varsity roles as opportunities arise throughout the season. We plan to place a strong emphasis on competing at the JV and Freshman levels and look for those younger guys to get much needed innings and at bats on JV in order to be ready to help our varsity squad in May and June. We just need to develop confidence in a tough schedule and find ways to compete and play our best baseball in May and June.”
Thielke expects Eli Tollerson to make the transition to varsity and play a role in the Otters pitching rotation, and Kellen Stenstrom is expected to fill a big role in the middle infield as the Otters look to solidify their defense up the middle. Buckmeier and Babolian, who split time in the outfield on the varsity level last season, are expected to step into everyday roles this spring.
“Every team in good in the Central Lakes Conference,” added Thielke. “Most of the teams in our conference are in section finals competition for state berths at the AAA and AAAA levels. Sartell, Willmar, Rocori and Alexandria are my top 4, in any order. Section 8AA is wide open, but I look for Perham and DGF to ride success in other sports right into baseball.”
Assisting Thielke will be Jared Larson (Varsity Assistant), Dave Sagerhorn (Pitching Coach), David Dirks (JV), Jeremiah Bettermann (JV Assistant) and Nathan Arens (9th Grade).