DRS season begins Sunday

The Dakota-Rice-Scott Baseball League will kick off its 68th season year Sunday, April 27, with six games slated.

Teams will be competing for the chance to play in the State Class C Baseball Tournament, which this year will be held at Belle Plaine and Jordan over three weekends, concluding on Labor Day.

Each D-R-S team will play a 23-game schedule except for Elko, which will play 12 league games. Elko plays in the Class B playoffs.

This season's league divisional alignments are: Red - New Market, Lonsdale, Faribault, Webster and Elko; White - St Patrick, Prior Lake, Montgomery and Veseli; and Blue - St. Benedict, New Prague, Union Hill and Shakopee.

Twelve of the 13 teams have been assigned to Region 3C for post-season play. Elko competes in Section 1B.

This year the DRS will not hold postseason divisional playoffs. Instead, all the 12 teams will be seeded 1 through 12, with six best-ofthree playoff series scheduled beginning July 24. The six remaining teams will be seeded into a six-team double- elimination tournament, with the top four teams qualifying for the state tournament.

Games on Sunday are all scheduled for 2 p.m.; they are: Lonsdale at Elko, St. Benedict at New Market, Union Hill at Webster, Shakopee at St. Patrick, Veseli at New Prague, and Prior Lake at Montgomery.

A preview of the teams: (Shakopee and Webster did not respond to requests for information).

Red Division New Market Muskies Todd Bergstrom's New Market Muskies are coming off an outstanding 19-4 season that saw them win the Region 3C Tournament. Most of the squad returns for what the Muskies hope are bigger and better things in 2014. Tom Carpentier returns as coach

. The Muskies have an impressive pitching staff that includes Derek Bergstrom, Nate Rost and Bryce Rippentrop, and they have added former major leaguer Dana Kiecker to their roster for the 2014 season. Top hitters include Rippentrop, Scott Lyden, Tyler Bergstrom, Nick and Nate Rost and Kyle Bergstrom. Catcher Jay Chlan caught 38 of 39 games for the Muskies last year while outfielders include David Stewart, Al Weeman and Carpentier.

Todd Bergstrom says top teams in the league will be St. Patrick, New Prague, St. Benedict and Prior Lake. He says his team will be strong, but notes that the entire league seems to be getting better, with a number of young, talented players.

The Muskies will co-host the Elko New Market Tournament June 6-8, and will play in the Freeport Tournament May 16- 18.

Lonsdale Aces A familiar face is back at the helm of the Lonsdale Aces baseball team. Darrel Vosejpka, longtime player and manager for the team, returns after a twoyear absence. He hopes to help the Aces improve on last year’s 11-12 record.

Top pitchers for the Aces this year are Phil Tisdel, Tyler Sticha, Lance Anderson and Alex Rayman. Offensively, the team will rely on Kevin Kalina, Justin Scheffler and Travis Scheffler. Other top players include catcher Thomas Hoppert, infielders Matt Tschida, Darren McEathron and Aaron Kes and outfielder Tyler Bastyr.

Derek Christenson and Paul Tisdel have retired, and other players not returning are Brian Rud, Jerrod Novotny, Grant Mohwinkel and Andy Kes. Newcomers to the team are Jordan Yetzer, Cole Pint, and Jake McGeorge.

Vosejpka said the DRS will be very strong this year. “Every team has improved,” he said. “We will be a rebuilding team, with lots of young talent.”

The Aces will play in the New Prague Tournament June 6-8.

Faribault Lakers Last year, manager Charlie Lechtenberg guided the Faribault Lakers to a 12-15 record, but the team put together a playoff run that fell just short of a state tournament berth. Ryan Archambault is Lechtenberg's assistant.

The Lakers have some talent returning, led by pitchers Evan Knutson, Jack Helgeson and Matt Stocker. Offensive production will come from Archambault, Joey Grote, Jay Ellerbusch and Dylan Valentyn. Other top players include catchers Danny Pierce and Phil Holz, infielders Joey Grote and Adam Kline, and outfielders Eddie Gillen, Adam Jenson, Blake Langerud and Kyle Murphy.

The Lakers say goodbye to three veteran players who have retired, Alex Olson, Jimmy Roberts and Nate Medinger. Newcomers to the team include Matt Lane, from the Chaska Cubs, Tanner Tousignant of Faribault High School, and Bryan Olson from Bethlehem Academy.

Lechtenberg expects New Prague, St. Patrick and New Market to be the top teams in their respective divisions. "We have most of our roster returning with the addition of some new guys that will fill in nicely. We are excited to get the season started," he said.

Elko Express Terry Fredrickson returns as manager for the Express, which finished with a 12-0 league record last season. Elko is the only Class B team in the DRS and plays a partial league schedule while also scheduling teams from Section 1B during the regular season.

Key players returning this year include pitchers Will Lundquist, Joel Klinkhammer, John Hayes, Glenn Parker and Ryan VanDussen, catcher Corey Grisim, infielders Kyle Kalina and Gordon Kappers and outfielders Ash Larsen and Adam Alexander. Top hitters are Jason Grimm, Larsen, Travis Evanson and Kyle Kraska.

Dylan Thomas is gone from last year's team. The former Golden Gopher player is playing professionally with the St. Paul Saints.

Newcomers to the team include Tyler Schumacher, a catcher from Lakeville South HS, and Jordan Jacobson, a pitcher from Lakeville North.

Fredrickson said the teams to beat in each division are New Market (Red), St. Patrick (White) and New Prague (Blue).

The Express will be in two tournaments this season. They co-host the Elko New Market Tourney June 6-8 and will play in the Hinckley Tournament June 27-29.

White Division St. Patrick Irish John Johnson returns for his second year as manager of the St. Patrick Irish, with Bill Dunker his assistant. Last year, the Irish posted a 22-8 record. 

Top pitchers returning to the Irish include Bill Dunker, Josh Simon and Seth Ambroz, while the offense will be led by Matt Ambroz, Simon, Seth Ambroz and Wade Schuknecht. Matt Ambroz and Derek Hahn will share catching duties, with infielders Colton Borwege and Derrick Isaacson and outfielders Will Walsh and Simon contributing defensively.

Johnson didn't want to name any league favorites, but he did say that his team has "a good mix of veteran players who have been through the battles, and young players who will learn from the vets. We will rely on strong pitching and defense to carry us through most games," he said. He expects his team will be a contender for a division title and a state tournament berth.

The Irish will compete in the Green Isle/Hamburg Tournament.

Prior Lake Mudcats Greg Faue returns for his 18th year as manager of the Prior Lake Mudcats, with Levi Schneider as his assistant. Prior Lake had a 13-10 league record last year, and are looking for improvement in the 2014 season.

It all starts with pitching, and the Mudcats have some good arms on their staff, including Ben Morrison, Jake Schmidt, Mike Borgert-Poepping and newcomer Luke Anderson, who played last year with Savage.

At the plate, the Mudcats look for production from Schneider, Noah Rezac, Mason Holmquist, Jake Lehrer, Jerad Lehrer and Cole Bjorge. Other players include catcher Ryan Rose, infielder Tony Adderley and outfielder BJ Benz.

Two players left the team - Ryan Defries has retired and Gary Mariscal left due to his job. Faue says St. Patrick looks like the team to beat in the DRS this season. As for his club?

"We will be better than last year. We hope to make another run to the State tournament. This league is tough… seven different teams have been to the State the last two years. Everyone is pretty competitive.”

The Mudcats plan to play in the Green Isle Hamburg Tournament.

Montgomery Mallards Mark Worm has announced that this will be his final season as manager of the Montgomery Mallards. His sons, Nick and Philip, are serving as assistant coaches this year.

Worm says last year's team was "competitive," posting an 11-18 record.

Top returnees on this year's roster include Ted Christian, Dave Trcka, John Krocak, Josh Kuchinka, Robbie Marshall, Steve Rosier, Trevor Turek and Brad Flicek. Catchers include Tyler Bednar, Mike Flicek, Ryan Iverson and Robbie Damato. Providing offense for the team are Kyle Kubes, Bednar, Mike Flicek, Tom Flicek, Krocak, Eric Iverson, Ryan Iverson, Rosier, Marshall, Mike Kocina, Damato, Nathan Rosier, Dalton Zeug and Eric Franek.

Worm didn't want to single out any teams as the team to beat, saying that all of the teams in the league are tough. He said that team captain Tom Flicek returns from an ACL injury, and that the team's young arms will lead the way. The team suffered a loss when rising star Patrick Lloyd was lost for the season with an ACL injury.

Montgomery plans to compete in the Hamburg Green Isle Tournament this summer.

Veseli Warriors Chris Hertaus returns for his 28th and final season with the Veseli Warriors, and hopes his young team will improve on last year's 4-19 season. Scott Johnson is assisting Hertaus.

Top pitchers for this year's Warrior team include Luke Giesen, Casey Berens, Mike Bartusek, Matt Perkinson, Jason Kazlauskas, Curt Brezina and Blake Radloff. At the plate, Eric Steinhoff, Cody Shimota, Corey Friedges and Joe Heinz will lead the squad. Other players include infielders Mike Gillen, Brett Kriha, and Ryan Boeggeman and outfielders Mike Bartusek, Matt Novak, Travis Vikla, Brent Jones, Chad Krenik and Andy Simon.

Nick Hertaus has retired as a player for the Warriors.

Last year the Warriors had a run of bad luck, with two pitchers missing much of the season due to injuries and two others with injuries that limited their innings pitched.

"All of them are healthy and ready to go," Hertaus said. "That should help us greatly through the season. In the last two years, we've added eight young, talented ballplayers to the roster. Every year they play together will make our team more competitive and help us extend farther into the postseason.

Hertaus sees New Market (Red), St. Patrick (White) and St. Benedict (Blue) as the top teams in each division.

The Warriors will play in the Cannon Falls Tournament June 14-15.

Blue Division St. Benedict Saints Wade Olson returns as manager of the St. Benedict Saints. The Saints are coming off a 16- 7 league record, having won the White Division Championship, and qualified for the first time ever for the State tournament, where they advanced to the second round before losing to Belle Plaine 4-1.

The Saints return the core of their lineup, including pitchers Tanner Oakes, Chris Hartman, Michael Pauly and Jacob Wolf, with offense keyed by Jeremy Heitkamp, Andrew Huss, Jacob Riesgraf and Scott Eischens. Jacob Riesgraf, David Hartman and Heitkamp will share the catching duties. Olson says the team will have great speed and athleticism in the outfield and should also be solid up the middle.

Teams to beat, according to Olson, are Elko, New Market, New Prague and Prior Lake.

"New Market is loaded, New Prague plays the best defense, and if you catch Prior Lake when they have everybody there, they will be very tough to beat."

New Prague Orioles Jerry Plambeck is back for another season as manager of the New Prague Orioles, with Nick Schoenecker serving as his assistant coach this season.

The Orioles finished last season with a 23-13 record, and advanced to the second round of the state tournament.

Top pitchers for New Prague will be Dusty Beckius, Zach Sirek, Chase Buthe, Bryan Schmitz, Dan Novak, Dustin Steinhoff and newcomer Ames Bryant. They will be throwing to catchers Dan Novak and Dan Ring.

Other top players include Justin Novak, Austin Bachman, Tyler Seurer, Chase Buthe, Dan Shetka, Aaron Shetka, Teddy Nytes, Jake Malz and Scott Allar.

Besides Bryant, another new player on the roster will be Ryan Sheriff.

Chad Skluzacek has retired as a player, while his brother Ross Skluzacek is sitting out this season, still recovering from a neck injury he suffered in last year's Region playoffs.

Plambeck said St. Benedict and Union Hill will provide some tough competition in the Blue Division this season.

"We have solid defense and hitting, and will have a young pitching staff this season," he said.

New Prague will host its own invitational tournament June 6- 8, and will also play in the Green Isle/Hamburg tournament June 19-22. In addition to league games, they have also scheduled an exhibition game against Waterville on June 21.

Union Hill Bulldogs Adam Gill is manager for the Union Hill Bulldogs, who are coming off an uncharacteristically down regular season (14- 21 record) only to come on strong in the postseason and qualify for the state tournament. Adam Giesen and Jon Beckius are assistants.

The Bulldogs’ top pitchers this year will be Daniel Feneis, Rick Bell, Matt Beckius, Bryan Lindner and John Solheid, while the offense will be powered by the likes of Tony Kubes, Eric Bisek, Matt Beckius, Jesse Bastyr and Adam Giesen. Other players include catchers Tyler Busch and Cullie Smith, infielders Jeff Dietz, Ben Trewartha, Danny Beckius, Darren Lapic and Nolan Hodapp and outfielders Jon Beckius and Paul Frykman.

The team loses several longtime stalwarts to retirement, including Brad Weiers, Andrew Weiers, Matt Grimm and Nate Sticha. New players on this year's team will be Bryan Lindner, Peter Lim and Ben Miller.

"The DRS league is ultracompetitive each season," Gill said. "Anybody can beat anybody, which makes this one of the top leagues in the state. The atmosphere on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons is tough to beat.”

The Bulldogs will play in the Belle Plaine Tiger Town Classic June 13-15.

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