Northeast A, Frontier Squads Keeping Eye On The Future

Thu., March 21, 1996

Jeff Finke Correspondent

North Voice; Page 2, March 28, 1996: Riverside High School baseball player Ryan Blumel’s name was misspelled last week in the North Side Voice.

Expectations are high for the North Side’s Northeast A League and Frontier League baseball teams.

The Lakeside Eagles are coming off a league championship season with a host of young players and a veteran pitching staff.

Experience abounds for Deer Park’s Stags, but the pitching staff is a little unsettled.

For the Riverside Rams, this season brings many new players (only two returning starters), a new coach and a new league.

Lakeside’s pitching strong

The Eagles’ Matt Sullivan begins his fourth season as head coach with just three players who have varsity experience. However, all three started last year and will play key roles this season.

Senior Chris Padayao is back and will bat leadoff and play shortstop.

Junior George Petticrew is the ace of the pitching staff and will play in the outfield when he isn’t pitching. Petticrew, a hard-throwing righthander, had a 4-0 record and a 1.03 earned-run average in league play last year.

Also splitting time between the mound and the outfield is senior Joel Gilrein.

“Pitching is definitely our strong suit,” stated Sullivan. “My philosophy has always been. if you can pitch and play defense, you’ll be in every game.”

Injuries to junior Nate Belyea, who was slated to start at catcher, and his projected backup, junior Matt Matthews, mean either junior Brian Coe or freshman J.P. Rothstein will be behind the plate early in the season.

Sophomore Jason Belyea will start at second, with sophomore Jason Christen and senior Nate Norris battling for the starting job at third.

Sophomore Kris Granlund and junior Tim Moore will split time in right field. Granlund, a lefty, will also do some pitching.

Junior Caleb Mortlock and sophomore Tim Weisser will share duties in left field.

Six starters back for Deer Park

Coach Glen Poland enters his fifth year at the helm of the Stags’ program with six returning starters among a senior-laden squad.

“The best thing about us is we play well together as a team,” Poland said. “Everyone gets along great.”

Senior Bob Krous returns as the No. 1 pitcher.

Andrew Helm is back behind the plate after starting there last year as a freshman.

Senior Todd Weger returns with a potent bat. Weger, who will bat third, hit at a .450 clip last season. He’ll start at second and also will see some action on the mound.

Senior cleanup hitter Trevor Baker returns at first base. Freshman Brad Martin will start at shortstop.

Seniors Tom Barclay and Clint Umbach return as starting outfielders. Umbach, who will bat leadoff, had a .650 on-base percentage last year.

Rounding out the starting lineup are third baseman Cody Ramsden and right fielder Eric Servatius.

Riverside thinking first

It’s a season of firsts for the Rams as they move up from the Northeast A League to the Frontier League behind first-year coach Dennis Schweitzer.

And the future looks bright.

“I’ve been very pleased with our kids and how hard they’ve worked,” he said. “We’ve got good speed in the outfield, and although we need to work on every phase of the game, I think, as the season progresses, we’ll improve.”

As it stands now, the Rams have just two returning starters. Junior Jesse Steele returns as the starting catcher, and senior Dalton Knapp will start once again in the outfield.

Juniors Joe Beckham and Tim Loosier have some varsity experience. Beckham is tabbed as the No. 1 pitcher and will also play in the outfield. Loosier will start at shortstop and also do some pitching.

Senior Joel Schurtz, who started at quarterback for Riverside’s football team, has turned out for baseball and has the skills to be an excellent player, according to Schweitzer.

Junior Sean DeLeo will hit first and play second base. Third baseman Tony Wilson, a junior, and sophomore first baseman Tim Hart round out the starting infield.

Junior Ryan Brumer and sophomore Jesse Lee are vying for the other outfield spot.

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