College baseball: Ridgewater expects to be better

WILLMAR — The Achilles’ heel on the 2024 Ridgewater baseball team was pitching. While the Warriors mashed offensively, they had an 8.58 team earned-run average. That will be better in 2025.

“We’re hoping this year and actually we’re looking at it as a strength on our team, will be the pitching staff,” Ridgewater head coach Tyler Hebrink said. “We feel really good about our top eight arms.”

The potential pitching depth will be tested immediately. Ridgewater, 17-18 last season including a 1-2 record in Region 13 play, began the 2025 season Friday with its annual southern trip. The Warriors have nine games scheduled over seven days in Winter Haven, Florida. Included are games against former NCJAA Division III national champion Oakton Community College of Des Plaines, Illinois, and Kirkwood Community College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Eagles are ranked seventh nationally in NJCAA Division II.

“Last year, we could score 10 runs off anybody,” said Hebrink, who is in his fourth season as Ridgewater’s head coach. “But we could give up 11 to almost anybody.”

Hebrink’s optimism on the mound begins with two holdovers from last year’s starting rotation, Brock Davis and Gabe Rohman. Davis, a left-hander from New Prague, pitched 23-2/3 innings. Rohman, a right-hander from New London-Spicer, tossed 18-2/3 innings. Also back is Blake Siegle, a right-hander from Waconia who has been named a team captain and is “signficantly improved” from last season, Hebrink said.

Newcomers to watch pitching-wise include Dominic Rose, a right-hander from Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop who figures to be one of the Warriors’ top starters. Brandon Carlson, a left-hander from Paynesville, and Ben Heuer, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Norwood Young America, figure to be in the mix.

Other pitchers include right-handers Drew Almich from Yellow Medicine East, Brennan Fictum, from Wausau, Wisconsin, Blake Thompson, from Dawson-Boyd, and Evan Zimmer of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg.

Nolan Eischens, one of the best junior college players in the state, also is back after finishing second in the nation in hitting. He also pitched 13-2/3 innings last year. The sophomore from New Prague will play shortstop after batting .471 with a .581 on-base percentage and a .618 slugging percentage. He had two home runs and nine doubles with 33 RBIs in ’24 for a team whose slash line was .329/459/.458. Hebrink said Eischens is receiving four-year college recruiting interest, mostly from NCAA Division II schools.

Also back are All-Minnesota College Athletic Conference selections Max Athmann and Andrew Prieve. Athmann, a sophomore from Paynesville, will play second and short. He batted .337/.419/495 with two homers, six doubles and three triples, including 31 runs scored and 21 RBI. Prieve, a sophomore left fielder from Hutchinson who also can pitch, batted .358/.448/.500 with a home run, eight doubles, two triples and 28 RBIs.

Brady Perleberg, a sophomore from Brandon-Evansville expected to start at second, batted .273/.377/.349 with a home run and 11 RBI in 66 at-bats.

Mason Macziewski, a sophomore from Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted who also pitches, is expected to start at catcher after missing a good chunk of the 2024 season with an injury. He batted .269/.444/.308 with six RBIs. Garrett Kelly, a freshman from Dassel-Cokato, is also expected to see a lot of playing time at catcher.

Luke Jeseritz, a freshman from KMS, Fictum and Thompson figure to see playing time in the infield with Cael Nelson, a freshman from Hutchinson, and Blake Morris, a freshman from Dassel-Cokato, seeing most of the playing time at third.

Elliot Domagala, a freshman from Luverne, figures to start at center field.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if, by the end of the year, he’s one of our top hitters,” Hebrink said.

Also expected to see time in the outfield are Jayce Olthoff, a freshman from Dassel-Cokato, Sergio Fernandez, a sophomore from Willmar, Carlson and Rohman.

It’s a 25-man roster, perhaps the Warriors’ largest under Hebrink. All will have a role.

“We’re anxious to get going,” said Hebrink, who noted fall practice game in early September. After a December break around the holidays, the team has been practicing hard since January.

“It’s like I’ve been telling the guys,” Hebrink said. “There’s nothing more we can do from a practice standpoint. We’re ready to go and we’ve ready to go for a couple of weeks.”

Ridgewater opens its local schedule April 2 at Riverland Community College in Austin, weather permitting. The home opener is April 5 vs. St. Cloud Technical & Community College, which like Alexandria Tech, will be one of the Warriors’ top opponents in the MCAC Central Division.