Coach: Scott Gelwicks (7th Year with Nooksack Valley, 54-86 record)
Home Field: Nooksack Valley High School
Last Season: 10-13 (4-9 Conference)
Key Losses: 1B Kirk Veldman (.318 AVG, .455 OBP, 8 RBI 8 R), 2B Tyler Weed (.283 AVG, .419 OBP, 17 R, 5 SB), 3B/C Casey Bauman (.280 AVG, .368 OBP, 4 2B, 9 R, 6 RBI), OF Koert Weidkamp (.280 AVG, .368 OBP, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 2B), P/IF Kyle Veldman (38 IP, 45 K’s, .345 OBP, 4 RBI), C/OF Austin O’Bryan (.295 AVG, .368 OBP, 19 RBI, 7 2B, 1 HR, 13 R, 8 SB), IF/OF Ty Rawls (.286 AVG, .364 OBP, 9 R, 6 SB).
Top Returnees: P/SS Evan Neitling, P/1B Easton Zylstra, OF Trey Eshuis, 3B Zach Johnson, C/P Levi DeWeber, OF Devin Lackey, SS/2B Keldon Weidkamp.
Pitchers and Catchers: Senior Evan Neitling and junior Easton Zylstra give the Pioneers one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the Northwest Conference. Neitling went 4-3 last season, with a save. He also struck out 34 batters in 30 innings while posting a 3.19 ERA. Zylstra is big and powerful. At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, he went 3-3 last season and struck out 35 batters with a 2.58 ERA. They each have a good deal of varsity experience on the mound. Juniors Levi DeWeber and Zach Johnson are in competition for the third spot in the rotation. DeWeber will begin the season behind the plate, and he has impressed Coach Gelwicks.
Infield: Neitling (.306 AVG, four doubles, one triple, 11 SB and 9 RBI) and Zylstra (.298 OBP, 2 2B, 5 RBI) lead the infield as well, at shortstop and first base, respectively. Johnson seems to have the nod at third base, and could get some time at first base as well. Junior Keldon Weidkamp will miss the first few weeks of the season, but will take over in the middle of the infield when he returns. Nooksack Valley also has a strong crop of freshman players that could see time in the infield Dawson Kimball and Collin Averill.
Outfield: Seniors Trey Eshuis and Devin Lackey will lead the Pioneer outfield, and they could be joined by either Kimball or Averill. There are spots around the diamond that could be won during practice, and there are many young Pioneers that are hungry to get their chance.
Final Analysis: The numbers are down a little bit for Nooksack Valley this season, but the pitching of Neitling and Zylstra will keep them in games. Losing major offensive contributors from last season will hurt, and finding ways to score runs could be difficult. The Pioneers may need to rely on small-ball as well as some younger players that haven’t played varsity baseball.
Tyler’s Predicted Lineup:
- Evan Neitling
- Devin Lackey
- Easton Zylstra
- Levi DeWebber
- Zach Johnson
- Trey Eshuis
- Keldon Weidkamp
- Dawson Kimball
- Collin Averill
