The baseball team is looking brand new this year after losing almost their whole team due to them graduating. This year’s team will feature seniors Drew Charney, Marcus Champagne and Will Tomanek. They will be looking to bounce back after losing to St. Louis Park in the section finals last year.

“Last year we were in a similar situation as we are in right now,” Charney said. “Lots of starters from last year are gone and a lot is unknown, but we finished 21-5 last year and had the best offense in the state.”

The team lost seven seniors who moved on to play at Division I or Division II schools. Most notably Maddox Mihalakis, who is playing baseball at the University of Arizona and looking to help them win the NCAA championship this year. Brock Zimmer, Paul Safranski and Gabe Olson are all attending Division II Upper Iowa University, looking to revamp the program.

With the departure of all the seniors, Charney is ready to start taking on the role of leading the Royals to state. 

“All the guys really get along and we all have the same goal of winning our section and going to state, so I think we will surprise a lot of people this season,” Charney said.

Charney recently committed to Butler University to continue his baseball career, however he is not the only one who has committed to play ball at the next level. Champagne will join Zimmer, Safranski and Olson at Upper Iowa University. And Tomanek will continue his career at Luther College, a Division III school. 

The Royals look to build on last season and win the Lake Conference for the second straight year with the goal of making it to state. With all the upcoming talent, they look as though they are the favorites to win the Lake Conference again this year. 

The team’s pitching is looking much improved as Olin Lynse, junior, will lead the way after being a big contributor last year. Elijah Stewart, junior, is looking to burst onto the scene as a powerful presence at the plate after a successful sophomore season.

The boys plan to kick off their season this year on April 10 barring any weather setbacks.