Ethan Nicodemus returns as the Wildcats top pitcher (2.37 ERA) and batter (.435 batting average) in 2014. (Photo provided)

SOUTH WHITLEY – The Whitko Wildcat baseball team is tired of waiting.

Sure, Mother Nature has deprived all local teams and athletes from getting on to the field this spring, so Whitko is not the only team that has had to wait it out. But just getting on the field is not the only thing the Wildcats have been waiting for, just ask head coach Erik Hisner.

“We want to win the first sectional championship in school history,” said Hisner about his team’s goal this season. “On paper, no, we are not the favorites in our conference or our sectional. However, championships are won on the field and we feel really good about the work and improvements many of our players have already made in both off-season and preseason.”

Maybe it seems like aiming too high for a team returning just seven letter-winners, but five of those were starters for a squad that went 20-9 overall and 4-3 in the Three Rivers Conference. The big hit the Wildcats are really taking is on the mound.

Whitko lost three of its top four pitchers from 2013 to graduation, leaving Ethan Nicodemus as the staff’s ace for this season. Nicodemus appeared in 41 and a third innings last season and had a 2.37 ERA to give him a 4-3 record in 2013. Tanner Gaff (1-1 in 2013) Zach Snep (3-0) and Avery Robbins (1-1) will help to solidify the starting rotation for the Wildcats. Hisner expects to see Tanner Hughes, Seth Patrick and Garrett Smiley as the main support from the bullpen.

Head coach Erik Hisner can breathe a little easier knowing the solid wall that is Wildcat senior Seth Patrick will be sitting behind home plate for Whitko in 2014. Patrick allowed just seven passed balls in 2013. (Photo provided)

One strength Hisner knows he has for this season is his senior class. There are seven seniors on the 15-man roster this year, and the group has given the team three captains (Nicodemus, Patrick and Robbins) that have been a big boost so far in the off-season.

“All three of our captains have done a great job, so far,” Hisner said. “They’ve done a great job stepping up and accepting their leadership roles. They know what we want from them, they have all lettered their first three years in the program.”

Patrick will reprise his role as the team’s starting catcher after winning the job last season. Hisner pointed out the young man’s defensive success in his junior campaign as he threw out 28-percent of attempted steals and allowed just seven passed balls.

In addition to being the team’s projected top two pitchers, Nicodemus and Gaff will both get a heavy dose of time at shortstop. Robbins will help either turn the double play as he will start at second. As a freshman Hunter Sroufe started in right field for the Wildcats, this season the sophomore is expected to start at first base. Hughes and Smiley will be the two main players seeing time at third.

In the outfield only one starter will return in Snep who will be back in centerfield for Whitko. Outside of Snep, it could be a mixed bag our players seeing time in the outfield but Hisner expects freshman Alex Bechtold to hold down right field while senior Jared Craft will compete with sophomore Brady Weeks for the left field starting spot.

Avery Robbins is one of Whitko’s three senior captains looking to lead the Wildcats to a sectional championship. (Photo provided)

Offensively it’s Nicodemus that returns as the team’s big bat, driving in 35 RBI’s in 2013 with an batting average of .435. The Wildcats averaged nearly eight runs per game last season, but just under five per game in TRC contests.

This season the TRC crown should go to either Wabash or Rochester. Those teams coupled with Southwood and an always competitive Tippecaneo Valley program make the TRC very tough once again.

But the sectional is Whitko’s main focus as the school moves back into its old alignment in Sectional 21 and will host the tournament this season. Other teams competing in the sectional are Fairfield, Lakeland, NorthWood, Valley, West Noble and Wawasee.

In 2013 the Wildcats produced a 2-1 record against teams in this year’s sectional with wins over West Noble and Wawasee. This season Whitko will get an early look at four potential sectional opponents with contests against Wawasee (4/15), West Noble (4/21), Lakeland (4/25) and Valley (5/5). Whitko’s regular season starts Monday, March 31 at New Haven with a 5 p.m. start.

Hisner knows hosting a sectional is a lot of work and feels the added attentions to detail and work that his team has to put in over the tournament weekend will wash out the home field advantage. But the coach and his team still have their eyes set on coming away champions when all is said and done that week.

“Our first week of practice may have been the best first week of practice in my eight years here at Whitko,” stated Hisner. “The kids are working hard and taking ownership in their preparing. If we continue to get better each practice and game, we feel we have the potential to surprise some people and compete for a sectional championship.”

Triton Hoping To Flip The Table

Speaking of teams that are tired of waiting.

For the past three seasons, the Triton Trojan baseball team has found itself on the brink of postseason glory, only to be denied sectional immortality at the last possible stage.

For three consecutive years the Trojans have been handed the game ball for being sectional runners-up and have watched teams like South Central (2012) and Culver (2013) walk away with the sectional championship trophy. This year the Trojans are hoping to reverse the roles and claim the school’s fourth sectional title and first since 2008.

Rodney Younis returns as head coach for the Trojans after going 13-15 last season. The Trojans will be led by five seniors on the varsity roster and receive a nice boost from a large crop of juniors, seven to be exact.

Cole Creighbaum, Ben Perkins, Seth Flenar, Gunner Golden and Jayden Mosier represent the senior class on the varsity roster while Merlin Schaefer will split time between the JV and varsity teams for the season. Landon Kaufman and Grant Stichter will be two of the top players from the junior class while underclassmen Zac Pitney and Nathan Flenar will provide depth for the Trojans.

Triton’s season starts on Thursday, April 3 at NorthWood High School with first pitch coming at approximately 5 p.m. The Trojans home opener will not be until Friday April 18 when Concord comes to Ken Keller Field for a 5 p.m. start.

The Trojans will compete in the Culver Sectional from May 29 through June 2 at Culver Community High School.

For a complete preview of the Warsaw Tiger baseball team, click this link.

For a complete preview of the Wawasee Warrior baseball team, click this link.