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Craig baseball team looks to step up in Big Eight

JANESVILLE — The Big Eight Conference schedule-makers didn’t do Janesville Craig High School’s baseball team any favors.

Craig opens the season on the road Tuesday against defending c hampion Middleton—the state’s No. 1 ranked team in the preseason poll. The Cougars follow that up with a trip to Madison Memorial on Thursday. The Spartans have played in the WIAA state tournament the last three years, including a runner-up finish in 2007.

But Craig coach Vic Herbst said a closer look at the schedule reveals an interesting twist. The Cougars hit a stretch late in the season where they play nine of 10 games at Riverside Park.

“I look at our schedule, and to be honest, I’m kind of glad we’re starting with Middleton,” Herbst said. “You know they’re going to have a good team by the end of the year, but at this time of the year, the chances are that they aren’t any farther ahead or more polished than we are.

“And with those nine games out of 10 at Riverside Park during the year, if things are going in the right direction, we could really put ourselves in a great spot.”

The Cougars finished 11-11 a year ago and return six starters, including first-team all-conference selection Ben Yaucher. The senior will start in right field andl be the No. 2 starter on the mound behind Trevor Foss. Yaucher already has signed to play baseball next year at Iowa Western Community College and is a three-year starter for Herbst.

“Ben’s a baseball junkie,” Herbst said. “He’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done, and he leads by example.

“He hasn’t pitched a lot at the varsity level, but I think he’s going to surprise some people. He’s got a live arm, and he throws hard. Plus, he’s lefthanded. I think with Trevor and Ben, we’re going to have two quality starters.”

Foss was limited last year because of arm troubles, but is at full strength heading into this season. The senior righthander, according to Herbst, has been throwing in the upper 80s consistently and is being looked at by a number of Division I schools.

Junior Brett Fredricks is the likely No. 3 starter, while starting center fielder Cory Miller could be used in a closer role.

The Cougars will be solid up the middle. Senior Kaleb Eichman returns at catcher after earning all-conference honorable mention a year ago. He had the second highest batting average on the team in 2007, and according to Herbst, is underrated defensively.

“I think we have the best catcher in the league,” Herbst said of Eichman. “Kaleb’s really started to understand the game and how to call pitches.”

At shortstop, Zach Bayreuther is back after also being all-conference honorable mention in 2007. Bayreuther missed the last part of the Janesville Bluebirds’ hockey season due to mononucleosis, but Herbst said the junior is back to nearly 100 percent.

“We haven’t had to hold Zach back in any of our drills,” Herbst said. “We brought him up last year as a sophomore out of necessity, and he was really impressive.”

The starting spot in left field is a four-man race between juniors Nick Weber and Keith Wright, as well as seniors J.R. Negus and Zach McKee.

All four starters are back in the infield. Senior Jason Knott will start at third, Bayreuther at short, Foss at second and junior Dylan Grall at first.

When Foss is pitching, Sevy Stavn, Fredricks or J.T. McCrone can play second. Ben Olin is the back up at third, and Derek Mussey is working behind Eichman. Senior Mike Nagy could also be used at first base or as a designated hitter, and junior Zach Whalen is also expected to DH at times.

Herbst hopes that Foss and Yaucher can give the team as many quality starts as Tanner Davis and Pete Loizzo did a year ago. If Craig’s pitching is consistent, and the Cougars can score enough runs, Herbst likes his eam’s chances.

“I think we can be a wild card in the race,” Herbst said of the Big Eight season. “This is the best-hitting team I’ve had.”

Craig’s schedule:

Home games at Riverside Park

(5 p.m. unless indicated)

APRIL: 1—At Middleton; 3—At Madison Memorial; 4—Waunakee; 7—Janesville Parker; 9—Madison West; 11—At Sun Prairie; 15—At Madison East; 17—Madison La Follette; x18—At Milton, 4:30 p.m.; x21—Lake Geneva Badger, 4:30 p.m.; 24—Middleton; 29—Madison Memorial.

MAY: 3—Beloit Memorial (DH), 11 a.m.; 6—At Janesville Parker; 8—At Madison West; x12—Fort Atkinson, 4:30 p.m.; 13—Sun Prairie; 15—Madison East; 20—At Madison La Follette.

x—Nonconference