Two runs.
That was St. Michael-Albertville's margin of victory against the Brainerd Warriors in the 2015 Section 8-3A championship series. The Warriors lost 2-1 in nine innings and 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a bang-bang play at the plate.
Brainerd's road to another section final became bumpier in the offseason as four classes of competition were approved for the first time in Minnesota State High School League baseball history. The Warriors were assigned to Section 8-4A with Buffalo, Elk River, Maple Grove, Moorhead, Osseo, Rogers and St. Michael-Albertville.
---
Brainerd Warriors
ADVERTISEMENT
- Head coach: Lowell Scearcy, 47th year (3 at Verndale, 44 at Brainerd)
- Career record: 722-293 (.711)
- Record at Brainerd: 684-285 (.706)
- 2015 record: 13-6 CLC champion, 16-9 overall Section 8-3A runner-up
- Returning letterwinners: Jake Meyer, Tristan Brecht, Jaden Miller, Chris Pederson, Jack Geraets, Hanson Devine, Allen Jevning
- Captains: Jake Meyer, Tristan Brecht, Chris Pederson
- Assistant coaches: Keith Peterson (V), Jeff Howard (JV); Jay Sannes and Drew Boland (sophomores); Russ Wicklund and Eric Jobe (freshmen).
---
Brainerd will play 16 Central Lakes Conference games. Moorhead, Bemidji, STMA and Grand Rapids are the only non-conference teams on the schedule.
"We're tied into our conference and consequently our (section) seeding will be bad, but whatever," Warriors coach Lowell Scearcy said. "You've got to beat them all anyway (to advance to state)."
The Warriors return four of their top pitchers-all seniors-and three additional lettermen.
On the mound, Chris Pederson compiled a 4-0 mark in 44.1 innings. He struck out 20 and walked 14 with a 2.84 ERA. Jake Meyer was 2-4 with a 3.25 ERA, 21 strikeouts, 15 walks. Hanson Devine was 2-0 in 19.2 innings with 19 strikeouts, 10 bases on balls and 0.71 ERA. Jack Geraets was 3-0 in 12 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.
"Hanson Devine has looked very good," Scearcy said. "We had an intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday and Hanson looked good pitching and hitting. Jack Geraets is left-handed, which is always a good thing." Others vying for time on the bump include seniors CJ Wohl and Dylan Harbo and juniors Braydon Borg and Bryce Flanagan.
"Normally we use about eight pitchers a year and that's if our games pile up (due to postponements)," Scearcy said. "The last year I can remember where we went the whole year and never had a rainout I think was 1995 and four guys pitched every inning because that's just the way it happened. We never got any bad weather at all (that year). ... So if these seniors do a good job we're going to be a pretty good team again I think."
In the field, Meyer will patrol center field when not pitching. From the No. 2 slot, he led Brainerd in hitting with a .375 mark. He drove in 12 runs and walked 10 times and hit three doubles.
ADVERTISEMENT
Senior Tristan Brecht was a full-time starter last season in the infield and designated hitter. This year he will start at shortstop. Brecht batted .284 with 12 RBIs, seven doubles, a triple and home run. He also walked 15 times and was voted the team's most improved player.
Pederson, who will play right field when not pitching, made 23 plate appearances and drove in four runs and had a double.
Geraets, who will play left field when not pitching, Devine and catcher Allen Jevning batted a combined 18 times between them. Jevning takes over as the starting catcher after being a backup last season.
Senior second baseman Jaden Miller is one of three players who started part-time. He collected six hits in 17 at bats last season with three extra-base hits and four RBIs.
Scearcy has four additional seniors who are newcomers to the varsity after playing junior varsity baseball in 2015-infielders Dakota Guderjohn and Dyllan Vanek and Harbo and Wohl.
Juniors hoping to secure roster spots include catchers Mac Brink and Cole Kubesh, second baseman Will Peabody, Flanagan and Borg.
The Warriors, who started practice March 21, aren't scheduled to open the season until Tuesday, April 12, at Moorhead.
"Our first game is later, but our practice also started later," Scearcy said. "This year was the second year since I began coaching that we were outside for the first day of practice, but it's also true that it's probably the latest our practice ever started.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Consequently, getting pitchers ready to throw is a real problem unless they've been throwing 2-3 weeks ahead of time. You can't get pitchers ready to pitch in a game in a couple weeks. You go into the first few games having one kid pitch three innings, another kid pitch three innings. You're about two-thirds of the way through your season before a kid can go out there and pitch seven innings unless he's been pitching winter ball somewhere.
"Hopefully we have enough pitchers to get through the first 2-3 weeks of the season before kids are in midseason form."
After more than 30 years, Brainerd will have a new public address announcer this season. John Backlund, who died in December, announced baseball as well as several other Warrior sports. He will be replaced by Tim Peabody.
Scearcy and Backlund taught next to each other at the former Franklin and Washington junior high schools in Brainerd.
"John and I had been friends for a long time that had nothing to do with his announcing," Scearcy said. "The thing I remember most about Johnny is, first of all, there was nobody that ever said a bad word about him that I ever heard. Everybody liked Johnny.
"And he was always a guy you could count on. If we needed an extra eighth grade coach, for instance, and we couldn't find anybody, Johnny would do it.
"Being there every game, every year, doing the announcing for us, he left a big hole. ... I just can't say enough good things about Johnny. ... He was one of my favorite people."
ADVERTISEMENT
Warriors roster
• Seniors: Jake Meyer (P-OF), Tristan Brecht (SS), Jaden Miller (2B), Chris Pederson (P-OF), Jack Geraets (P-OF), Hanson Devine (P-INF), Allen Jevning (C), Dakota Guderjohn (INF), Dyllan Vanek (INF), Dylan Harbo (P-INF), CJ Wohl (P-INF)
• Juniors: Mac Brink (C), Cole Kubesh (C), Will Peabody (2B), Bryce Flanagan (1B-P), Braydon Borg (OF-P).
Warriors schedule
April 12, at Moorhead 6:30 p.m.
April 14, at Alexandria 5 p.m.
April 15, Bemidji 5 p.m.
ADVERTISEMENT
April 21, at Rocori 4 p.m. (2)
April 26, Sartell 5 p.m.
April 28, at Fergus Falls 5 p.m.
April 29, St. Cloud Tech 5 p.m.
May 3, at Sauk Rapids 4 p.m. (2)
May 6, St. Michael-Albertville 5 p.m.
May 10, at Willmar 4 p.m. (2)
May 12, at Grand Rapids 4:30 p.m.
ADVERTISEMENT
May 13, Alexandria 5 p.m.
May 17, at St. Cloud Tech 7 p.m.
May 19, at Sartell 5 p.m.
May 24, St. Cloud Apollo 4 p.m. (2)
May 26, Fergus Falls 5 p.m.
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5861. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bertsballpark .
