(Audubon) Audubon has the pieces in place to field a contending baseball team this season.
With plenty of key personnel returning, coach Matt Wilder is looking forward to the opportunities for his squad this summer. “I’m really excited about it. We have a good core group of guys that are back. We did lose a little bit from last year, but I think the talent we have coming back and the upperclassmen that we have, we have a really good solid group so I’m really excited about it.”
Coach Wilder comments on the returning starters. “We have the Klocke twins we have Ethan and Joel back. We have Gavin Smith, Braden Wessel, Aiden Alt, we have Teddy DuVall as another senior that’s going to step in and play a big role for us this year.” Wilder says, “We have a few new faces to the lineup, but I think overall we are pretty solid 1-9 when we go out there.”
Pitching was a strength last year and it’s another area of depth this season. “I think we have a good 1-2 punch with Joel Klocke and Gavin Smith. We have a lot of guys that can throw it. Braden Wessel will see some innings, Teddy DuVall will see some innings, Aiden Alt is going to pitch. Even Cooper and Gavin Larsen could see some innings too. We have a lot of guys that can throw it. I feel comfortable with all seven of them on the mound. For our younger guys it’s going to be a matter of making sure we can throw strikes.”
Tyler Rugaard, Alex Foran, Cooper Nielsen, and Gavin Larsen are all expanding their roles this season. Coach Wilder says he feels very comfortable with where the young players are at in their development.
