Friday, June 5, 2009 11:17 PM CDT
Young Stew-Stras team wins 2 of first 3
By MIKE MONAHAN, Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
STRASBURG -- Stewardson-Strasburg American Legion Post 611-289 baseball team enters today’s doubleheader at Grimes Field against Mattoon’s Post 88 with a 2-1 record.
Stew-Stras is coached by Frank Brandt, who replaces Don Wetherell. Post 611-289 was 13-13 last season and lost many players from that team including Phil Wetherell, who completed his first year at Kaskaskia College as well as Warren Beals, a 2007 Stew-Stras grad who is at Millikin and 2007 Stew-Stras grad Conrad Widdersheim, who is at Greenville College as well as Olney Central’s Colton Booher (2008 St. Elmo grad) and Lake Land’s Wade Burch (2008 Okaw Valley grad).
The team consists of eight players from Stewardson-Strasburg, one from Windsor, two from Altamont and three from Beecher City.
“We are a fairly young team with seven players that are going to be juniors, six to be seniors and one going on to college,” said Brandt, who has served as an assistant coach for the Stew-Stras high school team under Mark Wascher for the past nine years.
Dave Mechling is the general manager, while last year’s assistant coach Rick Wallace returns. Jesse Brandt, a 2007 graduate of Stew-Stras, who played baseball at Lake Land, is an assistant coach.
First team all-National Trail Conference player Jaden Widdersheim of Stew-Stras returns. During the high school season Widdersheim was 2-3 on the mound with a 2.50 earned run average wit 50 strikeouts in 42 innings. Offensively, the senior to be hit .412 and led the 15-9 team with 45 runs batted in and eight home runs.
Luke Rincker is another Comet returning from last year’s legion team. For the high school squad he was 3-2 with a 3.19 earned run average and at the plate led the team with a .463 batting average with 16 RBIs.
Post 611-289 had plenty of offense as Clayton Brandt hit .380, Steven Thomas .395 with six home runs; Kyle Helmuth .311 and Gabe Wascher .308.
Lucas Helton was 1-1 on the mound with a 3.23 earned run average and hit .254, while Helmuth also pitched in five games and had a 1.11 earned run average. Justin Mechling was 5-2 for the Comets with a 1.65 earned run average with 27 strikeouts and only five walks.
Windsor’s Brian Tucker hit .364 for the 11-9 Blue Devils.
“Luke Rincker, Steven Thomas and Jaden Widdersheim all hit over .400,” said coach Brandt. “However, they are facing tougher pitchers and that makes it more of a challenge to them.”
Brandt said on the mound Widdersheim is the go to guy with Brian Suckow (Altamont) and Luke Levitt (Beecher City) right there also.
Post 611-289 has plenty of infielders according to Brandt.
“We are blessed with a lot of infielders,” said Brandt. “We have a lot of shortstops. Some, including Brian Suckow, have moved positions. Suckow is at first. Our defense should be pretty solid.”
Stew-Stras beat Mahomet 3-1 last Tuesday in a game shortened to six innings due to rain, which also wiped out the scheduled second game. The season began with a split with Champaign.
“Being a young team in order to keep in the games we have to have timely hits, make plays in the field and have good pitching in order to be competitive,” said Brandt. “If we don’t do those things it will be tough for us with our youth.”
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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