Raiders return to Breitlow
As the school year comes to a close and the summer weather returns, the baseball diamonds open up. The Wauwatosa East High School baseball season is underway and the team’s outlook on the season is optimistic and promising.
The team is coming off of a rocky season and looking to make improvements to finish with a solid record and a better standing in the conference.
The team is coached by Head Coach Matt Dalstrom and Assistant Coaches Dave Michna and Brian Karas. The coaches are optimistic about this season. Karas says, “Comparing last year’s roster with this year’s roster, I think we have a much more solid team from top to bottom.”
Karas and senior Matt Wulff agreed that the team’s strengths are in hitting, varsity experience and team chemistry. Senior captain Brian Schneider asserts that the team chemistry will be even stronger this year.
The team has quite a few seniors this year. The captains are Schneider, seniors Dan Sayles, Alex Halverson and Tyler O’Brien. Seniors Brady Starnes, Justin Dobbe, Kevin Leon, Ethan Harris, and Wulff further enhance the leadership and varsity experience on the team. The size of the senior group is unusual for the program, but there is plenty of talent on the team.
The crew lost a few key players last year including infielder Brian Shank and pitcher Eric Woodward. Members of the team will have to step up to replace these players this year, which is something that the team seems ready to do.
One of their weaknesses last year was pitching depth, but the team is equipped to change that. The addition of Harris and junior Will Wesley this year has added strength to the position. Sayles and Halverson are returning players with strong pitching skills as well.
The team has high expectations for a successful team this year. Karas expects “to see [the team] play hard, smart baseball every time [they] step onto the diamond. If [they] do that, [the team] should be successful over the course of a long season.” Wulff says the team is looking for more wins this year and he and Schneider would both like to see the team finish in the top half of the conference.
The structure of the team’s conference has changed this year. They have always been a part of the Greater Metro Conference, but the conference used to be divided into the Northern and Southern Divisions, East being part of the Northern. This year, South Milwaukee High School left the conference and the two divisions have been combined into a single group.
The conference is a strong one and has become even tougher now that the divisions are combined. The conference includes Menomonee Falls High School, Marquette University High School, and Brookfield Central High School. The team must be able to win against them at least once, in order to place well in the conference.
With two victories on Saturday, May 22 over West Allis Central and Waukesha North High School, the team is off to a good start. They have not faced their toughest competition yet, but the team has been preparing.
Open gyms were held starting in February before school on Tuesdays and before and after school on Thursdays. These were open to anyone interested in playing baseball and provided valuable opportunities for the team to continue hitting and ready to get in shape.
This year, the team will be facing Wauwatosa West for the first time in seven years on Saturday, June 26 at Brietlow Field. The proceeds of the game will benefit the Coach Mike Landisch Fund. Additionally, they will be travelling up north to play against Pius High School and Nathan Hale High School at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The team has a long and promising season ahead of them. With strong leadership and extensive varsity experience, the team is sure to do well.