Fair / 66° F
Expectations are high for Spartans
Published 10:21am Friday, March 8, 2013The Fergus Falls Spartan baseball team is getting ready to travel to Florida Thursday in order to kick off their season Friday against Erie Community College.
The Spartans are led by Jarrod Asmus, who is entering his fourth year as head coach, and assistant coaches Jake Erickson and Justin Arneson. M State was able to have a strong Florida outing last season, where they only lost two games out of nine games. This strong start jump started the Spartans 31-6 season, the best record in school history.
Following last season’s success, expectations are high for the Spartans. “I expect to be one of the best teams in the state,” said sophomore catcher Ryan Beyer. “And I feel like we have a good chance to make it to nationals. It will definitely help having people with game experience who know what to expect during the year.”
The Spartans will return sophomores Andrew Brooks, Dylan DeJong, Chris Curry, Brady Paul, Matt Brower, Dylan Deavy, and captains Ryan Beyer and Riley Wilson. Additional sophomores joining the squad are Alex Erickson and Jake Tharldson, who transferred to M State after attending Mankato State and Southwest Minnesota State, respectively.
Incoming freshman will be asked to play a big role early for the Spartans. Fergus Falls High School graduate Peter Gaustad will play a key part to the Spartans success along with freshman Matt Bergman, Cole Easley, Wendlin Berger, Zach Steckler, Chris Beach, Kyle Singer, Luke Schwarz, Brady Weller, Cory Odland, Austin Host, and Tyler Larson.
“The team has bonded very well in the first month of practice,” said third baseman Riley Wilson, “And we have a great group of guys to win a lot of ball games this year.”
Pitching will be strong once again for the Spartans. Dylan Deavy and Matt Brower had a combined record of 7-2 last season, and look to carry over the success to this season.
Also getting significant time on the mound will be Host, Erickson, Gaustad, Steckler, Beach, Singer, Schwarz, Weller, and Larson.
The Spartans will take on Erie CC in a double-header beginning at 5 p.m.
