ASHLAND, Wis.--- Northland College Baseball returns to the field this week with goals of getting back to the postseason after a three-year drought. Head Coach Jeremy Snow, entering his second season, is eager to get his team on the field after a busy off-season. "We had a very productive fall segment, a fantastic offseason, and a focused preseason thus far," commented Snow. "The work ethic of this team, from day one of the fall, has been fun to be around and the players are seeing big gains in their performance thanks to our training strategies."
The LumberJacks are coming off a 6-25 record from a season ago and haven't been to the postseason since 2018. "The goal all year has been to elevate our competitiveness," says Snow. "We brought in a large class of new players to provide daily competition and accountability. The players have been focused on the playoffs all year, but our emphasis has to remain one game at a time. It's a long season and with a young group we have to learn how to win first."
The pitching staff will be mostly new this season with several familiar faces mixed in. Seniors Jesse Carmona (Tucson, Ariz.) and Seth Hackbarth (Ixonia, Wis.) both return to the starting rotation, where they will be joined by newcomers Zack Nelson (Burnsville, Minn.), Anthony Boyle (Celina, Tex.) and Christian Goodson (St. Louis, Mo.). Nelson, a junior college transfer from Mesabi Range College, will get the first crack to join the weekend rotation with the other two freshmen getting the midweek games. The bullpen will feature freshman Claudio Aguilar (Tulare, Calif.), Matt Traeger (Bradenton, Fla.) and Peyton Solberg (Bessemer, Mich.) in higher leverage situations. Manning the mid-relief duties will fall on Vinny Troccoli (Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo.), Austin Tellefsen (Skokie, Ill.) and a handful of position players.
"There are many new faces within the pitching staff this season," stated Snow. "They have worked extremely hard within our revamped training to prepare for this season. We will do a lot of games by committee early in the year as we keep building up endurance. I believe that will allow the young guys to gain experience without overloading them with pressure situations."
Catching will, also, feature a mix of experience this season. Sophomores Matt Simpson (Ladysmith, BC) and Zach Ross (Portland, Ore.) both return after splitting the duties a year ago. Both players gained a lot of experience at the plate in their first campaigns as well. Joining the pair is newcomer Jay Harris (Byron, Mich.), who will compete for time early in the season and allow for a rotation to keep everyone fresh.
"Catching is such a vital position and we are lucky to have three guys that all bring something different to the lineup," said Snow. "Simpson and Ross spent a lot of time in the middle of the order as freshman and that experience will be huge for a lineup featuring five or six new players a majority of the time. Harris may be the best defensive catcher out of the bunch and he will push to get in the lineup quickly."
Around the horn will have a very new look this year. Junior Keaton Arreazola (Janesville, Wis.) will be the only returning infielder in the opening day lineup, but he will be moving to the other side of the field to man shortstop. He will look to lead an inexperienced group that will include Boyle, Goodson and Nelson in two-way roles, as well as Ridge Guyette (Hilbert, Wis.) and Parker Williams (Georgetown, Tex.). Junior transfer Maks Onyx (St. Augustine, Fla.) and freshman Luke Maxwell (St. Louis, Mich.), Blake Richard (Park Falls, Wis.) and Elijah Myers (Maplewood, Minn.) will all factor in to the infield this season.
"The infield is an exciting group," shared Snow. "Any time we do something this season there's a strong possibility it is the first time at the collegiate level that this group has done something. We will have some moving parts with several infielders also pitching. We have to get on a field to smooth out some things that cannot be simulated indoors, but I am confident in the collective athleticism this group has to move their feet, pick the right hops and play good catch."
The outfield consists of some much-needed new depth and competition. Seniors Jake Schramm (Kaukauna, Wis.) and Garrett Warren (Franktown, Colo.) will get the first crack at Left and Center respectively. Eager to take the third starting spot and push into the playing time mix will be junior colleg transfer Hunter Wicklund (Brainerd, Minn.), as well as freshman Ben Thompson (Madison, Wis.), Isaac Voelker-Morris (Eugene, Ore.) and Solberg. Sophomore Vinny Troccoli will, also, be in the mix in the outfield as well as designated hitter.
"The outfield defense is an area we have to improve on from last year," commented Snow. "We wanted to bring in a talented group to challenge the returners and compete for open at bats. The new guys came in with a hunger to play and a work ethic to match. I believe that level of competition, not only elevated our returners to be better, but has made the starting decisions very tough on the coaching staff."
The offense was a strength of last year's team and the loss of several key members of the lineup was hard to replace, but the LumberJacks are confident in their ability to be even better this year.
"We have the opportunity to be more dynamic this year," said Snow. "Our offense was a bit one-dimensional last season. I believe we are a more athletic lineup this year that can create run scoring opportunities more often. I am excited to see a lot of players collect their first hits, or first RBIs, but I am even more excited to see what happens to our offense after we get those things out of the way."
The season begins March 2^nd with a doubleheader vs. Augusburg University. First pitch is set for 9:30 PM at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.