APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University baseball team has multiple questions heading into this season, but head coach Jason Anderson thinks his Vikings may have a few answers as well.
“Our leadership is very strong even though we have a young team,” Anderson said. “The intensity level and focus at practice is been as high as we’ve ever had it. I’m excited to see us play.”
Anderson doesn’t have much longer to wait as Lawrence opens its season on Saturday with four games in Jacksonville, Ill. The Vikings face North Central College, Carleton College and Elmhurst College this weekend on the turf at Lenz Field.
Lawrence lost a plethora of experienced arms, including pitchers with the top five earned run averages on the team. The cupboard isn’t exactly bare as Lawrence returners are led by All-Midwest Conference third baseman/pitcher Matthew Holliday and captains Brandon Klar and Travis Weber.
“Those guys (Klar and Weber) have really set the tone for the year,” Anderson said. “They work well with each other, and they are on the same page virtually 100 percent of the time.”
Holliday made five starts on the mound last season and hit .355 with a school-record 16 doubles to go with a homer and 35 runs batted in. Holliday is joined on the infield by Klar, Anthony Ortiz and Weber.
Klar, who hit .237 last season, played at second base and in the outfield, and Ortiz, a .235 hitter as a rookie last season, played both shortstop and second base. Weber started nearly every game behind the plate and hit .229 as a freshman in 2015. Look for rookie Nolan Spencer to make a big impact on the infield as well.
The Vikings lost slugging first baseman Luke Zablocki to graduation, but a pair of newcomers, Appleton natives Dan Rothbauer and Cole Erickson, will slide into that position. Both are Lawrence football players and decided not to take on a second sport as freshmen in 2014-15. Rothbauer also will be a mainstay of the rotation and can play the outfield.
“Dan was one of our top football and baseball recruits last year, but he really wanted to focus on academics,” Anderson said. “I expect him to bat in the middle of the order and be one of our top pitchers. He will move all over the diamond and do it well.”
Erickson, who was Rothbauer’s prep teammate at Appleton North High School, gives the Vikings some variety in the lineup.
“Cole’s our only left-handed bat on the roster,” Anderson said. “He’s making faster progress than I expected given the fact he had taken a year off.”
The Vikings lost all-conference and All-Central Region outfielder Jake Gordon to graduation, but sophomore Carl Olsen is back and joined by newcomers Dante Reese and Andrew Lauber.
While the Vikings look to be solid with their position players, their success will hinge on the young pitching. To go with Rothbauer and Holliday, the Vikings have returners Zach Rabideau, Kyle Duex, Cullen Ellis and Craig Batchelor. The Vikings also have the intriguing prospect of 6-foot-7 sophomore southpaw Chris Shaw and righties Adam McDonald and Cam Boerm, who are all new to the squad.
“Our pitching has shown to be a little better than I expected at this point in the year,” said Anderson. “We’ll see if we can continue to improve on that.”
The Vikings, who have a roster of just 17, get a tough test to start the campaign. Lawrence could see North Central’s All-America pitcher, Bryan Polowy, in the season opener.
“We play a pretty tough first four games. We’ll find out exactly where we are right off the bat,” Anderson said.
“This group will play hard and play with passion. Frankly, they’re a fun group to be around. It looks like we’re thin in numbers, but we’re as deep or deeper talent-wise than we’ve been.”