The varsity baseball team includes, in front, from left, Coach Adam Matuszak, David Deggelman, Tyler Holly, Colton Holly, T.J. Sipe, Coach Kyle Dziedzic and Coach Leon Olson. In back are Head Coach Matt Matuszak, Brock Cota, Jamie Steinbacher, Levi Marchb

The combined junior varsity one and two baseball teams include, in front, from left, Coach Chris Miner, Trever Olson, Nate Melcher, Justin Rice, Drayson Scott, Kory VanDeusen and Coach Leon Olson. In back are Coch Kyle Dziedzic, Jeremy White, Josh Wooley,

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With a deep, senior-laden group of experienced players ready to take the field, the Huskies are looking for all the marbles this year in boys baseball.

They are in their third week of practice, and basketball players are just arriving, said Coach Matt Matuszak.

Brock Cota and Levi Marchbanks were both at practice Monday, and Gavin Kauffman was expected on Tuesday.

“Our first game is Tuesday at Elmira, so we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Matuszak said. His goal is to get everyone up to speed with the new program by the Huskies’ first league game on April 1 against Newport.

Returning seniors include Cota, Marchbanks, Andrew Winslow, J.P. Williams, Jamie Steinbacher, T.J. Sipe, Chris Lovik and Tyler Holly. Kauffman is the only returning junior.

New to the varsity are juniors Zach Miller and David Deggelman and freshman Colton Holly.

The Huskies finished 13-12 last season, including their loss in the first round of state playoffs.

They return with a lot of experience, Matuszak said. “We have a lot of great kids, great role models, great leaders. We just have a lot of kids who are great people.”

They are generally the kinds of students who maintain 4.0 GPAs, and he doesn’t have to worry about whether they will show up to practice or discipline problems.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who are skilled,” he said. “We’re returning the majority of our pitching staff, the majority of our team.”
The Huskies have a core group of talent with players who can fill multiple spots, he said. “It’s a competition every single day for a spot, for playing time. We have so much talent that nobody’s so set in stone that they don’t have somebody chasing them.”

Kauffman is the presumptive leader of the pitching staff, Matuszak said. Sipe brings experience and has improved in the off season. Marchbanks and Williams also return, and Miller will round out the pitchers.

Marchbanks returns at catcher, Matuszak said. He is solid fundamentally. “He’s made a lot of strides in other sports. I’m really excited about seeing him in the backstop leading the defense from the catching position.”

Nate Melcher is the number two catcher in the program right now, Matuszak said. He has been stepping up and pushing the older guys for playing time, although Matuszak doesn’t know whether he will see varsity playing time.

Brock Cota will probably reprise his role at first base this year, but the positions up the middle are still in flux, Matuszak said. “We’re solid up the middle with kids who are doing a great job in practice.”

The team returns many good hitters, including Marchbanks, Cota, Holly and Winslow, Matuszak said. Williams led batting last year.

“I have good, solid hitting top to bottom,” Matuszak said. “It’s hard to give you two or three names and not the rest – we’re so balanced in a sense.”

In a week, he’ll have a better idea how things will stand throughout the team on both sides of the plate, he said.
Matuszak expects Newport to be the biggest challenge this season.

Newport has won the league championship many times over the past few years and is always good, he said. “I would be really shocked if us and Newport didn’t finish number one in the standings.”

Philomath has a new coach and is usually tough too, he said.

“It’s not only our goal but we expect to win league,” Matuszak said. “Once we get there, we want to go on to bigger, better things. That’s our focus. That’s our outlook. That’s what we’re working toward every single day. We expect to compete for a league and a state championship.”

The team has a number of coaching changes this year. Matuszak is in his first year as head coach. Former Head Coach Dan Tow is continuing as an assistant coach.

“I’m really excited about the coaching staff,” Matuszak said. This is the first year practicing the junior varsity one and varsity teams together. They have six coaches, each assigned special duties, to run practice.

Josh Marvin, last year’s JV coach, is working with catchers. Tow is working with outfielders and is the hitting coach.
Kyle Dziedzic, a volunteer coach last year, is running the JV1 and working with infielders. Leon Olson is coaching corner infielders and the younger players. He was eighth-grade coach last year.

Volunteer coaches Adam Matuszak and Jim Hagle are working where needed.

The junior varsity two is coached by Greg Sipe and Chris Miner, both of whom played in the program and graduated from Sweet Home High School.

The junior varsity teams will end up swinging players across the board, Matuszak said.

Members of the JV squads include Hunter Bidwell, Wade Paulus, Trever Olson, Nate Melcher, Justin Rice, Drayson Scott, Kory VanDeusen, Jeremy White, Josh Wooley, Austin Mizsei, Cory Hanks, Taylor Conn, Zach Gill, Casey Horner and Aaron Moore.