Bulldogs hope to strike it big
Pitching can take you pretty far, and that is what the 2024 version of the Waterloo High School baseball squad is counting on.
“We’ll have to build around our pitching to be successful,” longtime Waterloo head coach Mark Vogel said.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 23-12 campaign last season, and there are some key returning players expected to lead the way this spring.
Four seniors – Nate Phillips, Jack Roessler, Nolan Veto and Koby Osterhage – are at the top of that list.
Phillips is considered the ace of the pitching staff after going 8-1 with a 1.05 ERA last season. He’s looking solid so far in 2024, with a 17-strikeout no-hitter thrown against New Athens recently.
At the plate, Phillips hit .316 in 2023.
Roessler went 5-2 with a 2.63 ERA on the mound last season in addition to hitting .322 with four home runs and 31 RBIs.
Veto went 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in addition to hitting .370.
Osterhage is an important part of the Waterloo offense, having hit .356 with 18 runs last season.
Another senior putting in quality at-bats early this spring is Brayden Hays.
As for the junior class, AJ Sensel hopes to return from a shoulder injury at some point after pitching 51-plus innings in 2023.
Another junior, Max Oswald, hit .296 with 22 runs and 20 RBIs last season.
A few sophomores providing an early spark on offense already this spring are Drake Luedeman, Patrick O’Donnell and Caleb Papenberg.
Vogel classified his 2024 roster as “interesting” in that there are multiple players still competing for playing time at several positions.
“I don’t know if we’re going to even have a set lineup,” Vogel said.
As for goals and expectations, Vogel is taking a wait-and-see approach.
“The more games we play, the more we’ll know about our team this spring,” he said.
Important games on the schedule for Waterloo included a March 30 home win against rival Columbia, April 13 at Busch Stadium against Jacksonville, April 16 at Grizzlies Ballpark against Mt. Vernon and a home-and-away Mississippi Valley Conference showdown with Highland set for April 22-23.
