BELOIT — Beloit Turner baseball coach Jeff Clowes needs to replace starters at nearly every position after last season’s senior-dominated team rolled to a 17-1 record in the Rock Valley Conference and a 23-4 mark overall.
He’s not worried about it, either, mainly due to the efforts of last year’s seniors.
“We knew we’d have to bridge the gap, so a number of our jayvees often practiced with us,” said Clowes, starting his 12th season as head coach. “We wanted them to be under the tutelage of seniors like Konner Giddley, Conner Hughes and Michael Cook. We told them to plant the seed with these younger guys and then watch them grow. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a group of seniors take that to heart as much as last year’s seniors.”
The Trojans return only three seniors: Zack Ries, Andy Buckley and Hayden Frey. They’ll be expected to play significant roles on the 2024 squad, but Clowes is also looking for many players off a 17-1 jayvee team to step up and carry on the Trojans’ winning tradition.
“Those guys gained a lot of valuable experience,” the coach said. “They had a chance to develop and they’re ready to go. I love our kids. Their energy and effort are always high. They’re thin on ego and they’re willing to work hard every night. They just need varsity experience and the only way to get it is by playing.”
Clowes was the RVC Coach of the Year last spring and eight Trojans were honored on the all-conference team. First Teamers included five seniors: pitcher Michael Cook, catcher Jack Stelter, third baseman Eric Halon, shortstop Konner Giddley and outfielder Connor Hughes. Senior Mason Hoenig was named as a utility player on the Second Team and seniors Will Lauterbach and J.T. Fell earned Honorable Mention. The Trojans won a regional title, but fell to RVC foe Jefferson 4-1 in the semifinals of the WIAA Division 2 Portage Sectional.
“Last year’s senior developed close bonds with the guys coming up,” Clowes said. “So now you have an easy handoff from J.T. Fell to Fernando Tillery at first base. I don’t know how you replace a Konner Giddley and what he meant to our team last year, but he developed a bond with Andy Buckley and Cesar Alfaro, two of our middles this year who are really skilled kids. Konner taught them and taught them last year. Same with Hughes and Cook in the outfield with guys like Ethan Halon and Jayden Piccione.”
The coach said the team should have a strong and deep pitching staff led by senior Buckley, juniors Alfaro, Halon and Sam Erickson and sophomore Jayden Mosely.
“Those five have really done a nice job early in the season,” Clowes said. “We think they should all be able to throw strikes and just let us play defense.”
Juniors Halon and Erickson were mainstays on the jayvees’ staff a year ago.
“They did a phenomenal job for the jayvees,” Clowes said. “They really could have eaten some varsity innings last year. We thought between the varsity and top-end jayvees we could have put two together two varsity teams that could have competed for a conference title last year. We had that kind of depth in our program.”
Buckley is the lone returnee with starting experience. He played third base when Giddley pitched with Eric Halon moving over to shortstop.
“Andy is a phenomenal infielder,” Clowes said. “He would have started for most teams. He’s going to play at UW-Whitewater next year. He’ll be our leader on the infield at shortstop.”
Ries and junior Noah Pfundheller are the leading candidates at third, Tillery at first and Mosely and junior Brayden Ward at second.
In the outfield, Piccione will patrol center with an aggressive style with Frey and Erickson the leading candidates in left and Halon in right. Some of the infielders flex to the outfield as well.
The catching position is a battle between junior Brody Berg and sophomore Adriel Salazar.
“They’re both leaders by example,” the coach said. “Brody has a really high baseball IQ. He couldn’t be a better teammate, has a strong arm and a good bat. Salazar is a hard-worker who loves to play and compete. He speaks with his bat, too.”
Clowes said the early season will be a proving ground for his young Trojans.
“It’s a tradition in our program that you have to work for what you get and that’s certainly the case this year,” he said. “No one is given a spot. They have to work for it.”
Clowes expects his team to be overlooked because of all the new faces.
“Experienced teams with kids back are always going to get the nod,” he said. “We’re going to fly under the radar, do things our way and let the chips fall where they may. I don’t think there is a clear team in the RVC South that’s head and shoulders above the rest. We’re all going to be able to push each other.”
The Trojans are scheduled to host Janesville Parker for a scrimmage at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Stateline Youth Sports Complex. They will host Monroe at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday at the SYS Complex to start RVC play.
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