Sports preview: Baseball team looks to compete for section title

Key players return

The Forest Lake boys baseball team has the ultimate goal of competing for the Section 7AAAA championship this spring – but not without the help from a handful of key returnees. After finishing the 2023 season with an overall record of 8-16 and losing roughly nine seniors to graduation a year ago, the Rangers currently have another set of nine seniors for the 2024 season. Players who can make a big impact and turn the tides for Forest Lake this year include senior captain Gavin Goehner, seniors Nolan Dumonceaux, Tucker Sibbald and Tyler Schnabel, along with junior Logan Mueller.

“Goehner, he’s going to pitch for us and play some corner infield spots as well, he was one of our top pitchers last year – so we’re counting on him to have a repeat performance as well as be our leading hitter again. He’s obviously a big part in what we do,” head coach Kale Henry said.

“For Nolan, he’ll be back for his third year. Both Nolan and Gavin will be three-year letter winners for us. He will primarily play in the outfield, but he can also catch. We’re excited to have him back after an injury marked junior season for him. Logan Mueller and Tucker Sibbald are back too; they both provide a little pop in our lineup. Tyler Schnabel also has experience at shortstop – and maybe even pitch a little bit for us.”

The Rangers evidently have plenty of heavy firepower remaining for the upcoming season, and shoot to improve upon their fourth-place finish in Section 7AAAA and its ninth-place finish in the Suburban East Conference in the season prior.

“We’re hoping those kids can step in and take on an even bigger role this year than they have in years past,” Henry said.

Henry’s expectations for his boys this year go as far as trying to find ways to finish within the top half of the SEC, as well as to compete for the section title.

“We play in the Suburban East Conference, which is in the preseason right now. We have four of the top five teams in the state – and five in the top eight – so we know the competition is going to be there for us,” Henry said. “It’s going to be tough, but we relish that and look forward to that challenge. It helps us get ready for Section 7 play, it’s going to be competitive to say the least. It’s open for everybody to have an opportunity to win, so as a coaching staff our goals are to try to find a way to place in the top half of our conference, which will help us get some home games that way in sections.”

The Rangers will look to have those goals come to fruition but must overcome the challenge of lacking the necessary pitching experience.

“We don’t have a ton of experience in that regard coming back for us this season,” Henry said. “We’re going to have to develop that. The SEC is just a grind, day in and day out. It gets to be a challenge mentally when you’re going through such a difficult schedule, but it helps us grow and get better, it prepares us for a section tournament that’s also very competitive and physically and mentally draining. I think that’s our advantage for playing in such a tough conference.”

The boys kick off their season opener on the road at Cretin-Derham Hall on Wednesday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m.