Loaded with talent

Prairie Ridge baseball players Michael Heesch, T.J. Swank, Nick Martini, Bobby Martin and Dave Mitroff, are all headed to Division I schools next year. (Sandy Bressner photo)

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CRYSTAL LAKE – There’s no getting around it, so why even try?

Everyone knows Prairie Ridge is loaded.

The Wolves have five future NCAA Division I players (four who will start on varsity for their third seasons), are strong defensively up the middle, are deep in pitching and are Baseball America’s 28th-ranked high school team in the nation.

Prep Baseball Report, an Internet site that covers Illinois baseball, has Prairie Ridge No. 6 to start the season.

First-year Wolves coach David Haskins realizes his new team has nowhere to go but down and addressed that in the first practice.

“[The attention] is great for the program and outstanding for the community,” Haskins said.

“We take it as a challenge. I drew a target on the blackboard the first day. We told them it’s not pressure, but it’s an opportunity.”

The Wolves went 19-13 last season and saw their remarkable string of seven consecutive IHSA Class AA regional championships halted.

But most of their key players return this season, led by pitchers Michael Heesch and T.J. Swank, center fielder Nick Martini, shortstop Bobby Martin and catcher Dave Mitroff.

Swank (Coastal Carolina), Martini (Kansas State), Martin (Ohio) and Mitroff (Liberty) all have signed with their D-I schools, while Heesch (Nebraska) will do so in April.

Donnie Baran, an outfielder-pitcher, also will play college baseball at D-III Rose-Hulman. The Wolves are embracing their preseason celebrity, even though it means most opponents will be looking to make their season against Prairie Ridge.

“It’s pretty cool,” Martini said. “It’s good for us because we have to perform. It’s definitely a challenge.”

Martini was a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection in 2007 after hitting .435, but missed the Wolves’ last eight games with a hip injury. He recuperated and returned in mid-summer with the McHenry County Hurricanes’ travel team and swung the bat like he’d never missed any time.

Swank was an All-Area first-team pitcher as a sophomore, but his pitching was curtailed by a side injury last season. The sidearming right-hander should be one of the tougher pitchers in the area again.

Martin, Mitroff, Martini and Swank all started as sophomores. Heesch, a 6-foot-5 left-hander, has improved and returns to the rotation.

“It’s an honor to be mentioned in something like [the Baseball America rankings,]” Martin said. “That’s something extra to play for. It also tells us everybody’s going to come with their best. It will make us play at a high level and not take any days off.”

Former coach Chuck Lowitzki, who resigned in December so he could pursue his teaching degree, did the Wolves a favor by setting up a rugged non-conference schedule. Prairie Ridge will see defending Class AA state champion Neuqua Valley, Whitney Young, Joliet Catholic, Carmel and Palatine among its non-conference opponents. The Wolves also are in the Schaumburg Flyers Classic, where they could face Lyons, St. Charles North, Lake Zurich and Neuqua Valley again.

“We’re really excited for the scedule,” Heesch said. “We’re looking forward to playing those teams and see where our team’s at.”

Five others to watch

Zach Badgley, McHenry, Sr., P-1B

Badgley signed with Northern Illinois after a junior year in which he was 10-2, with a 1.36 ERA and struck out 107 batters in 72 innings, while walking 26.

Jerad Grundy, Johnsburg, Jr., P-OF

Grundy struck out 97 batters in 60 2/3 innings and had a 1.15 ERA and a 4-4 record for the Skyhawks last season.  Prep Baseball Report has him as Illinois’ No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2009.

Craig Lipp, Huntley, Jr., OF-P

Lipp hit six home runs, drove in 35 runs and hit .356 last season. 

He will have an expanded role as pitcher this season.  He was 2-2 with a 1.97 ERA last year.

Matt Schmidt, Grayslake Central, Sr., SS

Schmidt, who is headed to Yale, will start for a third year for the Rams. He hit .327, scored 23 runs and stole 15 bases before a badly sprained left ankle knocked him out the final four weeks.

Mark Winkelman, Alden-Hebron, Jr., P-1B-C

Winkelman was a force on offense, where he hit .576, drove in 29 runs and stole 12 bases, and on the mound where he was 6-2 with a 1.31 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 48 innings.

– Joe Stevenson