Built To Last: Newman Catholic Baseball

By Logan Gajewski

The first half of the Newman Catholic baseball team’s season has been a success.  Thus far, the Cardinals are 8-2 (6-2 in conference) after a recent victory against the Stratford Tigers.  Junior Bradley Knoblock had this to say about the season: “I would have to give this season an A- so far; we have been competitive in all of our games, and have already grabbed some key wins.”  The Cardinals’ only losses this season have been against marquee matchups; they split games with the Marawood Conference South leading Edgar Wildcats and last year’s Division 3 State Champions, the Marathon Red Raiders. 

When asked about the team’s playoff aspirations Knoblock responded, “Win State.”  This is very possible considering their thrilling walk-off victory against the Red Raiders and their leader, last year’s conference player of the year, Cody Hanke.  In addition to this, the Cardinals sit third in the conference standings, just two games behind Edgar. 

Senior pitcher/first baseman and team captain Adam Rutz has seen a significant increase in playing time this year, and has been making a difference ever since.  When asked about the role the team captains have had, Rutz had this to say: “All captains have done a good job leading this year; we have a good group of guys. You also have to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff.”  The Cardinals are coached by Newman Catholic’s physical education teacher, Dan Smet, who has led the team to a 33-21 record through his first two and a half seasons as head coach.

The Cardinals’ next game is at Northland Lutheran (3-6) this Thursday, May 12^th.  The next Cardinals home game is a non-conference matchup against Mosinee next Monday, May 16^th, at Athletic Park.  Admission is free to all regular season games, so come out and support the team for the remainder of the regular season and the playoff games that are to come.