Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Team Countdown: No. 13 Batavia



By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 75 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:

Team: Batavia
Preseason Rank:
13
2013 Record:
27-7
Conference:
Upstate 8 (River Division)
IHSA Class:  
4A
Head Coach:
Matt Holm
Playoff Run: Lost in First Round (Hoffman Estates)
2013 Final Rank:  Not Ranked

Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers:
8

TOP PLAYERS

Laren Eustace, OF, 2014 (Indiana)
Micah Coffey, INF, 2014 (Minnesota)
Jake Piechota, LHP, 2014 (Western Michigan)
Andrew Siegler, SS, 2014 (Judson)
Dino Simoncelli, C, 2014
Jeremy Schoessling, 2B, 2014
Evan Acosta, LHP, 2015
Steven Busby, OF, 2015

X-FACTOR
Laren Eustace
. The left-handed hitter is one of the premier athletes in the Midwest and is a top-level prospect in Illinois. Eustace possesses game-breaking speed, which translates at the plate and in the field. As a junior, he batted .381 with 21 stolen bases, 21 RBI, 7 triples and 3 homers.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Evan Acosta.
The 6-foot-1 left-hander didn’t pitch on varsity last season, but he will be counted on heavily this season. He features a lively fastball and should be a coveted prospect in the future.

STAT RAT
As a junior, the left-handed hitting Micah Coffey batted .386 with 25 RBI, 11 doubles, 3 triples and 3 home runs.

OUTLOOK
Expectations are sky-high this year, as Batavia returns six starters and eight pitchers from last year’s 27-win club that won shared the Upstate 8-River title with St. Charles East. The Bulldogs have speed and talent all over the field, and should have no problem scoring runs behind Eustace, Coffey, Andrew Siegler and Dino Simoncelli. LHP Jake Piechota, a Western Michigan recruit, anchors the pitching staff after posting a 5-2 record as a junior. Look for junior LHP Evan Acosta to make an impact this year.

BOTTOM LINE
The Bulldogs certainly have the talent to win the Upstate 8 and make a deep postseason run. Then again, Batavia sat in the top 25 rankings for a chunk of last season and enjoyed an overall excellent regular season only to get bounced in the first round of the playoffs last year.

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Season Countdown

+ Preseason Team Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2016 Player Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2015 Player Rankings

+ Updated Illinois 2014 Player Rankings

+ June Event Schedule

2014 IL Top Prospect Slide