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2023 Spring Team Preview: Rockford

ROCKFORD - “We have a lot of talent.”

It means a banner year is expected at Rockford this season under the direction of head coach Matt Vriesenga.

“We only had three seniors last year and only one played extensively,” noted the mentor of the Rams, which finished 25-8 a year ago, losing the Division I tournament opener to Forest Hills Northern, which advanced to the state semifinals before losing to the eventual state champion.

However, there are some holes to fill, most notably ace pitcher Jacob Brown will only DH this year after Tommy John Surgery. The senior, who is signed to play at Central Michigan, was 3-0 with 35 strikeouts while allowing just three hits prior to his injury last season.

More shoes to fill are at second base where Quinn Bentley batted .306 with seven doubles as a freshman. But the North Carolina State commit, who is the 355th-rated 2025 in the nation, has moved to North Carolina.

Still, Vriesenga is confident about what the 2023 Rams can do.

“I know Little League is not a huge focus, but both of these groups (seniors and juniors) lost to (Jarren) Purify’s group in the game to go to the Little League World Series,” Vriesenga related. “Both of these classes love baseball and both classes have a ton of talent.

“We’re just trying to figure out the leaders on the team. But there is talent and they love one another. It’s about trying to get the team to play together rather than just individual talent.”

Andrew Landis and Jackson Burkholder, the top two pitchers a year ago once Brown went down, return to lead the staff. Landis, the 10th-rated junior shortstop in the state and an Oakland commit, was 5-2 with a 1.60 ERA while Burkholder, a senior who also plays outfield and was a standout kicker in football, was 6-1-1 with a 1.50 ERA.

Senior right-handers Drew Ferguson and Ethan Lyon bring more depth to the pitching.

“Both just gave up too many walks,” noted Vriesenga about the duo’s junior campaign.

Ferguson, a Kellogg CC commit, fanned 22 and walked 17 in 18 innings last year while Lyon, a Lansing CC signee, struck out 11 and allowed 21 walks in 16 innings.

Another senior, Jordan Eck, returns after going 1-2-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 24 innings of work.

More help on the mound could come from the junior threesome of Sam Schmuker, Gavin Engelsman and Gabriel Stouffer.

Ferguson is likely to play first or third base after hitting .260 with three home runs and 14 RBIs last year while Michael Skarda, the third-ranked junior first baseman in the state, is another potential first sacker after batting .343 with  20 RBIs.

Lyon, a .280 hitter in 2022, is another possible third baseman as is Stouffer, with Landis, who batted .230, and Eck, who hit .370, shortstops on the roster. Eck and Jonny Rohen-Blanton, a Hope football commit who batted .350 with 12 stolen bases a year ago, could get in the lineup at second base.

Senior Mac VandenHout, a Davenport commit for football as a quarterback, hit .290 last year and is one of two catchers along with junior Jackson Wyble, who had a .333 average a year ago.

Payton Skarda, the 11th-rated junior outfielder in Michigan, Burkholder, Ferguson, VandenHout and senior JT TenEyck are among those in the battle for playing time in the outfield. Burkholder had a .375 batting average last season.

“We should hit the ball well,” Vriesenga explained. “We hit the ball really well last year batting .309 as a team with 14 home runs, but we just struck out way too much. We have a lot of left-handed bats this year which is good and bad. We faced Jack Snow (now at Davenport) in the tournament last year and he was a tough lefty.

“Our defense should be good and the play of our catchers should be good. We have a lot of talent and we can interchange a lot of these kids. I thought pitching would be our strength and it could be, but we don’t have Jake.”

Last season Rockford and Hudsonville shared the Ottawa-Kent Conference title and both are expected to be at or near the top again according to Vriesenga, who also likes Grandville and Caledonia to be strong.

The season begins with a doubleheader on March 27 with Sparta before a spring break trip to Destin, Fla. The return home begins with a game against Hudsonville.

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