PBR NE High School Team Preview: Bennington
March 5, 2022
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As we prepare for the upcoming 2022 high school season, we will be taking a preseason glimpse at programs from around the state.
Team: Bennington
Nickname: Badgers
Class: B
Conference: Eastern Midlands
Head Coach: Scott Heese
Years as Head Coach at School (Overall Record): 13
2021 Overall Record: 16-11
2021 League Record: 3-2
2021 Post-Season State Qualifier
# of Returning Starters: 6
# of Pitchers With 15+ Innings Returning: 3
# of Starters Lost: 3
# of Pitchers with 15+ Innings Lost: 2
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Owen Douglas, P/OF, 11,R/R, 5'10" 160 lbs, Owen will bat in 3-5 hole for us. He will be one of our top 2 pitchers and is a solid outfielder as well.
Mitchell Andersen, P/CF, 12, R/L, 5'11" 170 lbs, Mitchell be the other top pitcher returning on the staff. He is a lefty that can locate all of his pitches. He may be our lead off hitter.
Cayden Bluhm, IF, 12; R/R, 6'0" 175 lbs. Cayden was one of our top hitters last season. He played 3B last year, but I may move him to 2B.
Seth Wempen, SS/P, 12; R/R, 5'10" 175 lbs. Seth will be our SS again this year. He will also be a relief pitcher for us. He hit really well in the second half of the season.
Cooper Mlnarik, C, 11, R/R, 5'9" 175 lbs. Cooper returns as our starting catcher. He will bat in the 3-5 hole for us.
Ben LeClair, IF/P, 12, R/R, 6'1" 190 lbs. Ben was not able to play much for us last year due to recovering from an injury. He will play 3B or 2B for us this year. He could also see some innings on the mound in relief. Ben will probably hit in the 4-6 hole.
Ethan Nguyen, P/1B/DH, 11; R/R, 6'2" 210 lbs. Ethan could be an X factor for us on the mound this year. He will hit in the 4-6 hole for us.
Trevor Heese, OF, 12; R/R, 5'8" 160 lbs. Trevor platooned as a starting OFer and courtesy runner. He could bat in the 1,2, or 9 hole for us.
Cody Harris, 1B/P, 12, R/R, 6'5" 220 lbs. Cody will play first base and do some relief pitching.
Keaton Smith, P/DH,12; R/R, 5'9" 190 lbs. Keaton will probably be one of our starting pitchers this year. He was used in relief last season. He also could get some ABs as a DH.
Nic Speckmann, 1B/DH, 12; R/R, 6'0" 185 lbs. NIc will play some 1B as well as DH.
AJ Parrish, P, 11; R/R, 5'9" 145 lbs. AJ will probably be used as a relief pitcher
Jackson Coe, OF/CR,11; R/R, 5'10" 160 lbs. Jackson will probably see some time in the OF and do some courtesy running for us.
Caden Anderson, P, 10; L/R, 5'10" 150 lbs. Caden will do some relief pitching for us.
ALUMNI CURRENTLY PLAYING COLLEGE BASEBALL:
Ryan Malone ('21)- P at McCook CC
Ben Harkin ('21)- IF at Buena Vista
Kannon Dumont ('21)- C at Mount Marty
Kyler Essink ('21)- C at Wayne State
Rylan Wallingford ('20)- OF at McCook CC
Anthony Comfort ('20)- P at Southwestern CC (Creston, IA)
Cooper Prososki ('19)- P/OF at UNO
Grant Carl ('18)- P at Wayne State2022
OUTLOOK:
“We return several guys from our state qualifying team in 2021. Our pitching staff will determine our fate for the season. Defensively, we may have one of the most athletic teams since I have been in Bennington. The experience the boys got last spring season as well as playing Class A during the Legion season will preparing them for the challenges we are about to face. Our team is filled with speed. If we get guys on base, we can put a lot of pressure on our opponents.”
Coach Hesse