Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 7 Antigo


By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

On Tuesday, April 21, the WIAA Board of Control asserted to cancel all 2020 spring competitions, baseball included. While saddened for the graduating class of 2020, the PBR Wisconsin staff will do its best to highlight what could have been this spring, in what was set to be an exciting campaign filled with intriguing storylines to know and players to follow.

We published our ‘Watchlist Squads’ post on Monday, April 20, spotlighting almost 20 need-to-know programs that fell short of official ‘Bubble’ or Power 25 status for our preseason team rankings. We also declared 18 more programs official ‘On the Bubble’ teams, teams that earned sincere Power 25 consideration.

Today, we continue our countdown to No. 1, the top-ranked team on the PBR Wisconsin Preseason Power 25. We’ll be releasing a team a day in our lead-up to No. 1, and we’re onto No. 7 this evening.

Team: Antigo
Preseason Rank: No. 7
2019 Record: 21-5
Conference: Great Northern
WIAA Class: D-2
Head Coach: Scott Farmer
Playoff Run: D-2 State Champions
2019 Final Rank: No. 7
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 3 

OUTLOOK

Entering the 2019 spring, Antigo had won six straight Great Northern Conference titles – five of which were outright – and yet, the Red Robins finished on top of the D-2 dogpile at the end of the season.

Head coach Scott Farmer helped Antigo keep the course, eventually avenging a pair of midseason losses to Medford that ultimately cost them the GNC. The two programs met again in the Regional finals where the Red Robins earned the 10-6 win and never looked back. They pushed past Maple Northwestern and Tomah to win their Sectional and a trip to state, and downed top-ranked West De Pere and Union Grove – two of the top D-2 squads all spring – to hoist the trophy.

It was a special spring, and the Red Robins weren’t a one-hit wonder, either. Farmer and Antigo had sincere repeat hopes. The D-2 field was talented, as always, but there were a handful of programs that were elevated to the D-1 ranks (like both of their state opponents), arguably making their path to two straight a little clearer.

The seniors in this dugout were the primary reason why Antigo looked primed to get back to Grand Chute, and we’ll break the group down in the section below, but there are a couple juniors here who were critical as sophomores in 2019.

3B/RHP Eli Fleischman and UTL Elliott Orgeman were both everyday staples to this squad and both integral to this powerful offense. Fleischman is possibly the second-most important member of this roster for his two-way capabilities – he hit .348 and drove in 14 runs but was also one of the most important arms on the staff, pitching third-most innings (37.1) with a 1.70 ERA. The graduation of Sebastian Noskowiak likely elevated Fleischman to a more regular starting role, too, in 2020.

As for Orgeman, he was a versatile defender that allowed Farmer to move him around the infield, primarily, while also hitting .364. There’s an opening at shortstop and it might just be Orgeman’s for the taking.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Antigo graduated just four members of last year’s team, but each played a pretty major role on last year’s team. Still, this robust class of 2020 core remains and the experience garnered from their state title run was going to allow them to rally back this season.

That group is led by Valparaiso recruit LHP/OF Brady Renfro, one of the top players in the state’s 2020 class who was also one of the most productive players throughout the 2019 campaign, regardless of age. His simple, clean work from the mound will likely carry him through the next level, but he swings an impact bat from the left side that you can’t forget about. In his junior spring, Renfro hit .437 with 18 extra-base hits that helped him drive in 35 runs, each team-highs. On the mound, he came into the state tournament having punched out 68 batters in 44 innings, and added to it by authoring a five-hit shutout over a stacked West De Pere team, with another seven strikeouts and just one walk. He and Nevin Cornelius tallied five hits in the title game helping the Red Robins pour it on late to capture the D-2 crown.

Brady Renfro (8/2/18)

Cornelius would have also been back in the dugout this spring, returning a .400 average as a regular starter, primarily in the outfield. 1B/OF Jordan Arrowood would have been back as well, further establishing the depth of bats on offense. OF Neil Bretl is another regular returning who hit over .300 as a junior. And both Arrowood and Bretl saw some irregular work on the mound last spring, and one or both might have needed to take a step up as pitchers to make up for Noskowiak’s graduation, too.

With so much familiarity inside this dugout, Antigo was all set to chase a consecutive D-2 championship. It was also a potential blessing in disguise that this team actually missed the GNC title in 2019, allowing this roster to focus all spring during conference play to take the title back from Medford, keeping their attention sharp all season. The fact that this group won’t get the chance to authentically defend their championship is heartbreaking, but this team looked like the program with the best chance of repeating titles among last year’s champs.

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