After back-to-back sub-.500 seasons, the Amherst High School
baseball team will look to take a step forward this spring.

The Falcons returned six starters from last year’s team that
finished 6-14 and tied for sixth in the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 (CWC-8).

Amherst carried a 1-1 record into its CWC-8 matchup with
conference leader Pacelli at Bukolt Park Monday, April 18, where the Falcons
got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, but were unable to
overcome a five-run sixth inning from Pacelli and fell 8-3.

“With this year’s team and last year’s team, there aren’t a
whole lot of differences,” said third-year Amherst baseball head coach Andy Lind.
“Connor Zblewski’s gone, so we lose that .600 average, but the younger guys
that played a lot as freshmen are sophomores now, and they’re all coming back.

“And we’ve got a couple of freshmen chomping at the bit to
get in there,” he said.

Amherst
lost First Team All-Central Wisconsin Conference-8 (CWC-8) infielder/pitcher Connor
Zblewski from last season’s team that got off to a 1-8 start to the season, before
it went 5-6 the rest of the way to finish 6-14 following a 3-1 loss to Auburndale
in the WIAA Division 3 Regional Quarterfinals.

Leading the Falcons in the top of the lineup this season is
senior infielder/pitcher Tanner Hansen, followed by a pair of returning
starters in senior center fielder Ben Gutschow and sophomore shortstop/pitcher
David Rieck.

“Tanner gets on base quite a bit for us and scores a lot of
runs,” said Lind. “Last year he moved and ended up transferring (to Amherst), so he had to
sit out all season.

“Benny’s got speed and defensively he can pretty much play
wherever we put him too, and he’s going to help us out,” he said. “Last year
David started out in a utility role and ended up settling in at shortstop
probably midway through the year, and he’s a solid shortstop.”

Also returning as starters are Honorable Mention All-CWC-8
senior first baseman/pitcher Nelson Bricco, sophomore catcher Mason Peterson
and senior designated hitter Bryson Gosh, while sophomore Ty Peterson has
served as the team’s third baseman on defense.

“Nelson’s probably our ace on the mound, and he should be
one of our top hitters this year as well,” said Lind. “Mason didn’t start there
at the beginning of last year, but ended the season pretty strong as a freshman
catcher.

“Bryson’s a patient hitter, we’re hoping he can stick to
that plan and work the count,” he said. “Ty is a solid third baseman, and so
far he’s made a lot of plays.”

Sophomore right fielder Marcus Glodowski also is back in the
starting lineup from a year ago, while sophomore second baseman Saywer Eiden
saw part-time duty last season and sophomore left fielder/pitcher Carter
Zblewski joined the lineup this spring.

“Marcus had a diving play out there in right field (against
Pacelli), and he’s looking pretty sharp over there,” said Lind. “Sawyer is a
solid second baseman, and usually makes contact.

“And Carter has a nice-looking swing, and he’ll help us out
too,” he said.

Also in the mix to contribute this season are freshman Isaac
Premus, freshman Josh Rieck, senior Harry Piotrowski, sophomores Cole Van Nuys
and Riley Patoka and freshmen Brenner Gosh, Eric Spaulding and Matthew March.

“We’re looking at Isaac and Josh to step in here throughout
the year and help us out, and put some pressure on some guys and make some
plays here and there,” said Lind. “All of these guys, we just need more at bats,
and we need confidence.

“You’ve got to hit to get the confidence,” he said.
“Defensively, as long as we can field the balls that are hit at us, we’ll hang
in there.”

Amherst opened this season with a 4-3 win at home over Algoma
Tuesday, April 12, before it lost 18-17 in eight innings at home to
Wittenberg-Birnamwood (1-3, 1-2) Thursday, April 14.

“We started out pitching pretty well, and then we just had
the issue of finding the (strike) zone with some pitchers,” said Lind of the
loss to Wittenberg. “We ended up walking 19 guys, they walked 10.

“We still had 17 hits, and ended up coming back a couple of
times,” he said. “So hopefully we understand, that when we’re down, we’re not
out.”

The Falcons took on Pacelli at Bukolt Park
Monday afternoon, where Bricco reached on an error to lead off the top of the
second and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Glodowski off Pacelli
senior pitcher Matt Helms to give Amherst
a 1-0 lead.

Carter Zblewski reached on an error to lead off the top of
the third and scored on Pacelli’s second error of the inning to increase the
Falcons’ lead to 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning.

There, Pacelli used a double and a RBI single off Hansen to
score a run and make it 2-1, and then used back-to-back singles and a sacrifice
fly in the bottom of the fourth to score another run and tie the game at 2-2.

Bricco came in to pitch for the Falcons in the bottom of the
fifth, where Pacelli scored on a RBI single to take a 3-2 lead, before it
rallied for five more runs in the bottom of the sixth on five hits and one
error to increase its lead to 8-2.

Amherst
added a run in the top of the seventh, as Hansen drew a walk and came around to
score from first on an error to provide the final run in the Falcons’ 8-3 loss.

“Tanner hit spots and pitched pretty well early on,” said
Lind. “And it’s still early in the year, so we’re going to get different guys
out there in different situations.

“The defense played pretty well, we made some plays on
defense, and the infield wasn’t in the best shape out there,” he said. “Offensively,
we probably were a little impatient. That’s one of their best pitchers, if not
their best pitcher, and we didn’t strike out at all, so take that as a definite
positive.”

Amherst
is set to play at Manawa at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21, before it hosts Westfield
(4-0) in a nonconference game at 4:30
p.m. Friday, April 22.

The Falcons will follow with five games in six days next
week, as they play at Shiocton (1-5, 1-1) Monday, April 25, at Wild Rose (3-2)
Tuesday, April 26, and at Iola-Scandinavia (2-4, 1-1) Thursday, April 28,
before they host Bonduel (3-1, 1-1) at 4:30 p.m. Friday April 29, and Omro
(1-2) at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30.

The Omro game will conclude the non-conference portion of
the schedule for Amherst,
which is set to close out the regular season with eight consecutive CWC-8
games.

“This is still early in the year, so by the end of the
season, the goal’s obviously to be playing our best,” said Lind. “We’re just
hoping to game-by-game get better, try different pitchers out there, work
different defenses and get hitters some confidence.

“And then just go from there,” he said.