Baseball season gets underway
HUNTLEY — A new-look starting nine will take the field for Huntley with high hopes for another stellar season in 2024.
The Red Raiders are poised to defend their Fox Valley Conference crown and once again vie for a regional title which they gained last season in a 29-8 campaign. Some familiar players return with college baseball in their futures.
“The Red Raiders return 10 players from last season’s squad,” Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. “We will have an athletic group of players who will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. The team will buy into the ‘team approach’, by playing to our strengths and finding ways to manufacture runs.”
After a downright balmy first day of practice, weather has become more seasonal. The season opener is scheduled against Schaumburg, weather permitting, on March 14. The second clash is also at home, against Chicago Hope on March 16.
Offensively, leaders returning include junior A.J. Putty, corner infielder at third and first base and right handed pitcher, who verbally committed to the University of Illinois, and hit .390 last season with 36 RBIs; junior outfielder Ryan Dabe, a .290 hitter with 31 RBIs; senior outfielder Haiden Janke, who will play football at College of DuPage, hit .261; senior infielder Griffin Goldstein, who hit .358 and senior right-handed pitcher and catcher Quinn Drews, who hit .281 last season.
Seniors returning include pitcher Malachi Paplanus, who played at the end of last season with five games after recovering from injury. He has committed to Wright State University. He is part of a pitching staff which contributed 47 innings last season.
Players at the verbal commitment stage for college are senior right-handed pitcher Colby Aschenbach, one win and one save last season who chose Loras College and right-handed Louis Siriano, relief pitcher who picked McHenry County College. Senior right-handed pitcher Eddie Johnson is also back.
Also, seniors Alex Simios, first base, with a college selection of University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Kyle Larson, outfielder, College of Lake County and Marco Stawski, second base, infielder, Dominican University and Jack Lansu, catcher, Oakton College look to contribute.
One interesting story line to follow is head coach Jakubowski, who has 514 wins is in his 24th season guiding area teams, 18th at Huntley, and now is coaching his son, junior T.J., who can play at shortstop, second base and pitch. T.J. had a .400 batting average last year in 18 games.
Huntley is once again defending FVC champs, who had an 18-6 loop record last season.
“The FVC will once again be one of the toughest conferences in the state,” Jakubowski said. “We will look to defend the FVC championship from the 2023 season. The FVC will be loaded again with five or six teams who have a legitimate shot of winning the title. Teams from the FVC will definitely be battle tested and there should be some teams that will make long playoff runs.”
The mentor summed up the team as the new season dawns this week.
“Our players are focused and excited for the 2024 season,” Jakubowski said. “The goal for this year’s squad hasn’t changed from previous years as we are focused on getting 1 % better each day and being quality teammates. We will focus on little things such as commanding the strike zone, playing solid defense, quality at-bats, and being aggressive on the bases. Ultimately, the goal is to be playing our best baseball at the end of the season and to make a strong postseason run.”
