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Lannon, WI --- It was an up and down 2021 for first-year manager, long-time Beaver shortstop Justin Barkhurst. The Beavs started off hot with a 4-2 record, including an impressive 7-4 win on the road vs Sussex, the eventual Land O’ Lakes champions. The losses piled on soon after, but the season concluded with a come-back 5-4 playoff win vs Oconomowoc before bowing out vs the runner-up Brookfield Bulldogs, ending the year 7-11.
The Milwaukee/Lannon Beavers are optimistic for more W’s in 2022 even with being placed in arguably the strongest division in the Lakes (Metro) which includes the Brookfield Bulldogs & Blue Sox, West Bend Spirits, and Menomonee Falls Lakers. The Beavers strength is experience, but there's been some young talent added to the veteran core which should give Barkhurst some extra options throughout the year. Here's how the roster is looking so far...
Outfield
Returning to CF will be 2021 Beaver MVP, Jordan Bloch, who along with JB was the only player to play every game. Bloch led the Beavs with a .393 batting average and a .570 OBP while hitting in the #1 spot. He was 5th in the Lakes in OBP and runs (24), 3rd in walks (17) and tied for 1st in HBP (8). In the corners are vets Jarrett Gates, Justin Reminger and there’s also newcomer Carlos Walta, graduating from Wisconsin Lutheran HS. Two players graduating from Germantown HS will be joining the squad as well, Jerome Pawlak (OF) and Austin Thomas (P, Util).
Infield
Barkhurst begins is 13th season as the Milwaukee SS and had a strong ’21 at the plate, hitting .382, was 3rd in the league with 9 doubles and had a team-high 15 RBI’s. The hot corner is typically staffed by 5th-year 3B Peter Nelson who’s hit .300+ in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Phil Reed had a solid year at 2B, coming up with clutch hits and was 5th on the team with a .481 slugging %. Doug Martin (1B) had a big flashback-year after giving up manager duties, posting his best numbers since the RLB days (.375/.524/.521). Matt Magni (1B/DH/OF) was a nice lefty bat who signed on last year and posted big numbers after not playing for quite a few years (led the team with .545 SLG%). Behind the dish the Beavs will deploy current Ripon Red Hawk, Evan Barbian and incoming rookie Justin Pontow also from WLHS. Paul Heinkel and Bryce Kulinski were solid behind the plate last year but their ’22 availability is unclear. 14-year vets Mike Schroeder and Rob Tschimperle will also slug it out from the DH spot. Will Volpe will join the team as a middle infielder who finished his first year on the University of Iowa club team and played at Whitefish Bay HS.
Pitching
The mound was not an area of strength in ’21 but there’s hope for a bounce-back year there as well. Eric Freyman will be used more often after some fantastic appearances in ’21. Veterans Ryan Wood, Josh Smith will also anchor the rotation along with Tschimperle, Kyle Knaust (super utility player) and Garceau. The Beavs also be welcoming back Matt Burke to the staff who left town back in 2019.
The Beavs open up the 2022 season with two home games this weekend vs Stone Bank (Saturday) and the Brookfield Bulldogs (Sunday) at the 4th-year home of the Beavs, historic Joecks Memorial Field in Lannon. The anthem and first pitch start at noon. Can’t wait to see everyone at the ol' ballpark all summer long!
#GoBeavs
