Perhaps out of survival, the Central Valley League altered its eligibility rules for 2013, making it a little easier for teams to pick up players from St. Cloud.

St. Cloud was once out of bounds for league members, but no more. It’s something new as the Central Valley officially begins league play today.

There are four games scheduled for 2 p.m. starts, including St. Augusta at Kimball, Pearl Lake at Eden Valley, St. Nicholas at Watkins and the Cold Spring Rockies at Luxemburg.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what it means around the league,” Eden Valley Hawks manager Birdie Geislinger said of the new radius rules.

The league allows as many players on your roster as you want who live seven miles or less from your ballpark.

Five players are allowed from a 7-15-mile radius and three are allowed from the state-mandated 30-mile radius. That’s new. The Central Valley had never allowed anyone from that far away before.

What the new rule means for the Hawks is that they were able to sign Cameron Knutson, a Maple Lake High School graduate who lives in St. Joseph and plays baseball for St. Cloud Technical & Community College.

Others have also signed players, notably the Watkins Clippers picking up St. Cloud Apollo senior left-hander T.J. Frericks, whose father Tom Frericks was a long-time Clipper.

Kimball used the new radius limit to sign Ben Johnson, a 26-year-old who lives in Clear Lake and is from Milaca.

“It’s something worth a try,” Kimball manager Tom Marquardt said.

As it does every season, the Central Valley has realigned its divisions based on last year’s standings.

This year, the Central Valley North includes Watkins, Pearl Lake, St. Augusta and Cold Spring. The South has Eden Valley, Kimball, Luxemburg and St. Nicholas.

“With the new radius, we’ve got some good young competition coming in,” said Geislinger, who begins his 50th year in amateur baseball. “We’re excited about the season.”

Geislinger said Heath Kramer is expected to the Hawks’ leader on the mound. They also added John Bautch from St. Nicholas as another potential pitcher and high school senior Hayden Willmer.

“Pitching is the name of the game,” Geislinger said. “Hopefully, we’re going to be good defensively, too.”

The lineup should include names like Dan Hansen, Matthew Pennertz, Jacob Anderson, Mike Arnold, Zach Schlangen, Nathan Geislinger, Jeff Haag, Dan Sargent and Josh Schumacher. Sargent is having a good year at St. Cloud Technical & Community College and will return after the college season, Birdie Geislinger said.

Familiar faces

Kimball looks to be largely the same squad as 2012, too. Marquardt said he is concerned about the status of ace right-hander Adam Theis, who is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where is the baseball team’s ace.

If Theis gets a job far from Kimball, Marquardt isn’t sure if he’ll play with the Express this season. That would mean a heavier workload for left-hander Matt Dingmann. Younger brother Adam Dingmann also is available.

Otherwise, the Express also have a familiar look, with 35-year-old catcher Scott Marquardt beginning his 22nd season with the team, Kyle Winter at first, Brian Marquardt at second, Jordan Joseph at shortstop and Adam Beyer at third.

The outfield should include Johnson, Austin Ruehle, Brooks Marquardt, Adam Dingmann and Matthias Hennen.

“We’ll be all right,” Tom Marquardt said. “Theis will be the key.”

Once again, the Central Valley League is paired with the Corn Belt League for the Region 11C tournament. This year’s Region 11C tournament will be held in Cold Spring, with top teams advancing to the state tournament in Delano and Maple Lake.

Victory League

The Victory League also gets underway today with four games scheduled, including: the Flensburg Falcons at the Lastrup Lakers, the Pierz Brewers at the Pierz Bulldogs and the St. Wendel Saints at the Holdingford Express.

Sobieski Skis manager Brad Czech his club’s home-opener with the Upsala Blue Jays has been postponed. As of Thursday last week, there was still 10 inches of snow covered by ice on the field.

“It’s been a crazy year,” Czech said.

Mark your calendar

Sobieski is celebrating 50 years of amateur baseball with an array of activities, including its first class of hall of fame inductees, on June 9.

The day begins with an old-timers game at noon, followed by a ceremony honoring past Sobieski Skis and Sobieski Poles players at 1:30 p.m.

The hall of fame induction ceremony takes place at 2:30 p.m, followed by a Victory League game between the Skis and Flensburg at roughly 3:30 p.m. The first hall of fame class includes: Butch Hennes, Ed Bzdok, Duke Malowski, Todd Olson, Mike Brady, Ed Waltman, Ken Sczublewski, Ernie Bartkowitz and Joe Sczublewski.

Admission is free.

 

Written by:  Tom Elliott, St. Cloud Times