PELLA—First-year head coach Casey Klunder is preparing an inexperienced Central College baseball roster to compete in a loaded American Rivers Conference field.
           
Entering his initial season at the helm of the Dutch, Klunder and his coaching staff have a roster of 56 players. However, the roster is heavily tilted towards underclassmen with just six seniors and 11 juniors. In total, 11 letterwinners are back, highlighted by six starting position players and two starting pitchers.
           
"We're going to be a young team," he said. "We'll be fairly inexperienced but we really like the way the team has been working."
           
Central's youthfulness is exacerbated by the influx of fifth-year seniors around the country, and especially in the American Rivers Conference, due to the extra year of eligibility granted following the season lost to CoVID-19 in 2020.
           
"Most other teams can't really call themselves young with so many 23 and 24-year olds on their roster," Klunder said. "We're going to have to catch up with everybody else before we get into conference play."
           
Central has 10 non-conference games in March starting with an opening night doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Tuesday, March 8 at U.S Bak Stadium in Minneapolis. The Dutch will play eight games in Florida the following week.
           
"Those are going to be important games for us," Klunder said. "I think with a young team, we'll be able to gain some valuable experience through the first couple of weeks by the time we get into conference play."
           
A daunting conference slate starts with Buena Vista University on March 25-26. The league is returning to three-game conference series after doing four games last year.
           
"Coe has been the best team the last five years," Klunder said. "Luther, coming off an NCAA bid, has a lot of talent coming back especially with fifth-year seniors on the mound. But Loras also has a lot of good players coming back and Buena Vista has a historically good recruiting class coming in."

Pitcher
Marcus Wenzel (fifth-year Chicago, Ill., Luther North College Prep HS) started 12 games on the mound in 2021 and finished with a 2-6 record and 4.76 earned run average. Central lost four one-run conference games in which Wenzel started, including a pair of 1-0 defeats.

"He was one of my first calls when I got the job and we are so fortunate he decided to come back," Klunder said. "It can't be easy on him learning a new way but he has been open to new ideas and I really appreciate his communication and leadership. He was a tough-luck loser in a lot of games and I hope we can support him with some runs this year."

Landon Vander Leest (senior, Pella) and Declan O'Hare (junior, Los Angeles, Calif., Marshall HS) are strong candidates to be starting pitchers for Central as well. Vander Leest started eight games and threw 41.0 innings in 2021, earning a 2-5 record and a 5.71 ERA. O'Hare made two relief appearances before returning to California in late March to attend to a family matter.

"Declan had a really good fall," Klunder said. "His velocity was up from what it was last year and he just keeps getting better and better. Landon wasn't with us in the fall but we know he did some good things last season."

Beyond the projected top-three starters for conference series, Klunder will sort through an abundance of arms for bullpen and midweek starting action. Juniors Kurby Vowels (Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS), Caleb Evans (Davenport, Central HS) and Landon Thiele (Moline, Ill.) each appeared in 10 or more games. Vowels went 3-5 and Evans had the team's best ERA (3.42) and opponent batting average (.221)

Drew Coffman (junior, Grinnell) made three starts and Carter Nelsen (sophomore, Rhodes, Baxter HS) made five relief appearances. Klunder also cited juniors Sam Staley (Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) and Hayden Smith (Colorado Springs, Doherty HS) as names to watch.
           
"The bullpen is going to be a little bit of a mystery," Klunder said. "We have a lot of guys who could step into roles but nobody has solidified anything after the fall."

Catcher
For the first time since 2016, there will be a new primary catcher for the Dutch after the departure of fifth-year senior Trevor Kimm. Brenden Mudd (junior, Englewood, Colo., Cherry Creek HS) played 14 games last year, starting four times and is the first option this year
           
"I really appreciate his leadership and how he has taken charge of that position group," Klunder said. "I like how he approaches things on a daily basis."
           
Freshmen Dom DeLaPaz (Davenport, West HS) and Caleb Douglass (Windsor, Colo.) will be in next in line behind the plate. DeLaPaz was a 4A all-state second team selection in high school and Douglass's dad Chris was a four-year starter at catcher for Central from 1997 to 2000. Sophomore Jackson Kruer (sophomore, Clarksville, Ind., Jeffersonville HS) is another viable option.
           
"We're excited about all of them," Klunder said.   
                                                  
Infield
Lucas Farren (fifth year, Yorkville, Ill.) started all 41 games for Central in 2021, primarily at second base. However, he started seven times in the outfield and was moved to the outfield in the later innings five more times and to shortstop twice. He's initially headed back to second base but could play almost anywhere on the diamond.
           
"Lucas has done a great job since we got here with his leadership and specifically his communication skills," Klunder said. "He has good ideas for the team because he's been around and has a team-first mindset. On the field, he gives us great versatility with the ability to play multiple positions and always gives you a quality at-bat offensively."
           
Quinn Miller (senior, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) returns as the starting third baseman after leading the team with a .287 batting average. While recovering from an arm injury, Tanner Bigelow (sophomore, Gilbert, Ariz., Highland HS) spent most of 2021 at first base but is set to play shortstop this season. Bigelow had 13 RBIs in just 84 at-bats.

O'Hare and Vander Leest are getting serious looks at first base, potentially alternating based on which of them is starting on the mound. Garrett Finley (junior, DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS) is also back on the roster after not playing in 2021. As a freshman, Finley went 7-for-9 in two games before the remainder of the season was cancelled.
           
Mid-year transfer Logan McCoy (freshman, Galva, Alta-Aurelia HS) came from North Iowa Area Community College as a shortstop but is also an option at third basemen and in the outfield. Jared Kampf (senior, Peoria, Ariz., Mountain Ridge HS) started the majority of last season in left field but could come back to second base as well.
           
"As a group, the infield is where we have the most veteran players," Klunder said. "We have a lot of options at all four positions and we'll have to figure out which options give us the best chance to win."
                       
Outfield
Last season, Tyler Sass (sophomore, Lincoln, Neb., Southwest HS) and Kampf started nearly every game in center field and left field, respectively. Kampf led the team with 12 stolen bases and Sass was close behind with nine. Another January transfer, Colton DeRocher (sophomore, Sioux City, East HS), is a strong candidate to take over in right field

McCoy, Farren, and Ian Boline, (senior, Alburnett) who started a handful of games in left field last season, also bring collegiate experience. There's a pool of freshmen battling for playing time as well.

"It's an interesting position group," Klunder said. "It could shake out in a variety of ways. Since the fall, that group has improved the most in terms of their daily habits and work ethic. I'm looking forward to watching them continue to improve this spring."
 
Designated hitter
If he's not playing first base, Finley is a likely choice here. O'Hare and Vander Leest also are in play depending on who is pitching or playing first base.
 
The season
In Florida, the Dutch get four games against the State University of New York – Polytechnic Institute. They also have a doubleheader with Knox College (Ill.) and single games against Illinois Wesleyan University and Bowdoin College (Maine). A weekend series at Bethel University (Mo.) and a home-and-home series with Grinnell College round out the non-conference schedule.

Central gets Buena Vista (March 25-26), Wartburg College (April 1-2) and the University of Dubuque (April 15-16) as their conference home weekend series. They go to Coe College (April 8-9), Nebraska Wesleyan University (April 29-30) and Luther College (May 6-7). They split home-and-home with Loras College (March 29 and April 5) and Simpson College (April 12 and 19).