Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 16 Waunakee

A 9-3 record in 2017 was good enough for a share of the Badger North crown, Waunakee’s first since 2013. The inexperience of last year’s squad didn’t really seem to affect them, either. The Warriors marched all the way to the state semifinals but were finally defeated in the postseason when the eventual state champs Kimberly dismantled them, 11-2.

It’s never easy to take a glass-half-full approach from a season-ending loss, but the veteran Coach Spencer Lee had a lot to look forward to in 2018. That hasn’t changed.

Waunakee is returning the majority of its sectional championship squad, five all-conference picks, including its staff ace RHP/OF Ben Nordloh. Nordloh was heavily leaned on at the top of this team’s rotation last year, and went 6-6 and recorded a 1.93 ERA. With an ERA like that, it’s a wonder how Nordloh was on the losing end of six games, and it’s most likely because, offensively, the Warriors underachieved despite a state playoff berth.

It’s covered more thoroughly in the X-Factor section, but their two best players, Stevens and Fueger, struggled to be the run producers they’re capable of being. A redemptive 2018 would do a lot of good for Nordloh and the rest of his staff mates. Stevens is a supreme athlete who displayed next-level power as a sophomore last year and has the defensive abilities to become an excellent collegiate catcher, given his plus arm strength. He’s ranked No. 3 overall in Wisconsin’s 2019 class on our list, and is the No. 22-ranked catcher nationwide from his class. His toolset is that good, he just hasn’t fully unlocked it yet for his high school team.

Back on the mound, after Nordloh, senior LHP/1B Riley Ripp will most likely be taking the ball as the No. 2 arm. He was 3-0 last season with a 1.75 ERA. There are some sophomore arms competing for innings on this staff, too, so having a senior like Ripp to depend on is going to ease Coach Lee’s mind this spring. Ripp also should be counted on within this lineup and at first base when he isn’t pitching. He hit .356 and started in the three-hole for the Warriors at state.

Joining Stevens, Fueger, Ripp, and Nordloh (a .351 hitter in his own right) in this lineup is a crew of seniors who contributed heavily to this team’s deep run last year. Coach Lee will be starting his son, Derek, a senior, for the third straight year at second base. Derek earned the job as a sophomore and solidified his role as one of the team’s most consistent bats as a junior when he hit .417 for the Warriors. Fellow senior OF Will Connors is also back. He saw intermittent playing time but hit .409 in his limited role.

Bottom line